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On our first Memorial Day weekend living in
Pennsylvania,
we drove up north to begin hiking the Loyalsock Trail. Unsure where to
find it, we drove up PA Route 87 from Montoursville figuring that the
LT could be found near Loyalsock Creek which followed the road. 30
miles later, we were in Forksville, still following the creek but
having
seen no sign of the trail. (It took us many trips up Route 87 before
we learned how to find the trailhead at mile 0.0) We turned right on PA
Route 154 and reached
World's End State Park in about two miles.
We knew the trail ran through the park, and when we stopped at the park
office, there were trail markers right outside it. Purchasing a copy of
the LT trail guide allowed us to determine that we were at
mile 45.96 and that hiking across Route 154 would take us east to west
in the direction of Canyon Vista.
After crossing Route 154, the LT rises 280 ft in about 1/3
mile to World's End Vista where it intersects the World's End trail
maintained by the park. Following that trail bypasses nearly eight
miles of the LT in the Canyon Vista and Double Run areas and returns
to the LT in about three miles, at LT mile 37.77. We stayed on the
LT, and were relieved when it flattened out while following an old
woods
road.
As we approached Double Run Road, the LT descended, crossed the road,
and continued to descend to the West and East Branches of Double Run.
From a high point of 1460 ft, we dropped 300 ft in just under 1/2 mile,
crossed bridges shared with the Red X and Double Run trails, then began
to climb again.
In about 1/3 mile, we regained nearly all the elevation we
had lost. This was followed by about 1/2 mile of flat hiking, and
then, one of the most difficult uphill climbs we encountered on the LT
-- how fitting that we did it the first hike.
From mile 43.84 to 43.70, the trail climbs 240 ft up an old lumber drag
in about 1/7 mile. We had to grab branches, logs, rocks, or anything
that would allow us to pull ourselves upward. After reaching Cold Run
Road at mile 43.70, the ascent became more gradual to a high point for
the day's hike of 1800 ft near the intersection of RX-6 at 43.47 in the
vicinity of some interesting rock formations including one
named "Suicide Drop."
The remainder of the hike was virtually all downhill. We reached Canyon
Vista, one of the more crowded areas along the trail because it is
accessible by car, enjoyed the view and a lunch we had packed, then
began our return trip via the Red X and Double Run trails. This route
was substantially shorter than the LT had been. As we repeatedly
observed during our LT hikes, the trail intentionally follows a
convoluted route to incorporate points of interest but even more so, to
provide a challenging hiking experience with numerous elevation
changes, some extremely steep. In other words, the LT goes out of its
way to climb hills merely "because they are there."
The downhill stretch was no bargain either! The other trails didn't
have the extremely steep segments of the main LT, but once we began
following Double Run, they picked their way over huge boulders as we
traversed along a series of waterfalls. We rejoined the main LT at mile
46.11, near Loyalsock Creek at the state park.
When Mike and Maria repeated this segment as part of
a hike from Double Run Road to World's End State Park in April, 1997,
it was the first long hike the two of them had done by themselves.
Aimee dropped them off at the LT crossing of Double Run Road at
mile 39.59, then
Mike carried Maria in the backpack for 6 1/2 miles, with one stop at
Canyon
Vista for a lunch break and to let Maria stretch her legs.
By 2002, Maria was big enough to do that same entire
hike on her own two feet, for 6 1/2 miles. It was the longest
hike she had ever done at that point. Although we did it one-way
in the
downhill direction, it was by no means an easy hike because of the
steep
elevation changes.
Footnote: After completing the entire LT in November,
1996, Mike insisted on taking Maria over the segments he and Aimee had
hiked before Maria came on the scene. Aimee was less excited about the
idea, so they compromised. Mike agreed Aimee did not have to hike with
Maria and him -- after all, she'd already finished the trail -- and
Aimee
agreed to let Mike redo the segments hiked before Maria was conceived,
but not the ones they'd hiked while Aimee was pregnant -- after all,
she'd carried Maria on those segments, just not in the backpack like
Mike did after Maria was born. Mike and Maria hiked this segment as
part of a one-way hike from mile 39.59 to 45.96 during April, 1997.
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Below: Aimee crossing the foot bridge at West Branch
Double Run, mile 44.61. The bridge is shared by RX-6 and Double Run
trail. The photo does not convey the uneasy nature of this bridge which
tilted and leaned as we crossed it in 1992.
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Right: The condition of
the bridge over East Branch Double Run
seems much better than its "twin" above. In October, 2002, Maria
and Mike hiked 6 1/2 miles of the LT including this segment. By
this
time, the former West Branch bridge seems to have been replaced by a
narrow
log.
Below left:
About 2/10 mile before reaching Canyon Vista, near
the high elevation point of our 1992 hike at about 1800 ft, we hiked
past some unusual rock formations. The rock wall here is actually
opposite Suicide Drop at mile 43.46.
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Below right: Yes, you can
reach Canyon Vista by car over one-way gravel roads in 5 minutes or so,
but it's not the same as hiking the
2.7 mile segment of the LT from the park office. As the crow flies,
it's
less than a mile to the park office.
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Left: When Maria and Mike
reached Canyon Vista on their 2002 hike, they were about halfway
through the 6 1/2 miles from Double Run Road to World's End State Park.
Maria completed the entire hike on her own two feet, making it the
longest hike she'd even done on her own feet at the
age of just over seven.
Below:
A much younger Maria first stopped at Canyon Vista in 1997 when
she was 21 months old. Mike carried her in the backpack for the
entire 6 1/2 mile hike, but he let her out for a few minutes when
they stopped for lunch. Just looking at the way she climbed on
the
boulders, you could tell even then that she would grow up to be a
terrific
hiker!
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Below: In another scene from the same 1997 trip,
Maria is standing
in the vicinity of Canyon Vista, drinking from her "sippy cup."
Approaching just behind her are a group of people on horseback.
Maria greatly enjoyed seeing the horses.
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 Returning from Canyon Vista to
the park, we followed Red X Trail RX-6 and Double Run nature trail.
These paralleled Double Run, a small tributary of Loyalsock Creek, for
about 1/2 mile through a series of waterfalls. |
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