Pages From the Road Journal of Everyman's Adventure
Page 1: Pine Creek Rail Trail, North Central Pennsylvania
Day One: Tuesday, June 23, 2009
My friend Howard Abts and I put down a breakfast of Nash Brothers Fruit & Nut Granola (excellent), then cleaned up our nest and prepared to bike out the door to the Pine Creek Trail in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, the site of the southernmost trailhead. Jersey Shore is a small but very pleasant town with all the basic services - grocery, pharmacy, a hotel with dining room, the usual fast food eateries - most along Alegheny Street, the main thoroughfare in town (no cell service, though). We had arrived here the evening before after an approximately six hour drive from Toledo, mostly on I-80.
      Howard, being a Lutheran pastor, had managed to cadge a night's lodging in the local Lutheran church, so we saved a couple of hours setting up and tearing down a campsite and got an early jump. Our plan was to cover the 62 mile trail out and back in four easy days. Everybody in town knows where the trail is, so directions were easy to get and the ride to the trailhead was quick. The trail is wide and paved with cinders the whole way. There is an approximate two degree elevation gain south to north, which was noticible but not bothersome, even with a full load.
The route runs along Pine Creek, which is visible at almost all times, and parallels Route 414. The first day we passed through several small towns, including Sulpher Run, Ramsey, Waterville, Jersey Mill and Cammal. When I say small, I mean small - most "towns" on the trail were no more than a handful of houses. Most have at least minimal water and food resources, although the "town" of Blackwell had only an unmanned hut with a cooler and stack of snacks available on the honor system. We crossed the river several times, twice on very picturesque bridges, and finally stopped at Black Walnut Bottom Campground, about 25 miles along the trail. Camping areas were not crowded; in fact, the only human neighbors we had on this trip were on the first night. Camping permits are necessary for specific sites on specific nights and are available by calling 888-PA-PARKS (888-727-2757).
      One interesting feature was the plethora of kiosks along the route, explaining historical, sociological, geographic and biological highlights of the area. In particular, we were warned frequently of the probability of encountering timber rattlesnakes along the path. Timber rattlers are an endangered species, shy and mostly seen sunning on rocks well away from the trail, but they often take naps directly on the path when traffic is slow. Unfortunately, we never saw one. Traffic was fairly heavy, as it was throughout the trip, primarily with day riders. We saw only a few campers and through bikers.
       Our first campsite at Black Walnut Bottom was perfectly groomed - almost too much so. Access to the river was poor, though, and the local pump was out of order (we had plenty of advance notice on this), so we made sure to pack plenty of water in. A few camping areas, such as Black Walnut Bottom, are also accessible by car - usually a definite turnoff. However, cars were limited to a small area away from campsites, and carcampers had to walk or bike several hundred yards to the sites carrying their gear. The smell of fresh food our kayak camping neighbors brought in attracted a couple of bears, which made off with a loaf of our their bread but were otherwise not bothersome. Nevertheless, it was a considerable surprise to Howard and me when we came across the first of the uninvited guests staring us down from about 20 yards away. We did our best to look inedible and quietly took pictures. That night our food was hung very high from a very long limb from a very tall tree, and we abruptly changed our minds about keeping a couple of snacks in our tents. The bugs were fierce, too, mostly large biting flies.
      Our one-pot meal that night consisted of Zatarain's New Orleans Style Black Beans and Rice with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top (very good, very easy to make). I screwed up the rice pudding planned for dessert - I had mismeasured the ingredients at home before packing. Howard, who eats large amounts of just about anything, graciously downed his portion anyway and poured the rest on his pancakes the next morning.
      One experiment I conducted was to leave the bulky sleeping bag at home and bring only a fleece bag liner, counting on the summer weather to be kind. Most of my camping has been done in the mountains, where anything can happen, and I would never take that risk there. However, the temperature swing was about 30 degrees this night and it dropped to mid-50's by mid-dark. I had plenty of clothes to layer on for this eventuality, but had not laid them out before turning in, and they were all in my pannier, so I suffered the cold. I didn't make that mistake again, and was sufficiently warm on following nights.
Day Two: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Slow start, slept late but well, once the sun hit my tent. Pancakes for breakfast (with rice pudding for some of us). No sign of intruders during the night. On the road by 11:00. Pine Creek Gorge is called the "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania," but that is a chamber of commerce invention. The trail was pleasant but not dramatic, with a stone cliff about twenty feet high to the land side of us, well covered by foliage.
      We passed Slate Run, where there was a small carryout with basics. We encountered several men doing maintenance work on the trail (although it is so well groomed we couldn't see the difference when they were through). We would see many during our trip. They may have been a bit overzealous with the cinders, since the trail often gave a mushy ride (more for Howard, with 700 x 1 1/4" slicks, than for me with 1.6" Schwalbe Marathon Supremes). More than once a layer of soft cinders along the edge combined with the sharply curved shoulder to suck me off the trail and slide me into the ditch. No big problem, just irritating and embarrassing. There are few places to get in any real trouble.
We had conversations with a number of other riders and locals along the way - everybody was super friendly. We stopped at Cedar Run to fill up on water from the outside tap at the Cedar Run General Store, but the proprietor offered to fill our bottles in his kitchen so we wouldn't get the rubber taste from the hose. We saw several families getting amazing ice cream concoctions there, and if it weren't so soon after breakfast, I would have gotten one, too. Howard prefers a glass of water and a banana; something in his religious upbringing, no doubt. The Cedar Run Hotel is across the street and looked very inviting. Like all the little communities along the route, Cedar Run was immaculate.
      We rode past Blackwell and stopped at Hoffman Campground (our third night campsite, which we would hit on the way back) for lunch. Again, the camping area looked overly groomed. Personally, I like it to feel a little more like wilderness. After lunch we headed north again, and Howard and I both flatted out within minutes of each other. No tire problems - an old patch failed on his tube and my tube suffered a hole on the inside seam, perhaps a result of overinflating a 1" tube to fit into a 1.6" tire. We patched and rode on.
       Tiadaghton Campground was our next stop, another 25 miles or so up the trail. The pump worked here, but the water was very eggy, and we used the four liters of water we had loaded at Cedar Run instead. The river access was good here, but we didn't need it. We carried both a water filter and PotableAqua tablets, but ended up using neither. Supper was Betty Crocker Chicken Helper Creamy Chicken & Noodles without the chicken, also good and filling. Howard went for a swim in Pine Creek and pointed out a deer foraging in the water. Bugs were bad again, but everything else was under control and we survived another night.
Day Three: June 25, 2009
We rose earlier today to a breakfast of Mountain House freeze dried Mexican omlette (OK) and Betty Crocker Seasoned Skillet Hash Browns (good) and were on the road by 10:00. Our plan was to complete the trail to Route 287 (about 5 miles north of Wellsboro), turn around and come back to Hoffman Campground for our last night. We passed Leonard Harrison State Park, which had a nice waterfall, and Darling Run, which is a major auto access point. If I were to do it again, I'd turn around at Darling Run and head back. The rest of the trip north was ordinary, at best. I flatted out again (same tube problem) and replaced the tube with a bigger one. Howard flatted out twice more (same tube problem) and replaced his tube as well. Still no problems with the tires!
      At Route 287, the northern terminus of the trail, we stopped at the small farmer's market & ice cream shoppe there and I went all out with a Coke float; Howard had his glass of water and a banana. We checked out the train station about a half mile away (one train per day, apparently, although there were so many interesting cars laying about we thought it might be a railroad museum), then started back. Howard flatted a couple more times and was getting seriously indignant. He had inadvertantly mislaid the sandpaper that comes with the patch kit and his patches weren't holding because he couldn't rough the tube surface enough. To let off a little steam, we put the hammer down and hit about 14 mph for a while in a fairly deserted stretch. That was pretty good - we'd averaged about 9-10 mph over the cinder trail (not counting stops for all the little gates at crossings). But now we were heading downhill, and we sent the cinders flying.
      We hit Hoffman about 4:00 and set up camp. The pump worked and the water was very cold and with only a little iron taste. The bugs here were ferocious!! I was testing a new spray with 98% DEET, but the flies totally ignored it, attacking my ankles with abandon. The bathrooms here were large and clean, as they had been at all campsites, and this one had a trash basket, something not all campsites featured. Dinner was another packaged, off-the-grocery-shelf item: Macaroni Grill Pesto Chicken and Linguini (again, without the chicken), which was delicious.
Day Four: June 26, 2009
The night had not been so chilly, so we woke and crawled out of our blankets a little earlier than usual. In cool weather I always try to pitch my tent so it will catch the early morning sun and heat up sooner. Pancakes for breakfast again and we were off on our final run. We stopped along the way for photo opportunities and, unfortunately, for more tube flats. Howard's patches still wouldn't hold well, and he pulled off many times to add air and finally to change back to his original tube, which held until we reached the car.
      On the way, we filled our water bottles from one of the trailside pumps, which gave us excellent, cold water this time. I was a bit surprised by the varying quality of water we encountered from the pumps along the trail. It seems I always push a little harder on the last day, eager to get back, and we hit a good pace, returning to the church by 2:00. We decided to hit the road immediately instead of spending another night at the church (which had no showers).
     Although the ride was very pleasant, it was quite civilized and not at all challenging. The Pine Creek Gorge Rail Trail would be a great place to take a family bike camping trip or take a first shot at bike packing - a little taste a outdoor life without ever leaving civilization too far behind.


©2009 Bob Beach