Hiked: AT from Caledonia State Park to Old Shippensburg Rd on an overnight backpacking trip with Brad, Tom, and Scott (and Katie Dogg). Very beginning of the hike featured a steep ass climb (Diesel Dyke Hill!)! After the first three miles, the overall climbing was done, although the hike had some up and down (enough to be a pain!). Quarry Gap Shelter was pretty sweet. Built-up bedding areas and everything. Not any specific scenery to be found, but the hike was pretty remote, although it did cross some forest roads. Camped by the Milesburn Cabin (which was not as remote as hoped). Campsite was rocky and sloped. Excellent camp sites between Cabin and Birch Run Shelters (but no water). Weather was very COLD!! Overnight low (educated guess) between 10-15 degrees (18 deg at 8:30, hour and a half after sunrise). A few photos.

Elevation gain: 1130 ft. / Overall Elevation change: approx. 1650 ft. / Max. elevation: 2080 ft.
Weather: Cold and windy during the hike. Temp overnight to 10-15 deg.
Maps: Appalachain Trail Guide and Map (scanned) by Keystone Trails Association.
Difficulty: moderate-difficult
Distance: 11.4 mi
Grade: 7 (more challenging than it looks)

Hiked: from Woodrow Rd. along AT to the Toms Run Shelters, where we picked up the Sunset Rocks Trail. Followed the trail to the views from Sunset Rocks. Very cool views and some tricky manuvering over and around some big rocks. Trail down from Sunset Rocks back to the AT is very steep and rocky. Brad, Dain, and I ended our hike in Pine Grove Furnace State Park, where we returned to the Michener cabin for the night. Here's some pitchers (as they say).

Elevation gain: 800 ft.
Weather: cool and sunny
Maps: PATC Map 2/3
Difficulty: Moderate, rocky.
Distance: 4.5 mi.
Grade: 6 (view is good, and rocks are fun)

Hiked: On AT, to Ramble Trail, to N on Blue Blaze trail, up steep climb (no switchbacks!) to AT, to Locust Gap Trail. Then turned around, followed AT back to parking area and hikes the Ramble Trail loop in opposite directions. Scenery on Ramble Trail is superb. Streams, 6-8" of snow, lots of rhododendron, and large Eastern Hemlock (similar to Swallow Falls in western MD) were beautiful. Seemed to be 100'+. This part was an easy hike. Blue blaze and AT were tough. I was "plowing" through 8"+ of new fallen snow. No one was around, and it was very quiet and peaceful (thanks to last night's snowstorm) but this was tough going. Need snow shoes. No photos.

Elevation change: approx. 500 ft. Max. elevation: about 1400 ft
Weather: cold (25 degrees), windy, and about 6-8" or more of new snow
Maps: PATC Circuit Hikes in VA, WV, MD, and PA Hike No. 22
Difficulty: Moderate. Blue blaze climb is tough in the snow
Distance: 5 mi.
Grade: 6+ (beautiful in the snow)

Hiked: From Shaffef rocks (camp site) up Chimney Rocks Rd. (gravel), cut across to Chimney Rocks, then followed the AT N to top and ridge, then returned via Old Currans Rd., a pipeline cut, and finally Chimney Rocks Rd. to the campsite. Camped the previous night with Bill, Steve, and Tony. Campsite was right by Tumbling Run, which was the picture perfect mountain stream. Water was cold and refreshing for feet hot from hiking all day (so cold it hurt). Overlook at Chimney Rocks was a pretty good view. Portions of trail off the AT were pretty desolate. This hike is out there, which is good. Did not see many people except on the AT. No photos.

Elevation gain: over 700 ft. Max. elevation: 2000 ft. +
Weather: Warm and sunny
Maps: PATC Circuit Hikes in VA, WV, MD, and PA Hike No. 23.
Difficulty: Moderate to difficult.
Distance: about 5.5 mi.
Grade: 7

Hiked: From parking lot of Old Forge Picnic Area north on the At up to Chimney Rocks and back. Hiked through probably about a foot of snow, with a path previously cut by two lads before me. Wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, although the climb was steep in a few spots. Beautiful, sunny day, and cold. Had most of the trip to myself. Also found forest roads not kind in winter, even with AWD!

Elevation gain: 1046 feet. Max. elevation: 1946 ft.
Weather: Sunny blue skies, but cold. Temps maybe in the 20's.
Maps: PATC Map 4
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: about 5 miles round trip
Grade: 7

Hiked: Have hiked several sections of the Horseshoe Trail, including French Creek State Park, and behind my house down to Shirey's old house. Longest hike was about 12 mi or more (I think). Usually with Brad, Dain, and J.R. Cable bridge crossing of creek was cool. Usually hiked in fall, when home from school. Trail is combination of in the woods, along and across private property, and on the road. Some areas have been threatened by assholes building ugly home developments. Estimated length completed of 130 total miles: 40-50 miles? No photos.

Grade (average): 4

Hiked: Have hiked several trails in the park. Boone Trail, Horseshoe Trail, Scott's Run Trail, Six Penny, and some stuff in the eastern side of the park. Decent scenery. Mostly easy stuff. Is good for getting away for a little and so close to home. No photos.

Grade (average): 5

Hiked: from Hopewell Lake west along the Horseshoe Trail to the Ridge Trail, which cuts up to the Fire Tower. From there, I took the Blue Trail back down to the lake. I hiked the day after a Christmas snow storm, and the scenery was excellent. The trees were frosted with the wet heavy snow. Only problem was that the snow was 8-12" deep in some spots, which made it tough going. A lot of tree damage along the trails due to the snow.

Elevation gain: a few hundred ft.
Weather: sunny and cold, slightly below freezing
Maps: Park Map
Difficulty: Moderate due to snow depth
Distance: 4.5 mi. +-
Grade: 7 (the snow on the trees was fantastic)

Day 1: After camping the previous night at the Rt. 271 shelter area, Steve and I hiked 10.4 miles to the next shelter area. The hike was a test of our resolve. The weather was miserable, rainy, cloudy, foggy, grey, dismal, and cold. Could not stay dry. The first part of the hike (before lunch) was a constant up and down, with the side of the slopes we were going up still covered with several inches of snow and ice. Could not see the views that were promised because visability was not good. Rain ended by mid afternoon. Camped that night at the Rt. 30 shelter area. Had the area to ourselves.

Day 2: Weather was nice most of the day, and fairly warm. Trail was wet in several places, and in a lot of spots was more like a stream. This 8.3 mile stretch was probably the highlight of the trip. It starts off in an area with large rock and boulder formations before passing through an evergreen forest area with beautiful mountain streams. The water level was very high at this time of year, which made getting through kind of tricky. The trees were thick enough to make it seem dark. Also lots of laurel and rhododendrons along this stretch. Also passed Beam Rocks, which was impressive in size. Steve thought at one point we walked by a bear den!! Finally ended the hike by camping at the turnpike shelters, which were (over) crowded. We almost didn't get a shelter.

Day 3: Hiked 7.5 miles to car. Highlight of hike was an area where we stopped and saw several small mountain streams flowing downthe hill to a larger creek, which Steve figured would be great for fishing. Trail was again wet in several spots (as it rained overnight for the third night in a row). Crossed over Turnpike on footbridge. A lot of up and down hiking over the entire three day hike. Well worth the trip. Would you like to see some photos?

Elevation change: est. at 3100-3200 ft. Max. Elev.: A little over 2900 ft.
Weather: Miserable, grey, and cool (40's-50's) the first day, mostly mild (60's) the remaining days. Rained every night, combined with snowmelt made for very wet conditions.
Maps: The Sierra Club Guide Book, was very useful in planning the trip.
Difficulty: Was very difficult. All the trail seemed to do is climb up and down ridgetops. Climbs were not long, but each was a few hundred feet and fairly steep. Each day seemed to have at least five climbs.
Distance: 10.4 + 8.3+ 7.5 = 26.2 miles
Grade: 8+ (I had a blast)

Hiked: from Visitor's Center along Valley View Trail to the Horseshoe Trial at the top of the hill, then HST to bottom and over to the Millstone Trail (loop). We got to see some nice views of the lake from the top of both hills. Brad and I also did a little geocaching, although I won't say where!! Didn't get back to the car until dark. Some photos.

Elevation gain: A couple hundred feet, twice ft.
Weather: Over cast and cold
Maps: Game Commision Map (from Visitor's Center)
Difficulty: Moderate to Mild
Distance:(approimate) approx. 5-6 miles
Grade: 5 (not many trails in the WMA)

Day 1: Steve and I camped out Thursday night in Penn Roosevelt State Park. Then started in the morning by driving to the intersection of the MST and Pennsylvania Furnace Road. The weather was perfect. The first day was spent hiking along the ridge and taking in the many splendid views in each direction. The best views were at the intersection of PA Furnace and the MST, and at two rockslide areas along the Jackson Trail. We caught a glimpse of a red fox during the late afternoon hours. We crossed Rt. 26 and followed the Jackson Trail until the second intersection of the MST, where we descended to a campsite along Shavers Creek. The hiking along the ridge was extremely rocky, especially along the Jackson Trail. First day's estimated distance was 9.5 miles.

Day 2: The second day started with an extremely steep climb back to the top of the ridge. We were greeted by a 4' long black snake just before the last rock scramble to the top. More rocky footway and several more views from along this section of the trail. We also visited the Roman Tower located along this part of the trail. Brad and Dain met us around 1:00 in the afternoon, about halfway through the day's journey. They parked at the intersection of the MST and Laurel Run Rd. After lunch, the route took us past the Little Flat Fire Tower, which was an interesting climb up, but not much to see from the top because trees obscurred the view. We followed more rocky sections of trail to some very nice overlooks of the Bear Meadows Natural Area. The best view was at mile 11.5 (from Rt. 26) at a rockslide overlook. We hiked down the Sand Spring Trail to find our second night's campsite in a nice open meadow. Brad credits me for ruining his Soy milk pudding (which I did), but that's not why he couldn't sleep! At this point. the rocky footpath had taken its toll on my sore feet. We retired after a long 11.5 miles to a rainy night.

Day 3: The last 6 miles started in the pouring rain, continuing from the previous night. We skipped breakfast in favor of some snacks and Cliff Bars and started our miserable journey home. We followed the MST into Detweiler Run Natural Area, at which point we followed Detweiler Run Road all the way up Thickhead Mountain, which was a welcome break for my tired feet from the rocky path of the MST. The climb was a couple miles long, and was pretty constant. We managed to find our way clear of the fog near the top, where we rejoined the MST before finally making our steep descent into Penn Roosevelt. As luck would have it, the clouds lifted and the sun finally came out as we made it to the car. The day turned beautiful for a few hours before finally storming badly for the drive out of Central PA. See some of the views from the trip.

Overall, this three day section of the MST was rough and fairly primitive. Most of the elevation changes along this section of the trail were done without the benefit of switchbacks. But the trail did provide beautiful scenery and several great overlooks (we saw at least a dozen or more) over a relatvely short distance. It almost got to the point where all the great views became boring!! (but not quite)! And we very rarely came across others along the trail, only at intersections of the forest roads.

Elevation gain: est. at 2300 ft. total Max. Elev.: A little over 2400 ft.
Weather: Sunny and near perfect temperatures (mid 60's to low 40's at night) the first two days to rainy and cool the last day (temp in the 60's) before finally clearing and going up into the 70's.
Maps: Mid State Trail Association Guide Book and Map Set, specifically Maps 202.2 and 203.1. I found this guide to be very helpful in planning the trip and plotting out possible camping locations.
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult, due to the ruggedness of the trail. This route was mostly level, but the few uphill sections were fairly strenuous and the downhills could be tricky.
Distance:(approimate) 9.5 + 11.5 + 6.0 = 27.0 miles
Grade: 7+ (This is a very nice area of PA)