Last Words on the Quehanna Trail

I went hiking in the Moshannon State Forest in Pennsylvania, which encompasses the Quehanna Trail and the Quehanna Wild Area. I brought with me my trusty Mead Five Star notebook and wrote down my experience. Welcome to my world.

The Quehanna Wild Area is the largest Wild Area in Pennsylvania. This is a beautiful, wild, remote mountainous area full of wildlife, including an abundance of coyote, bear, porcupine, bobcat, and rattlesnakes. There are approximately 700 elk in the area. There have been mountain lion sightings here, although the Game Commission disputes the hundreds of mountain lion sightings in the North-Central PA region. The buzz is, if an endangered animal is roaming these mountains and the Game Commission confirms this, they would most likely face some hunting restrictions and lose some prime hunting land. Of course they dispute the sightings...

Monday
Today, I decided to hike the Marion Brooks Loop Trail. At first, I was going to hike the Wykoff Run trail. I was parked in the parking area off of the Quehanna Highway near Wykoff Run Road getting my daypack ready, when a guy pulled into the parking area. He brought his dog with him, a black lab. The dog was so excited to go hiking, he was panting and crying with excitement, just like my Blue and Thunder used to do. The memories of my baby boys broke my heart, and I just crumbled inside. I wish my baby boys Blue and Thunder were with me. At least he didn't have a Daughter with him. I would crumble even more. I have to keep pushing on and not dwell on the emptiness inside my heart.

I just couldn't hike there. I got in my car and drove north up to the Marion Brooks Natural Area several miles up the Quehanna Highway. It's such a beautiful place, and I've never hiked in this area before. I parked at the Marion Brooks monument. It is so beautiful here! The area is full of white birch that give off a dream-like luminescent glow. The glow is captivating me as I stare into the white forest. I forced myself to move on to the trail. Time to hike.

I hiked up the gravel and dirt road to the trail and turned into the forest. I'm only about a half mile into the forest. Ahead is the Quehanna Eastern Cross-Connector Trail. The Marion Brooks Loop makes a right on that trail going South, eventually crossing the Quehanna Highway, a remote two-lane road that bisects the Quehanna Wild Area. The trail then loops around on another trail, eventually taking you back to the Marion Brooks monument. It's only about a three mile hike, and a good start for my hiking trip.

It sure is quiet here. The middle of nowhere! These peaceful mountains are what I was looking for. I wish I could somehow capture this moment and put it in a jar to take home with me. Then when I'm down, I can just open the jar and magically appear in these tranquil mountains. A Raven scout just landed in a tree next to me. The Raven is the smartest bird in the world. I can see him staring down at me with one eye. I wonder what he sees.

Sunset is in about three hours. At this rate, I'll probably be hiking in the dark, but I'm always up for that. Check out Memoirs from the Mountains if you haven't already. The challenge of hiking these remote mountain forests, overcoming my pain and fear, helps me deal with life. This area is so wild and remote, it should be really exciting! Time to move on.

I stopped in the middle of a beautiful red pine forest. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my entire life! I look up into the blue sky through the pine trees, and it's so colorful it looks like animation. I can stare through the trees forever. I scared off a nice-sized bobcat hiding in the bushes when I entered this part of the forest. The bobcat was the biggest one I've ever seen, but I haven't seen the elusive bobcat much.

I never see anyone else when I hike these remote trails up here in North-Central Pennsylvania. I'm always alone, just me and the wild animals. That's another reason why I didn't hike the Wykoff Run Trail after that guy and his dog showed up. I seek solitude. The only time I remember seeing another person on a trail during my hikes was when I went to Cook Forest, farther West from here. Cook Forest has a famous old growth forest and it's so beautiful, but it gets a lot of vacationers. It's part of the Allegheny National Forest. The old growth forest there is an awesome sight, but it just doesn't have that remote, wild feel that you experience up here. I went to Cook Forest when I couldn't go to my mountains. The memories of my pack were too much to take. I faced that challenge last year by finally going back to the place I love. My mountains. It was so beautiful, and so painful. The beauty and the pain, my inspiration and my sorrow, now combine as one, making for such a powerful emotion inside me. I miss my pack.

Sunset is coming, and I still have a mile to hike. I took it easy on my hike today, just taking in the beauty. The white-tail deer are coming out for their night feeding. Time to hike.

Tuesday
Today I really started out on the wrong foot. Did you ever have one of those days where you just knew things would go wrong? I'm tent camping at Parker Dam State Park, and I'm not very impressed with this campground. At least it has a shower. I couldn't sleep last night. I slept in until 10 am. I was going to get a shower, but I couldn't find my toiletries. That word just doesn't work for me. Toiletries. I couldn't find my soap, toothpaste, and stuff. Stuff just sounds so much better than toiletries. I searched the tent, the car, and my packs three times over, the whole time my belief that I threw the toiletries in the garbage dumpster at the park entrance growing in my mind like a mushroom on steroids. Thoughts of digging through the garbage dumpster like a raccoon on a mission just didn't sound very appealing to me. What would the neighbors think? One last extremely diligent search through the car, with thoughts of falling into a garbage dumpster as someone drives by motivating me to new levels, I finally found my toiletries halfway under the driver's seat, buried under a growing mound of clothes. No dumpster diving for me!

I walked down to the park shower, which is about an eighth of a mile from my tent, with the reassuring feel of my toiletries in hand, and I took a nice, long shower. As I was turning off the water, dripping wet, I had suddenly come to the realization that I forgot my towel. Sometimes life really sucks, you know? I was so proud that I finally found my toiletries, I forgot all about my towel. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy states that a towel is the most useful item in the universe, and now I can see why. This made me laugh so loud, my laughter echoing off the park restroom's concrete walls, and I just laughed and laughed and laughed to myself, all alone.

After using my toiletries, laughing the whole time about the most important item in the universe that I didn't have, and laughing about my toiletries, I walked out of the restroom and there was an old couple on the road with mouths agape, staring at me like I was a lunatic on the loose. Oh. Didn't I feel like the fool. I didn't know how to react, and after seeing the panic starting to rise in their faces, I wanted to put them at ease, so I said with a cheerful smile, "Hello", but I just couldn't keep my laughter under control, and started laughing again. Boy, I really put their minds at ease... They turned and walked away, glancing back at me several times to make sure I wasn't following them, and I can honestly say I didn't blame them. I wanted to yell out to them, "I'm not crazy. Really!" but then I imagined following that up with, "I just forgot the most important item in the universe, but I did find my toiletries" and I started laughing again. Loudly. They started to walk faster, no longer looking back. I scared the crap out of them, that's for sure. I wonder if they're going to report me to the Park office.

I double-timed it back to camp and prepared for the hike. Today, I decided to hike on Stump Trail, which starts about 100 feet from my campsite, to the Quehanna Trail and hike the Cut-Off loop, which is about a seven mile hike. Today was supposed to be a warm, sunny day. Tomorrow we're supposed to get showers and thunderstorms. Things just didn't seem right today. After only ten minutes of hiking, my daypack didn't feel right. It felt like it weighed fifty pounds, not fifteeen. I took it off and re-adjusted my gear. I drank down some of my gatorade and water to lighten my pack. The air felt warm and muggy.

Ten minutes later, I was on an old railroad grade trail that had been converted to an underground natural gas pipeline, according to the maps. The trail was up on a ridge, about fifty feet wide with big hardwood trees on the edges. Next thing you know, lightning struck nearby with the booming, echoing sound of thunder! Holy shit! A thunderstorm was coming up out of nowhere right on top of me, and I was in one of the worst places possible during a thunderstorm. I started double-timing it on the trail to get off the ridge. I had about two hundred yards to go with nowhere safe to hide. I always say "There's nothing like the thrill of hiking in the middle of nowhere with a thunderstorm approaching." Talk about asking for it. This is the most exposed I've ever been during a hike in a thunderstorm. I think I actually cared about dying. That's a new feeling. Maybe my life is worth living after all. I could've turned back to head for camp, which was about twenty minutes away, but I didn't turn back. Instead, I headed deeper into the mountains. A weird day all around.

The rain poured down with lightning striking all around me. I just kept pushing on through the storm, looking for some cover off the ridge in a copse of small trees. After ten minutes of panicked hiking, I found what I was looking for. After turning on the Quehanna Trail, I found a very small copse of little Aspen trees, about 6-8 feet tall. I wedged myself into the middle, then crouched and made myself really small. The rain was intermittent at this point and the lightning was over for now. More lightning was striking a couple of miles away, heading towards me. I decided to find better cover and continued hiking on the Quehanna Trail. "The grass is always greener on the other side." "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Those were the thoughts running through my mind when I couldn't find cover, and the next round of lightning was on top of me. No small trees or ravines to hide in, just big old hemlock trees. Nothing to do but just relax and hike... through the thunderstorm. I started to hum some songs to relax, and it worked. The storm lasted for a total of about thirty minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. My eternity. When it finally cleared, I just continued on.

Thirty minutes later, another thunderstorm was approaching from behind me. I came upon a blue-blazed connector trail heading North to my left. There was a hunting cabin up the trail, and I decided to take shelter under the porch. I sit here now, sheltering from the rain. The lightning seems to be over, just a cool rain now. It's already 4:50 pm. Sunset is in three hours. If I continue on my planned hike, I won't get back to camp until about 10:00 tonight. I think I'll take this connector trail which heads gradually back towards camp instead. Time to hike in the rain.

The trail was nice, the surrounding woods were coming alive! During this part of the hike I saw a lot of animals. I saw a black bear running away from me, crashing through the forest about a hundred yards away. I saw a woodpecker and some crow. A great horned owl flew overhead. Several deer stared at me from a distance. The trail was a narrow old railroad grade from when they logged this area almost a century ago. The place had a haunted feel to it, and I felt like I was being watched by spirits. I loved the experience.

I finally made it back at sunset, and ate freeze-dried spaghetti and meatballs with Italian bread for dinner. You could probably feed me leaves and bark up here and I would love it. Dinner was delicious.

Wednesday
Today I decided to go back to the Marion Brooks Loop Trail. I want to hike up the Eastern Cross Connector trail up to the very wild and remote Porcupine Draft. I stopped at the Forest Station to ask about trails in the area. There were two guys there, one about my age, the other about sixty. I asked if there were any hiking trails around here like the Marion Brooks Loop trail with white pine forests. The older guy replied with a heavy backwoods accent, "You mean hiking one of those trails with the painted dots to follow?" (blaze marks on trees) I said yes. He then said "I don't go on those. I don't like paint." The younger guy asked me if I was hiking alone. I told him yes. He said "It's dangerous out there in them woods. That might not be a good idea." The older guy then said, "There's been lot's of mountain lion sightings out here. But you didn't hear that from us." Then they both looked at each other and chuckled. After the shared "laugh", I said with a smile, "Well, if I need rescuing, I guess you guys will be doing the rescuing." The younger guy looked at me square in the eyes real serious like, and said real slow with his backwoods accent, "We don't go rescuing people until the vultures start hoverin'." There was a long pause after that. I probably had a look of shock and disbelief on my face.

After I found my voice again, I told them that I'll be ok. I then thanked them, said goodbye and left. I liked those guys. They probably have a lot of good stories to tell. That whole scene was like something you'd see in a movie, and I couldn't stop laughing to myself. I wish I had a hidden camera or something. I think the "You didn't here that from us" comment had something to do with the PA Game Commission being in denial about the mountain lion sightings.

I parked at the Beaver Run Dam parking area off of the Quehanna Highway. I hiked the trail that looped around the dam and hit the Quehanna Connector trail and headed North. I saw a bald eagle flying back and forth over the water. Once I headed into the wooded area, a grouse flew up from under my feet and scared the bejesus out of me! I also saw some turkey across a meadow.

I'm back in the white pine forest here on the Marion Brooks Loop Trail. This has to be one of my most favorite places to be in. It's so beautiful and peaceful here. I can look up through the trees forever. I took my boots and socks off to let my feet dry. I also took off my shirt, wrung it out and hung it on a tree branch to dry. I love this place. Please don't come here, I want to keep it all for myself... Oh well, I grudgingly put my gear back on. I'm going to continue up the Connector trail, cross the Quehanna Highway, and see if I can make it all the way up to Porcupine Draft on the Quehanna Trail. It's over two and a half miles past the highway, and I'll probably never make it in time. The pain in my back is stabbing at me like a knife, and there's a little numbness from my nerve damage, but not enough to stop me. Time to hike!

About halfway up the Cross Connector Trail, I came upon a tree where a bear violently tore off the bark and dug into the wood for the sweet tasting sap. There was a big whole in the tree with semi-hardened sap left in it's wake. Ants were swarming over the area now, cleaning up the leftover sap. The largest claw marks I've ever seen were on the tree. Four claw marks digging deep into the wood, each claw mark about an inch and a half apart, and a half inch deep into the wood. This was very, very intimidating. This bear must be a goliath! I nervously started looking around the woods, almost jumping at every sound, suddenly feeling as if I were being preyed upon. As I stood there reeking of a very imaginative paranoia, it started to rain. On second thought, I would say it started to downpour! Now I wouldn't be able to hear king kong sneaking up on me, let alone an overgrown bear, or a greedily hungry mountain lion for that matter. I decided to head back. I'll make it to Porcupine Draft another day.

The downpour only lasted for about ten minutes. On the way back, I came up to the Teaberry Trail that I had passed earlier, and decided to take it East and see where it goes. It was a trail over teaberry bushes, following a very small stream ironically called Roaring Run, that led me through a savannah filled with old tree stumps that were remnants of the logging era almost a century ago. The place had a haunted, eerie feeling to it, but it was beautiful all the same. After about a mile or so the trail turned right, heading up the mountain through mountain laurel over a moss covered trail passing several caves. This was a beautiful trail with great scenery, and the trail was hardly ever used. After a long hike up to the top of this mountain, the trail leveled off and the view was spectacular! This view rivaled the view on the Black Forest Trail looking into Pine Creek Gorge. Wow! What a view. This is quite a hidden gem of a trail. It's not on any maps that I have, and I thought I had them all. I've been sitting here for about a half hour. The problem with these trails I've discovered is that the scenery is so awesome, I just want to stop and look around all of the time. Oh well, it's time to hike!

The trail wound around the mountain, then headed almost straight down using small switchbacks, taking me down to a nice stream. I crossed the stream, then followed the trail along the stream for a while. The stream is full of three and four foot deep pools that would be great for wading in the summertime. I will definitely be back! The trail broke away from the stream and headed up, and up, and up. By the time I got back up the other mountain, I was sweating really bad and going numb with stabbing back pain. This hike is just so, so worth it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

It started getting dark as I made my way back to the car. I am really beat, but I've found a beautiful hike that is hardly ever used! I'll be back!

Thursday
I couldn't sleep last night. My right foot hurt so bad. I think I landed too hard on a rock yesterday. I taped it up real good and went hiking today... Of course. I turned up Losey Road after taking Mudlick Road at the Marion Brooks Natural Area. I was surprised the old forest road was ungated. I took it all the back to the Quehanna Trail where it leads down into Porcupine Draft, a very remote, very wild area. Now this is the middle of nowhere! I finally made it to Porcupine Draft, and I didn't have to hike to get to it. Nobody comes here. It has such a remote feeling to it.

As I was getting my backpack ready at the car, I smelled death. My sub-conscience then spoke aloud and I said, "I smell a dead body." After realizing what I'd just said, I started looking around, and eventually found a dead black bear behind a little knoll with some logs covering it. It was splayed on its back. There was a gun shot wound on the side by the ribcage. Also, the lower abdomen was cut open. It's been dead for about a month. Other animals have been eating the flanks. This is so sad. It looks like a poacher killed it, then cut out the gallbladder to sell on the black market. They go for around $300. The Japanese use it for an aphrodisiac. I'd like to cut out the poacher's gallbladder, while he's still alive... Time to hike! I'll report the poached bear after the hike.

I started down Porcupine Draft on the Quehanna Trail, and I mean down. Looking at my map, it looks like there's a continuous drop in elevation on this trail lasting for two miles, totaling about an 1100 foot drop in elevation. My foot was throbbing with every step. I can't sleep and can barely walk, but I can hike mountains! The trail just kept going down and down. I kept thinking to myself "Maybe I should turn back. I'll never make it back up this trail", but something kept pushing me down, always wanting to see what's down the next ravine or around the next corner. Then I started telling myself "I've made it this far, I might as well keep going until I reach the bottom." Red Run Valley is at the bottom, and it's supposed to be a beautiful valley.

I have more guts, determination, and willpower than anyone I know. Nobody I know would hike down this trail for miles, alone, in the middle of nowhere, and I have a titanium cage around my spine with permanent nerve damage. Am I bold and daring, or just crazy? Maybe a little of both. This is the most remote, wildest trail I've ever been on, and I've been in the wildest areas in PA. This area has a reputation, and also has a feel of remote wilderness, even more so than the road-less Hammersley Wild Area. Well, I've been in some really remote, wild areas in the Hammersley, too. This place just feels even wilder somehow. If a mountain lion killed me, my dead body better end up near the trail, or nobody will find me, except for the carnivores. Even then, it will probably be at least a few weeks before there are backpackers here, maybe May or June.

The trail finally leveled off after two hours of hiking downhill. I stopped to take in the beautiful area, and to fight off the pain. After a short breather, I just had to keep on hiking. After hiking downhill through rough terrain for two hours, it felt so nice to be able to walk on a nice level trail. It's so beautiful here, I just want to see as much of this wilderness that I can. There were so many waterfalls with nice little three and four foot deep pools, just like the stream I saw yesterday. The water was crystal clear, and the scenery was awesome!

I am now sitting on the trail in the Red Run Valley, just above Red Run Creek. I'm surrounded by pine, hemlock, and mountain laurel. I sit here wondering if I'll ever make it back up those mountains. My back hurts, numbness is setting in big time, my foot is throbbing, and here I sit just taking it all in, wanting to be nowhere else.

I'm looking at the map and contemplating whether or not to continue on to try and loop around to another trail that picks up about two miles from here, instead of attempting the long journey back up Porcupine Draft. If I do that, at least I'll be closer to the road, and worst case scenario, I can try to get to the road and hope someone drives by. The thing is, at one point there will be no trails for about a mile. I'd have to bushwhack my way through the wilderness and hope I find the other trail.

I just hiked down to Red Run Road. It's an old dirt forest road that's closed. I'm extremely tired, extremely sore and in a lot of pain. I can hike down to the road, about three miles maybe, but I'll then be another seven or eight miles from where I'm parked. Then I'd have to hitchhike, and there's just so much traffic up here... yeah right! Never mind, bad idea. I'm probably better off getting a piggyback ride from a deer. I guess there's no avoiding the climb back up Porcupine Draft. Time to hike back.

After twenty-five minutes of hiking uphill through this rugged terrain, I had to stop. I'm sweating so much, and it's getting cold. I stripped down to just pants. I had to wring my shirt dry, squeezing the sweat out. There was so much sweat, I had a nice little stream going. I hung my shirt on a branch to help it dry. I have a thermal shirt and clean socks in my backpack, so I'll be ok. It's just a little cold right now. My foot hurts so bad, I can barely walk. I'm going completely numb from the waist down. I can still stand, but the numbness and pain is overwhelming. My heart was pounding so violently in my chest, it scared me. It took my heart several minutes to calm down after stopping. It's a used heart. I got it new 45 years ago.

I'm starting to feel like there's a good possibility I could die here today. For real. What if I actually died here on this trail? The big picture is beginning to open in my mind. Just in case if I really will die here today, I should write my Last Words. Not that I think I'll die, but what if I did? There are some things I'd want to say. I think everybody would want to get a chance to say, or write, their Last Words.


My Last Words:

Tasha, I love you so much. Live your life the way I would want to live. Have fun and excitement, see as much of the world as you can. After all, you only live once. I am so proud to be your Father.

Mom, thanks for always being there for me. You did a great job of being my Mother.

Cousin Pat, thanks for letting me stay at your place. Your love for me showed through.

Vicki, sorry our marriage didn't turn out like we planned. Thank you for sacrificing to have my child.

John Daly, thanks for being a great friend. I'm sorry I didn't make it to Florida this month.

Blue and Thunder, woof, woof! hahaha! I miss you both.

I love you all, and know that I died happy doing what I love.


Well, so much for the doom and gloom. I'm feeling better already! Hahahaha! Am I losing it, or what? There are mountains still to climb here, and it's getting late. I've been craving pancakes all week, and gosh darn it, I'm going to eat them!

I've been hiking up this trail for two hours now. I almost made it! "Somebody stop me!'" I really sucked it up and used my two walking sticks in a big way. I stopped twice earlier on the way up, but I was just too tired to write. I am exhausted! The pain is numbing my mind. I can feel it, but it somehow feels surreal. I love it! This is what I live for. This is me. I have less than a half mile to hike back up to the car. It's less than two hours until sunset, but here the sun has already set over the mountain. This is the beginning of the long mountain dusk.

I can hear animals both big and small. If you sit really quiet at dusk or dawn for fifteen minutes, you'll see wildlife galore. I've been seeing coyote scat on and around this trail all day. This place is full of coyote. I guess this is about when a mountain lion would start its evening hunt. I won't be easy to kill, I tell you that much. Between my two staffs, and my titanium coated knife conveniently located to pull out quickly to maim or kill, I'm ready and psyched.

I looked up at a tree about fifty feet across the dry-bed and noticed there's a raccoon thirty feet up in the tree staring down at me. Poor guy must have seen me coming and scrambled up the tree. He's waiting for me to leave. I'll respect his wishes and leave him in peace. Time to go. I just had a strange thought. What if that poacher is back and wants to to a better job of hiding the dead bear, sees me hiking up the trail and decides to kill me? Talk about a vivid imagination! The end of this hike should be really thrilling. I read a lot and want to someday be a writer. I have the imagination for it, that''s for sure. I'll keep my eyes and ears out for snipers, just in case.

I made it back to the car alive! hahaha! There's no one around, but the woods are really starting to come alive. Big animals are out there breaking sticks. I think I hear coyote howls in the distance, but they're too feint to tell. Yeah, coyote howls, far away. I'm so sore and numb. My foot is throbbing and feels like it's broken. I can't walk or stand without my walking sticks. I made it, and I'd do it again, and again. This is me. This is what I live for. I'll be back in these mountains to hike more trails. Welcome to my world.