Yak
New Member
Posts: 1 
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Post by Yak on Jul 27, 2020 20:22:22 GMT -5
After spending a good part of the past year planning a West Coast trip to the Sierras, Covid has scrapped my plans. We're now looking at about a 2 week / ~130-150 mile-ish trip (1 resupply?) somewhere in the MidAtlantic. Most of my past hiking has been NJ/PA/NY/VT/NH, so no real experience in much of the area. Trying to be as Covid safe as possible, so the first choice would be a loop and if not a loop, then hopefully starting / ending someplace where we could rent a car to get to the other end (rather avoid public transport).
Any suggestions / thoughts on where to hike? Anywhere within driving distance (from NJ) would be fine / not looking to go North since late September can get pretty cold.
Yak
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Post by jmitch on Jul 27, 2020 21:25:35 GMT -5
Longest loops are in PA. Check out doing the Susquehannock Trail and Black Forest Trails, two loops that are connected via the north and south link trails.
Or the Mid State Trail, or the PA Wilds Trail.
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Post by kbusko on Jul 28, 2020 6:30:42 GMT -5
After spending a good part of the past year planning a West Coast trip to the Sierras, Covid has scrapped my plans. We're now looking at about a 2 week / ~130-150 mile-ish trip (1 resupply?) somewhere in the MidAtlantic. Most of my past hiking has been NJ/PA/NY/VT/NH, so no real experience in much of the area. Trying to be as Covid safe as possible, so the first choice would be a loop and if not a loop, then hopefully starting / ending someplace where we could rent a car to get to the other end (rather avoid public transport). Any suggestions / thoughts on where to hike? Anywhere within driving distance (from NJ) would be fine / not looking to go North since late September can get pretty cold. Yak Although they are not loops I would also recommend The Mid State Trail and the PA Wilds Trail. We just completed a two week hike on the PA Wilds Trail and it was great. You can read our Trail Journal at www.trailjournals.com/KandKPAWildsTrail2020?fbclid=IwAR0FyjaSYDK9EiFpm8SiV2V6Y0IL0WrFQbIZEbzXFdQeKK_IZLdXPYrbzJ4lf you want a loop circuit for ease of transportation so think you could create a nice scenic 130 to 150ish mile loop in the Pine Creek Valley using the Pine Creek Purple Lizard map and connecting a combination of the Mid State Trail, Golden Eagle Trail, Black Forest Trail, North and South Link connectors, Susquehannock Trail, Algerine Trail, Long Branch Trail, West Rim Trail and the Bohen Run Trail. We would be happy to provide any additional information about most of these options. |
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Post by anfhiker on Jul 28, 2020 7:16:14 GMT -5
The PA Wilds Trail is a fantastic "choose your own adventure" across some of the best that Northcentral PA has to offer. There are several here who have hiked it and could help you with planning. Another option for a loop would be to follow the Eastern States 100 route. It's a 100 mile loop generally surrounding Pine Creek. The trails are in good shape thanks to the runners who maintain them and there are views and lots of other neat features. You could modify the route with some extensions to get it into your target mileage. 54.172.89.147/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ES100-Detailed-Map.pdf |
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Post by trailnotfound on Jul 29, 2020 19:45:17 GMT -5
Another option for a loop would be to follow the Eastern States 100 route. It's a 100 mile loop generally surrounding Pine Creek. The trails are in good shape thanks to the runners who maintain them and there are views and lots of other neat features. You could modify the route with some extensions to get it into your target mileage. I (sorta) know someone that just backpacked the ES100 route within the past couple weeks. Waiting to hear back about how that turned out, but it's definitely a loop I've had my eye on for a while now too! |
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Post by jmitch on Jul 30, 2020 8:36:01 GMT -5
I'm also curious about the ES 100 loop. Let us know what you find out. Looks like you can easily include more of the BFT for more views. There might also be a way to include Hyner View.
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Post by anfhiker on Jul 30, 2020 8:58:45 GMT -5
I'm also curious about the ES 100 loop. Let us know what you find out. Looks like you can easily include more of the BFT for more views. There might also be a way to include Hyner View. I would think you could just continue on the DHT off route east of Hyner View and then reconnect to the ES 100 loop at Hyner Run. Likewise I would think the stretch on the the BFT could be expanded easily. As a spitball, I'd guess you could get the loop to 120 miles using those two sections. |
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vdeal
Forum Elder
Posts: 616
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Post by vdeal on Aug 1, 2020 8:34:23 GMT -5
There's also the 290 mile Allegheny Trail across WV - not a loop though. Allegheny Trail |
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Post by trailnotfound on Aug 2, 2020 16:20:17 GMT -5
I'm also curious about the ES 100 loop. Let us know what you find out. Looks like you can easily include more of the BFT for more views. There might also be a way to include Hyner View. Sounds like the trip was about as challenging as you'd expect for that route. He was able to finish in an impressive 4 days, even with a slight variation from the official route that added a couple miles. Overall the near constant elevation change made it less than ideal as a backpacking route. Some sections, particularly in the south from Bear Pen Hollow east, felt like they were just strung together to make a route and weren't that enjoyable on their own merits. He mentioned that much of the trip was up to around 90 degrees, which would make those climbs unbearable for me. I'll see if I can convince him to post his trip report somewhere. |
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