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Saturday, June 28th 2003
When we got to GF SP, it was packed with people camping in advance of the 4th of July, and since I forgot about the beach there, it was truly a tourist trap. After talking to an exceptionally helpful ranger, we decided to camp at Penn Roosevelt State Park instead. After we headed over Broad Mountain via Seeger Road to get there, it seemed quite empty, which was perfect for our plans. We parked my car, left the non-essentials and took Tom's Jeep CJ to Little Flat. While we had a small amount of concern that the Jeep would still be there, we parked it way off behind the antennas and microwave towers and set off South and East on the Mid State Trail. After about a hundred yards or so, we bumped into a fellow laying rocks and mortar. Asking what he was building, it turned out to be Rich Scanlon, a name I was familiar with from the Keystone Trail Association's newsletters. My memory now jogged, Mr. Scanlon asked, "Ever hear of Tom Thwaites?" I had, of course, having read several of his books and hiked a fifty miles or so of his trails. The monument was to honor him, and I asked about how to volunteer, since it was obvious that more work would have to be done. As Mr. Scanlon put it, it was close enough to be seen, but too far off the road to be vandalized. Off to the Indian Wells Vista . . . Through the ridge I had grown to hate, we made out way to the Indian Wells Vista, taking in the minor vistas along the way. Pedro and Tom didn't seem to be as impressed with the view as I was, but I still think it's one of the best vistas I've seen, rivaling the best in Shenandoah National Park. A few hundred feet past the vista is a nice campsite on Big Flat, and we took a relaxing half hour lunch--using a chair that was thoughtfully provided by some fireworks-burning, pizza-eating litterbugs. After chowing down three MREs, we headed back onto the trail. Pedro got three of my favorite MRE components, and I'm sure he didn't appreciate them like I would have :-( After about 15 steps, I did a face plant after stubbing an ingrown toenail on an unfortunately placed root. I actually put a dent in my Altama jungle boot and had to take it off to affect repair. After popping out the dent, it was back to classic Pennsylvania ridge hiking. After what seemed like several hours, (in reality, about an hour) we got to Bear Meadows Road, where there are some camp sites used by car campers. The trek down that hill is a long one, and after hiking as far as we did, it really pounded my knees. By the time we got to Detweiler Run, I was ready for a break. We did see a Ruffed Grouse on the way down, and that was a nice little distraction. All tolled, we saw the state flower (Mountain Laurel), the state tree (Hemlock), and the state bird (Ruffed Grouse). There's a nice little area near the intersection of the MST and the Greenwood Spur that has a small waterfall, and a campsite. I decided to test out my Pur Hiker water filter there, since it's known to have various bugs like giardia cysts in it. Well, I've used the filter before, but what made it challenging this time were the myriad mosquitos nipping away at us. Right as we were leaving, a bunch of beer-carrying hippies passed us by. They looked completely out of touch with the area, seeming to be more like 'fresh air' kids than hikers. Since they were looking to spend the night in a mosquito infested swamp, I couldn't help but laugh. I'm pretty sure there's not supposed to be any camping in the natural area, but not only were these kids spending the night, but there were a couple of guys past middle age getting ready to bunk down a few hundred yards upstream. By the time we made it to the natural gas line, I was pretty bushed, but this is where the trail turns into the rockiest thing on the planet. I hiked this section in and back from Penn Roosevelt almost exactly two years prior, and I knew that up ahead was a foot-mushing rock bed called the Reichley Brothers Tramway. The tramway is the ruins of an old rail bed used to transport timber to the various iron furnaces in the early 20th century. While the tramway might have served nicely with a generous topping of dirt and rails, both of those had long since disappeared, much like the fabled 'lost locomotive' rumored to be lurking somewhere behind the jungle of rhododenrons. After an eternity, we reached the trail sign that pointed up Thickhead Mountain. At this point, my thighs were cramping up, and I wasn't looking forward to climbing a 400 foot hill. Since I started the Atkins diet a few months ago, I didn't bring my usual gallon or so of Gatorade. This was a mistake, since my thighs were screaming for minerals. In the future, I'll be sure to bring some Propel or eat a bunch of bananas before an excursion of this length. As it was, I popped about 5 Advils and lugged my weary limbs up the hill. Pedro (the crazy Mexican) and Tom were having a blast laughing at the old man behind them as they floated up the hill. Crossing Thickhead Mountain Road, the trail leveled off and we started the long descent to Penn Roosevelt. We stopped for a breather about halfway down. At 8:30, right on schedule, we started to make camp for the evening. Had the mountain laurels not been so pretty, this wouldn't have been such a nice hike, but I still think it was a nice last-minute alternative to what I planned. Having packed some nice black angus steaks in the car, we had a nice evening of relaxation by the fire, leaving around noon the next day. I only wished that I hadn't inadvertently left my air mattress at home! Photos coming soon . . .
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