It was a pleasant fall day when we made our second hike on the Loyalsock Trail. Beginning from the vicinity of World's End State Park on PA Route 154, we drove to Canyon Vista and parked there at LT mile 43.27. The view from the vista showed the beginning of fall color in the hills. We headed in the westbound direction on the trail since we'd previously hiked to Canyon Vista from the east. (Actually, because of the convoluted path taken by the LT in this area, our compass direction was close to due south. It made perfect sense to Mike, having grown up in Chicago where the Dan Ryan Expressway, running due north and south, is labeled as Interstate 94 west and east.)

After our experience with the steep climbs and drops between World's End State Park and Canyon Vista, this hike began with a mercifully flat segment that followed an old woods road for about 1 1/3 miles. After that, we descended about 200 ft into the headwaters of the East Branch of Double Run, about a mile upstream from the LT, RX-8, Double Run nature trail bridge crossing at mile 44.59. This segment was especially spectacular on the return trip when we were climbing upstream toward the waterfalls located here.

The trail guide described a point of interest called Mineral Spring at mile 41.58. We probably would have missed it except for the identifying sign consisting of a blue coffee can lid with yellow lettering. The sign, incidentally, read "Mineral Springs" rather than "Spring." The spring appeared quite stagnant compared to other springs we'd seen in our travels but there was no question about the mineral content. The color of the water was similar to what you'd get if you left a coffee can full of water to rust for a long time.

Leaving the Mineral Spring area, we climbed over 400 ft to Winner Nob, 1943 ft, over the next 0.71 mile. Most of the climb was gradual although the segment close to Winner Nob was a bit steeper. The top of Winner Nob was a bit of a plateau, then the trail dropped steadily to the West Branch of Double Run, elevation 1620 ft, before climbing up to the level of Double Run Road at 1720 ft, where we turned around and returned to Canyon Vista.

Footnote: After Maria was born in 1995, Mike wanted her to have the experience of completing the Loyalsock Trail, so he retraced several segments, including this one, with her in the backpack. Aimee declined the repeat hike, but she performed a valuable service by dropping the two of them off at mile 39.59 on Double Run Road so that they only needed to hike one-way. In April, 1997, Mike and Maria hiked both this segment and the subsequent one from Canyon Vista to World's End State Park, in about three hours, stopping for a lunch break at Canyon Vista. In an amusing twist, Aimee figured she'd surprise the two of them by starting to hike up from the park just before they were expected to arrive. But due to the confusing direction of the LT in the park area, she started hiking eastbound before realizing her mistake and turning around. During that time, Mike and Maria arrived at the park and started looking for her near the car and Loyalsock Creek, so they missed connecting. An hour later, just as Mike was reporting her as a missing person at the park office, she returned to the park office intending to make the same report about the two of them!