Back to the Laurel Highlands

In May, when I had about 2.5 miles to go on the 70 mile Laurel Highland Hiking Trail, I came on a stunning viewpoint overlooking the Youghiogheny River as it cut through the mountains.  Well, it would have been stunning were it not for the rain and clouds.  The mountains were covered with deciduous trees, and in my mind, I pictured what it would look like on a bluebird day at the peak of fall foliage.  So, two months ago, I put a trip together to return here during what should be the best of the fall colors - October 12 - 15.  I reserved two shelters and got a group of eight together to hike the last 31 miles of the trail.

Here was the track, hiking north to south, starting at mile post 31 and hiking to 0, camping out in trail shelters for three nights.  We started Friday afternoon and hiked about 7 miles.  We hiked about 6 miles Saturday, 13 miles Sunday, and 7 miles Monday to finish the trip.

Ah, the best laid plans!  Although this ended up being a great trip, it didn't go as planned.  I had two people drop out due to illness two days before, and a third dropped out the day before on advice from his doctor.  Then Tropical Storm Michael barreled through the afternoon and night before the hike, knocking down trees, flooding areas, and causing widespread power outages, so one more dropped out about 1:00 AM Friday.  But the rest of us got together early Friday morning, drove to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, ate lunch, and caught our shuttle with Wilderness Voyageurs to be dropped off at the Route 31 parking area about 2:15. The four of us - me, Susan, Jen, and my friend Chelle (on her first backpacking trip) - were ready for our adventure.  We asked the driver to snap a photo, and we started hiking the 7+ miles to the first campground.  The weather was quite cool but at least it was not raining.

We all liked this kind of heart shaped scar on this tree.

One thing that became very clear very fast was that the fall colors that I hoped to see were not going to be in evidence.  Everything was green.  It has been extremely warm and wet up here, and apparently, that has set back the fall colors by a lot.  That was really disappointing!

But, was the glass half full or half empty?  I say half full.  I was hiking in the mountains, camping overnight, it was a pretty area, and I was with a great group of fellow backpackers.  I could accept the lack of fall colors.

We hiked by the Seven Springs Ski Area, which is one of the few parts of the trail where one is hiking out of the deep woods.  It's very pretty there.  In your mind, view this scene as if the colors were at peak.

There were plenty of colorful leaves on the ground, and there were also some interesting mushrooms.

We got to camp in plenty of time to get a fire going.  I brought my little hatchet along, and it was invaluable in splitting up kindling to build a fire in the fireplace of the shelter.

We actually enjoyed a great fire every night on the trail.  State Parks provides huge piles of firewood for the taking, but it is green and wet, and in big chunks.  Without the hatchet, it would have been very difficult to get enough slim pieces of wood to burn.  It was fairly cold, so the fires felt great.  We kept them burning long after we retired to our sleeping bags.  And that first night on the trail, we had a very late surprise visit from a ranger coming up to us in the dark, and also enjoyed seeing fireworks through the trees from the ski area a few miles away.

It rained all night but stopped before dawn.  Otherwise, it might have been snowing.  Because we had such a short hike Saturday, we had a very leisurely morning in camp, and didn't hit the trail until about 11:00.  It was quite cool and foggy.  We would not have any good views today due to the fog.

One area had this great slot going through the rocks.  Even in the fog, it was pretty cool.  Here is Chelle, now officially a backpacker because she has a night on the trail under her belt.

Susan, Jen, and Chelle pause on the trail.

Chilly day in the mountains....

There was some lichens on the trail, like this rock tripe.

Just before getting to camp Saturday night, we had a steep little descent. It had been a good day of hiking, even though it was cold - maybe 43 degrees at the most.  A few days before, it was 85 in this area.  Because we got to camp so early, we had plenty of time to split wood, get a great fire going, eat dinner, and relax at the shelter, chatting about the hike, backpacking experiences, and sharing a joke or two.

Sunday was going to be a little warmer, maybe about 50, but we had a cool start to our 12-13 mile hike.  Jen felt quite sick, and I was concerned about her, having been really sick before on a hike.  She was a trooper, and tough, but we had a lot of miles to do.  If you have never carried a 30 - 40 pound pack for 12 miles in the mountains, trust me, it takes a lot of physical effort.  But each step gets you a little closer to your goal, even if you feel sick.  We took "pack off" breaks every 3 miles, including a long lunch break by a waterfall.

Susan and Chelle on the trail.

One of three large streams that we crossed.

I really liked this stretch of forest.  It was open and park like.

Cranberry Lake was easy on the eyes.

Every now and then, we encountered a colorful mushroom, like this one.

We had a nice lunch break, our last lunch on the trail, by this beautiful waterfall.

This rock reminded us of a strange beast or even a monster of some kind.

Another type of colorful fungi was breaking down this dead tree.

But even more colorful were these beautiful mushrooms.

Near our camp for the third and last night, we found this view of Sugarloaf Knob.  Even without fall colors, it was a beautiful vista.

At camp, we were all tired from the long day, but we got a fire going, filtered water from the stream, blew up our mattresses, cooked and ate dinner, then relaxed for a bit in the shelter, enjoying the fire and each other's stories.

Monday, our last day on the trail, was a short mileage day at just about 7 miles, but it was a bit tough.  We had to climb up and down over two mountain ranges, with steep ascents and descents at times.  Added to this was steady rain starting with about three miles to go.  You can see that the terrain is rugged and steep here.

One of the many great things about this hike is that stream crossings are frequent, and very little water needs to be carried.  At a kilogram (2.2 pounds) a liter, this can add a lot of weight during a dry hike.

Does this look like mid-October in Pennsylvania?  No, it does not.

Here I am on one of the last stream crossings.

During this short "pack off" break before the rain starts, Chelle is either (a) checking for her favorite animal, the squirrel or (b) thanking God that we have reached the top of the second mountain that we had to climb to get back to Ohiopyle.

Once again, this beautiful view of the river is both rainy and with green foliage.  I guess to see it on a sunny day with full fall colors will mean another hike back here, and I'm fine with that.

Hiking in the rain near the end of the hike.

This was, once again, a great hiking trip to the Laurel Highlands.  Our group was small, but spirited.  Everyone had fun, although hiking 31+ miles with full packs is not always without challenges, and the weather was not the perfect fall weather that we sometimes get.  But, it was a great trip all the same, and everyone on the hike did really well.  I was especially proud of my friend Chelle, doing a very significant trip for her very first backpacking trip.  At the end, we squished our way back to town, changed into clean and dry clothing, had lunch and headed back to Richmond to reunite with our spouses.