|
On the sunny, warm summer day of August 19, 1995, six
weeks and one day after Maria was born, we prepared to take our first
hiking trip as a family of three. Mike had been practicing carrying
Maria in the front carrier around
the neighborhood back home, and had taken her as far as work and back,
2.6
miles in each direction, on more than one occasion. The segment we were
hiking this day was relatively short, a little over 3 miles one-way,
and had the option of an even shorter and flatter return trip using the
Red
X trail currently numbered RX-8. (It was RX-10 before the
renumbering in 2004-05.)
At the time of Maria's first hike, the trailhead
marking the end of the LT was located on US Route 220, just south of
the bridge over Loyalsock Creek. The current location of the
trailhead is at a parking lot on Mead Road, 0.2 miles from Route
220.
At that time, the first half mile was on a level section of the LT that
followed an
old railroad grade. Our hiking experiences on the LT had taught us to
cherish "old woods road" segments since they were unlikely to be steep,
and "old railroad
grade" segments were even less so. A Red X trail descended to the
right
to access Dutchman Falls shortly after we began. (I'm not sure this
trail is currently blazed as Red X any more as the new trailhead at
Mead Road bypasses some of this area.) We declined the
opportunity
to visit the falls since the trail guide described "a steep, rocky
descent
and ascent." At mile 58.74, the LT turned right off the railroad grade
while RX-8 continued straight ahead.
The trail descended moderately steeply at first, but only dropped about
100 ft to get to the level of Loyalsock Creek at mile 58.62. For almost
the next mile and a half, the LT followed the creek closely,
occasionally
rising a few dozen feet above it into the woods then returning back to
creek
level. Any concern that Maria would object to her first hike was
dispelled
as she proceeded to fall asleep in the front carrier.
The trail reached the vicinity of the Haystacks, a rock formation along
the creek at mile 57.23, elevation 1415 ft. Like Canyon Vista, the
Haystacks are accessible by car (from the opposite bank of the creek)
and they were one of the most crowded points we saw along the LT.
There's no question they were the loudest area we encountered along the
trail. We could hear people yelling from quite a distance away. There
were a lot of swimmers and sunbathers out that day because of the warm
weather. We would advise people who are looking for a peaceful,
solitary hiking experience not to do this segment on a warm summer day.
After the Haystacks, the LT ascended steeply from creek level back up
to the railroad grade, an elevation change of 185 ft in about 1/4 mile.
There was a trail register part way up, and Mike was extremely
disappointed that the pen was dry, preventing us from registering
Maria's first hike on the LT. Reaching the railroad grade and RX-8 at
mile 56.97, the LT turned right
and followed along this level path for the remainder of our hike to
mile
marker 56, as far as we'd gotten from the opposite direction on our
last
hike before Maria was born. After stopping for lunch -- Maria continued
to
nap even after Mike took the carrier off and laid her on a rock -- we
returned
back via RX-8, avoiding the descent to and ascent from the creek, and
cutting
0.2 mile off the distance.
It was over 11 years before Mike and Maria returned to
hike the approximately six mile segment from the Mead Road trailhead to
Sones Pond on October 10, 2005. This followed a ten mile hike the
previous day from High Knob to Double Run Road, well, a nine mile LT
hike followed by one mile along the road to the mistakenly placed car.
A big change at the beginning of the hike was the
relocation of the trailhead, which had been on US Route 220 in 1995, to
Mead Road just off Route 220. There was a parking lot and a
restroom building. What modern conveniences!
On this fall weekday, the Haystacks were quiet and
peaceful unlike our previous summer weekend visit. Mike had Maria
pose for a number of photos there before the two of them continued
uphill for the 185 ft elevation gain, past mile marker 57, to rejoin
the railroad grade and continue toward mile 56. On this day, the
two of them continued past the mile marker for the final destination of
Sones Pond. So no lying on cold hard rocks this time!
Footnote: Maria awoke and started to fuss a little
bit just as we were
finishing the hike. We put her back in the car seat, drove about 10
minutes
to Eagles Mere, and Aimee found a concealed spot near the gazebo in the
park
where she could nurse and we could change her diaper. So having an
infant
did change some things!
|
  Left: Maria's
first moment on the LT occurred on August 19,
1995, at the US Route 220 trailhead, mile 59.28. She was six weeks and
one day old, and we subtitled her first hike "Six miles at six weeks."
Right: Mike and Maria at
LT mile marker 58 in Sullivan
County, Pennsylvania. Many of her early hiking trips consisted of long
naps in the front carrier. How much would you enjoy hiking if someone
carried you around to see all
sorts of interesting places?
|
  Left: Aimee and
Mike had gotten to
mile 56 from the other direction on their last hike before Maria was
born. Reaching this point meant that the two of them had hiked a nearly
25 mile connected segment of the LT from Jack's Window, mile 34.54, to
the Route 220 trailhead, mile 59.28.
Right: A large flat stone
provided a convenient stopping off
point for Aimee's lunch of trail
mix. Mike took off the front carrier but Maria continued napping with
the
carrier protecting her from the hard, cold rock. Every time Mike looks
at this photo, he hears his mother's voice, "You mean you laid that
poor baby on a rock!"
|
 Left: Maria,
still resting on the rock near mile 56. This initial trip convinced us
that
hiking with an infant presented no major difficulties. (No more so than
doing anything else with an infant after being married without children
for
12 years.) Have you ever seen anyone look so peaceful while lying on
top
of a cold, hard rock?
Below right: The new parking lot
and restroom building at Mead Road trailhead was a welcome addition for
our October 10, 2005 hike.
|
 Maria
descending over some large boulders just after mile 58.74. The
trail has turned off a railroad grade and is descending to Loyalsock
Creek. She had an easier time eleven years before at the age of
six weeks when Mike carried her over the boulders.
|
 Right:
Another pose of
Maria at the Haystacks, with the fall color visible in the background.
Below left: Here's a
closeup of a smiling Maria at the Haystacks, along Loyalsock Creek near
mile 57.23.
|
 Rapids on
Loyalsock Creek as it passes through the Haystacks. Quoting from
the trail guide, "The Burgoon Sandstone, which underlies the creek for
a short distance here, is a highly resistant, hard rock that has eroded
slowly to form the large 'haystack-like' formations."
|
 This
interesting waterfall occurred at a rock slab on the south side of the
trail at mile 56.97. This point was just after we had ascended
from the Haystacks along Loyalsock Creek back up to the railroad grade
followed by RX-8. It probably doesn't run so much if at all in
dry weather. The guide says, "On the right of the trail is a
large rock slab which, in wet weather, is a waterfall."
|
|
