May 13-14, 2006 -- West Rim Trail
Since I just recently completed my Masters degree, we decided it was about time to complete our first major hike of the new year. After much research, Fidget (yes, kc now has a trail name) found the West Rim Trail which borders the West edge of Pennsylvania's "Grand Canyon".
This 30 mile trail looked like the perfect 2.5 day trip. Unfortunately, I could not get Friday off of work, so we decided to take a couple shortcuts and turn it into a 26 mile weekend trip. All worked out great and we had a fabulous time testing out new gear for both of us!
Day 1: May 13
On Friday night, we had driven down to Ansonia near the Northern terminus of the trail and stayed at a small family place called The Colton Point Motel. They had a small restaurant which served very good ham and cheese omlettes -- a great way to start our hiking!
After breakfast, we drove down to the Pine Creek Outfitters who, for a fee, would shuttle us to the Southern terminus after dropping our car off at the Northern terminus. Actually, we had them drop us about a quarter mile from the Southern terminus on the Mid State Trail.
Start of Our Hike (Mid State Trail)
Following this, we hooked up with the West Rim Trail after about two miles and cut out close to a mile of hiking as well as the largest hill on the WRT.
Meeting up with the WRT
It was a very nicely graded trail surrounded by beatiful scenery.
Rock Outcropping
We had a great day of hiking with some scattered thunder showers. It seems that when we plan a trip, expect rain. We hid from the worst of the downpour under an obliging pine tree -- which did not keep us from getting soaked. The afternoon brought pretty decent weather and even some sun. Just as we were starting to get tired, we hit a 0.5 mile road walk. Luckily it was a dirt road so the feet didn't take too much of a pounding. Shortly after we re-entered the woods, we found a nice spring and made our dinner. We feasted on Stove Top stuffing with instant gravy and a very large packet of chicken. Very tasty!
Mmm... Dinner!!!
We packed up from dinner expecting to go another mile to a marked camp site. The weather, on the other hand, had other ideas. At the first sign of a sprinkle and a level spot off the trail, we decided to set up camp. We believe we were somewhere near mile marker 17. These markers are from North to South, and since we were hiking from South to North, they ended up telling us how far we had to go. However, the map listed miles, the trail signs (what few there were) listed kilometers and the guide book didn't agree with either.
At any rate, Fidget set up her brand new Hennessey Hammock Expedition Asym and I set up my Tarptent Rainbow which I am reviewing for Backpackgeartest.org. (My reports can be seen here.)
Tarptent Rainbow
Rain came during the night, but both shelters kept us dry! However, we did find that the wind really made the hammock quite chilly. I'm guessing the temperature dropped to the low 40's. The Rainbow did quite well, but there was a decent amount of condensation. This is most likely due to the complete lack of any breeze after the storm(s) passed. Also worth noting is that when setting up a hammock quickly, it is still important to ensure the head end and the foot end are level. Apparently, we did not succeed with this as Fidget kept ending up in a ball at the foot end. I, on the other hand, found my selection of tent site a little bit lacking in the level category. Let me tell you, a sleeping pad will migrate to the low end of the tent. While I never exactly reached "ball" status, it was a somewhat restless night. Oh well, live and learn.
Day 2: May 14
While the hiking was beautiful on both days, today offered more vistas of the actual gorge. After packing up our gear a bit late (not sure the actual time as I don't like watches or schedules while on "vacation") we soon passed a picnic area with an old fashioned hand pump. YAY! No filtering this morning!
A couple miles later, we came to a beautiful vista where we pulled off the trail to much on beef jerkey and cashews. The views were amazing.
Happy Fidget
The next 4 miles we spent traversing hollows. While the trail was never overly hilly, there were usually short steep sections at the point of the hollow.
Accross a Hollow
Apparently jerkey and cashews didn't hold Fidget over too well, so after a few hollows we stopped for some lipton noodles. True hiker food.
Scenic Lunch Spot
After finishing the stretch of hollows, the trail headed away from the gorge. At this point, we took the Semans trail as a shortcut which cut about 2 miles off our trip. I was starting to worry about finishing with daylight as we were uncertian of the time and the sky was full of dark clouds. Luckily, the trail joined an old logging road which was nicely graded and we were able to make some good time. After another couple miles, the trail followed a series of beautiful lookouts over the gorge. These were breathtaking for multiple reasons. First, they really were beautiful. Second, I hate heights and in places, the trail was only a foot or so wide with a dropoff to one side. Growing more concerned with daylight, we were lucky enough to get off the edge of the "Grand Canyon" with plenty of sun left in the sky.
The last two miles of the trail descend from the rim of the gorge. At times, these descents can really pound the feet. About 0.4 miles from the end, with just enough daylight left, we were detoured onto a paved road to give a new eagles nest a wide birth. While I understand eagles have the right to nest where they please, the road walking was less than appreciated by our tired feet.
Overall, we think we hiked close to 26 miles. This trail was beautiful and marked quite well. There are some sections which were somewhat overgrown, but nothing too bad. Also, water was quite plentiful. We both highly recommend the West Rim Trail.