But then I took in theview when you reach the top:a sea of never-ending green and cloudy skies. Hammock vs. Tent for an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike, Backpacker Radio #195 | Jack "Quadzilla" Jones 2.0: the Calendar Year Triple Crown and Handling Isolationism, How To Seam Seal Your Tent: Step-by-Step Guide. The Haystacks, near the end of the trail. Great trail, a little bit of everything!! Includes the entire 27-mile Old Loggers Path and 59-mile Loyalsock Trail (LT). The closure is due to major reconstruction of Rte. Farther on, the historic buildings near mile 20 offer a look into the past, and Alpine View (mile 36) and Worlds End State Park (mile 46) offer scenicvalley views. The Loyalsock Trail is a linear 59.2-mile footpath located near Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Sunday 8am - 12:30pm 12 miles I hiked this trail some 23 years ago. I thru-hiked the trail in March; it was still cold (down to 20 degrees), but there was no longer snow on the ground. I find it hilarious when people on these apps take away stars because the trail was muddy or rocky or anything else that just naturally exists in the forest and is inherently an aspect of the activity that they signed up for! The trail is known for its challenging terrain and diverse scenery, with many waterfalls, scenic streams, views, gorges, large rocks, hemlock forests, a pond, historic features, and great campsites. Just some chipmunks, frogs, newts, millipedes, and one garter snake. Unfortunately the All Trails app didnt work reliably and kept saying Opps something went wrong so I didnt use it. Reach the top with large boulders and ledges. Butternut Trail: 2.5-mile loop, more difficult hiking, orange blazes. One nasty boulder climb. Shout out to Aaron, hope the rest of your hike was lovely. It was a great trail! Trail running: The LT and connecting trails host a couple of trail run races every year. I saw no bears or rattlesnakes, though I saw one rattlesnake skin. Loyalsock State Forest and Link Trail Map and Guide (PDF) District Trails Blessing Mountain Trails Map and Guide (PDF) Fern Rock Nature Trail Map and Guide (PDF) Haystack Rapids Trail Map and Guide (PDF) Jacoby Falls Trail Map and Guide (PDF) Old Loggers Path Trail Map (PDF) Rock Run Valley Trails Map and Guide (PDF) The Loyalsock State Forest includes over 114,000 acres of state forest spanning sections of Pennsylvania's "Endless Mountains". The trail immediately starts off with a bang, gaining 1,200 feet in elevation from the western terminus to about mile 2.5. If I do trail again I would take 5 days so I could enjoy the scenery a bit more. Day 3 was the big push potential campsite at 42 or 47 miles. Beautiful trail overall especially the 2nd half. My two cents: A local told me that the Lower Alpine view is known for having many, many rattlesnakes so dont recommend camping there. Althoughhh there are tons of blueberry bushes along the way so snag some handfuls of these while youre walking for a quick treat! Completing 16 miles, we set up camp away from the ridge due to winds, ate dinner without much conversation and we were both in bed again, before 8:00 p.m., neither one of us touching our books. Day 2 was a lovely hike through Kettle Creek, up to High Knob, along Ketchum Run, up to the Alpine Views and on to the border of WESP. This is a very hard trail but worth it! Definitely use some form of bug protection and check regularly for ticks! Keystone State. They lead to the LT or Red X Trails and points of interest. So nice to see a familiar face. The Alpine Club of Williamsports Loyalsock Trail Guide is a must-have, and comes in a rustic-looking cover. Neither one of us slept well because of the wind and a damn crow woke us both up at 5:00 a.m.. On the trail by 7:30 a.m., we headed into Worlds End State Park. The Loyalsock Trail joins the Loyalsock Canyon Vista Trail and both trails continue north for 1.33 miles to Loyalsock Canyon Vista. Primitive camping is permitted on State Forest land. They took us to the LT and I remember talking about it with the staff that was taking us on this expedition. By Leah Wynalek, 2021 Loyalsock Trail Hiker. After walking another quarter of a mile, going way too far from where he shouldve been, we turned around. Reach stunning Canyon Vista. The bridle trail consists of two 25-mile loops, referred to as the East Loop and the West Loop, each beginning and ending at the trailhead along World's End Road (SR 3009). A trail map is available from: Loyalsock State Forest 6735 Route 220 Dushore, PA 18614 (570) 946-4049 DCNR Loyalsock State Forest Information DCNR Old Loggers Path Information At mile 46, we left the state park through High Rock Vista. Trickiest part is grades and rocks. In summer, it can be very humid and buggy. Challenging and beautiful. Overgrowth: In less-traveled western parts of the trail you should expect dense rhododendron, overgrown grass, and other vegetation. 6735 Route 220 Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Check with the Pennsylvania Game Commissionfor exact dates. After a tenth of a mile the climb leveled out a bit and became more gradual. Day 2 is more like a moderate. We didnt include the first five miles today, as we both had hiked them a few days prior. The trail leaves the road to the right, climbs, then enters a glen with a small stream. It is a small stream; you can expect the best flow when the Loyalsock Creek is flowing over 3.0 feet on the USGS gauge. When I think back on what I might have done differently for this trip, all I can think of is I might have taken just a bit longer to linger at some of the truly special places along the way. These rate a trail sites can be funny sometimes because, like with all rating apps, its all about subjective experiences. As everyone says, this is indeed a very well marked trail--it's hard to get off track if you're paying attention. It is easily accessible, and fairly a gentile trail, however, the beginning is still a relatively rocky and will require some initial effort. Following is info via the Races' Facebook link. Pass a campsite and cross Dry Run Road. I didnt know it back then, but the guide who lead the hike actually wrote the book on low impact camping and was a world renown rock climber named Jay Whitecloud. I started calling his name and there he was! Group tenting by reservation is at LT mile 46.17. If I do this trail again I'll probably wear higher ankle boots (the ones I wore were low) to provide more stability on the rocky portions. Descend on the road. Highly recommend. So many beautiful things today. These consists of 50K and 100K Trail Runs, which begin and end at Worlds End State Park. Definitely overgrown in some areas but trail was well marked. I think the best time to hike this trail is from late September to mid-October. If you plan to hike in this area, please follow the existing route (in spite of the mud). Pennsylvania DCNR Loyalsock State Forest. Rode Falls is maybe the best of the trip, with a swimmable basin at the bottom. When the trail intersects the rail road grade, you can turn left and take the path with the yellow LT blazes to the rapids. Going down was harder, with several slips and some longer scary slides. Direction of hiking: Most hikers go from west to east. Also, I wouldve brought a bit more tape for my blisters. Thruhiking the LT will be an experience you wont forget and is a perfect prep hike for longer trails, like the Long Trail or Appalachian Trail. Angel Falls, reached via a short side trail at mile 23, is a must-visit. This 59-mile trail passes through the rugged forested mountains and valleys of the Loyalsock State Forest. Thanks for your attentiveness and patience during this project. Maintained and managed by: Alpine Club of Williamsport, Trail guide and maps: available for sale from the Alpine Club of Williamsport. My eyes were filled with tears of pain, happiness, and exhaustion, I knew was what waiting for me in that parking lot. We smelled smoke from a fire, so we knew he was close. Wonderful views. Be sure to properly hang or store your food overnight. The dirt road follows the Towanda Path, an Iroquois trade route later used by soldiers in the War of 1812, and runaway slaves. Climb out of the gorge and then descend to Falls Run with possible camping. -Bring as many pairs of socks as days you're planning to be on the trail. The state forest from between miles 4 and 14 is truly special. From there you descend into a flat rhododendron tunnel and softer sections of pine and stream before a roadwalk skirting private land. This detour will be due to the closure of Rte. Horseback riders will find that both of the 25- mile loops offer many hours of excellent riding through a wide variety of landscapes and forest types and conditions. You should be physically fit to hike the rough terrain. ALLTRAILS and the AllTrails Mountain Design are registered trademarks of AllTrails, LLC in the United States as well as certain other jurisdictions. We ended up finishing in 3.5 days (we were done by 4:00 p.m. on the last day). From mile 14 to mile 20 you are hiking on a private road and aside two vistas, the fist 14 miles do not provide much else. Took us all of 6 days to complete from start to finish and I hope to do it again with my kids in the future. For more detail, note the following course map: On Saturday, June 24, the Old Logger's Path welcomes the Sharp Top 25/50K. Expect to pay around $40/person for a pickup at one trailhead and a drop-off at the other. Started at 220 on the road at Mead rd entrance- Overgrown in July - waist high ferns - overgrown trails made it tough to run ( cuz you could see your feet) views were spectacular ( so were the climbs to get to the views) finishing on Rte. When he reached the bottom he had skin hanging from his fingers and palms. The LT starts on PA Route 87, 8.7 miles north of the Rt. Soften up, trust yourself some more. The LT enters private land, camping is not permitted for over six miles and there is about a 5 mile roadwalk. One time that is explicitly NOT recommended is during bear and deer hunting season, which stretches from the Monday before Thanksgiving to mid-December. The Flora was amazing. Bears: Loyalsock State Forest is black bear territory, so follow regular precautions and youll have no problems. Climb from the vista and then make a very steep, rocky descent to High Rock Run; High Rock Falls is below. More Information: All in all, the Loyalsock was a nice mini thru hike for a pandemic. The trail saves the best for the end, winding along Loyalsock Creek. On the hottest day that year we covered 15 miles with our packs on. Loyalsock Trail is displayed on the "Eagles Mere" USGS topo map quad. I have to finish. In Worlds End State Park, camping is permitted only at designated campsites. Smith Knob Vista is really nice, cross some nice creeks but then when you pass the Sammy Millers farm clearing its private land for nearly 7 miles. Make sure you are in great shape because I would rate this closer to difficult versus moderate. No open fires on private land or at any time between the Iron Bridge (LT mile 55.33) and Mead Road parking (mile 59.21). There will be signs posted at the affected waypoints, so please be alert to that signage when hiking the Link Trail in that area. 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