[at-l] Last weekend

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Last week Sparky asked about the Quehanna Trail in PA.  Last weekend, Ginny 
and I went for a walk there.  This morning Ginny put a trip report on 
another forum.  I see no reason to add very much to it - except that she 
forgot to include the Goodyear blimp that flew directly overhead, headed NE 
at about noon.  Other than that, I'll just forward what she wrote.
Walk softly,
Jim

________________________________________________________________

For the long weekend, my husband and I decided to do a long loop on the 
Quehanna
Trail.  We had done it before, about nine years ago, but we discovered that 
a
lot can change in nine years.  It used to be the QT was an easy cruising 
trail,
well maintained, and one we would recommend whole-heartedly to beginner
backpackers who wanted a first long trip.  It is still a good trail, but 
thanks
to some relocations and a surprising lack of maintenance (the trail has a
maintaining organization, but they evidently have not been out for a while),
it's not nearly as easy as it used to be, at least not the eastern loop 
which we
hiked this weekend.

The whole QT is 73 miles, but it can be broken up into somewhat smaller 
loops
with the use of cross connectors and ski trails.  We did a 42 mile loop,
starting and ending at Wycoff Run road and using the main 9 mile 
cross-connector
in the middle.  It was cold (42) when we started on Saturday, but sunny, 
Sunday
was warm (70's) and sunny, Monday was rainy, but not all that cold.  The 
trail
is really mixed, with some very steep climbs and descents, some easy 
wandering
on old grassy woods roads and old railroad grades, lots of blueberry filled
meadows and mountain laurel that is just about to bloom, open hardwood 
forests,
hemlock groves, birch groves and even a white pine plantation.  With all the
rain in PA this spring, the ground was very very wet and all the streams 
were
running.  Like a lot of northern PA trails you follow streams up to a ridge,
then walk along a ridge for a while, then descend along another stream for a
while, then climb back up a cascading stream to another ridge.  If you like
waterfalls and rhododendron, it is beautiful walking.

We followed footsteps the whole way and saw several cars at parking areas, 
but
only ran into two other backpackers all weekend.  We did see 9 deer and a
curious raccoon who came to visit while we were eating lunch.  It felt very
remote and wild, and was exactly what I needed right now.  We pushed 
ourselves a
bit harder than expected (17 1/2 miles the first day, 15 1/2 the second, 8 
the
third) but that felt good too as it has been several months since our last
backpacking trip. Nice to know we can still do it.  We still have the other 
50
miles to do (40 miles of the main trail plus the cross-connector).  I wonder 
if
it's changed as much as the eastern loop?