Hiker Report:Hiker Report:
Adapted from the January-March 1997 North Star: The Magazine of the North Country Trail.
by Lois Ludwig
(Editor's note: The Allegheny National Forest is one of the more popular hikes on the trail. Last fall, Lois Ludwig walked the 95 miles of trail in the forest over a 7-day period, to qualify for the Allegheny Outdoor Club's patch for hiking all of the NCT there. This report is extracted from a letter forwarded to us by Brita Dorn).
I hiked to New York on Saturday evening and signed the register. It was the only register I found anywhere on the trail. Actually, I guess it was really a Finger Lakes Trail register, not a NCT register.
On Sunday, I met a total of 11 hikers. Three women had hiked from Willow Bay to Tracy Run on Saturday and were planning to hike back on Sunday. A group of six were hiking from Willow Bay to Sugar Bay over the weekend. The last two hikers I met were a couple who have been day hiking the trail over a period of time. They said I was the only person they had ever seen on the trail. The only hikers I saw the rest of the week were two men on Tuesday doing a loop hike with NCT and Minster Valley.
I saw a few other people besides hikers. There was a large group of people with vans camping near PA59, not on the trail. At one point there were loggers cutting trees right beside the trail. None of the blazes was missing and they did not destroy the path. There were three couple camping in the shelter one mile below Muzette Road. They told me they had arrived just before midnight. It was now 10:30 AM and they already had a large pile of beer cans. I hope they took them along when they left.
I mostly made a "leave no trace" camp in the woods away from any popular spot in order to not be discovered by partiers or unscrupulous people. One exception to this rule was my canp beside Little Salmon Creek. The weather had been fantastically beautiful all week. The warm sunny days spent walking under a blue sky with golden leaves falling all around were delightful. On Friday when I arrived at Little Salmon Creek I noted that the bridge built in 1994 was breaking down. I just finished pitching my tent when it started to rain hard. It rained from 4:00 PM to about 4:00 AM, and then continued on and off for the rest of Saturday. When I arose on Saturday morning the creek, which had not been much more than a trickle, was now a roaring stream. I was flowing over the bridge and large clumps of debris were piling up against the side.
From Sunday through Friday I was able to cross all streams on stones or logs without getting into water over my boots. Several streams had bridges that appeared to be fairly new. At Chappel Fork there was a new bridge, but to get to it I had to go around a beaver dam. I had enountered another beaver dam earlier, but it did not flood the trail. After Friday night's rain I was in water over my boot tops, not only at streams, but also in several places on the trail.
I understand that the paint blazes have been replaced by plastic markers. In several places the markers are scarce and I had to rely on faded or blacked out blazes until coming to another marker. Between Willow Bay and Sugar Bay I had to do a little searching in some spots before finding where the trail went. In a few years, when the blazes are completely gone, there could be a real problem here. Another problem area was just south of Dunham Siding. After leaving the long railroad grade, I started up the hill. Every blaze was blacked out and every plastic marker was ripped off the trees. I was nearly at the top when I decided to go back down to see if I had missed a relocation. Upon returning to the railroad grade I could find no other route, so I went back up the hill. When I got to the top the markers were again intact. A little farther south where the trail winds through some pine forests the markers are scarce and there is no definite treadway. Again, a few places required some searching to find where the trail went. I don't know the reason for switching from painted blazes to plastic markers, but it seems to me that painted blazes are easier to maintain and better for the trees. The portion of trail maintained by the Allegheny Outdoor Club was definitely in the best conditon.
I saw lots of deer, grouse, squirrels and chipmunks. I saw two kinds of owls and various woodpeckers in addition to juncos, chickadees, robins, blue jays, several types of finches, crows, and a wren. I met a porcupine who posed for me by making his quills stand up. I sat and watched him as he went about his business. I also had the opportunity to watch some of the deer before they ran away. I saw what I thought was bear dung. It was not recent. Once I thought I heard coyotes, but decided they sounded more like dogs.
I was amazed at the amount of the Hunter's Shelter that had been eaten by porcupines. Both sides and a third of the back were gone. The roof was still intact. There were droppings on the floor, too large for mouse droppings. I assume they belonged to the critters who ate the shelter.
All in all, the week was most enjoyable. At times, I felt like I was in heaven. Other times, I felt like a child playing hookey from school. shuffling through the pretty leaves in the bright sunshine brought to mind memories of carefree youth. I sang out loud with no one to hear me but God. It was an excellent way to spend my vacation.