Deb, Deidre, and I (aka, "The 3 Ds" as dubbed by Hillary) joined a crew of Philly folk, organized by Deb Lane's friend Hillary and her brother Tony, for a ride down the Pine Creek Trail in North Central Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful weekend spent on 62 miles of gravel threading through woods, mountains, and open fields along the Pine Creek.
We stayed in a cute little cottage in Slate Run, just a stone's throw from Pine Creek and at the trail's midpoint. We were lucky to find it in the dark when we arrived - so tiny and no street lights! Of course, that meant the night sky was beautiful. We were too beat to sit outside and enjoy it when we arrived, but I did wake in the early early morning to hear what I think was a great horned owl call in the night. Listening to owls when I can't sleep is one of the few (only) perks of tossing and turning at 4 am.
Packing up to leave in the morning with the mountains and low hanging clouds in the background.
And we're ready - pic courtesy of Deidre's fancy tripod!
Crossing the creek to the meet-up where we'd catch our shuttle north.
Getting our bike's loaded for the 30 mile trip north. That's Noreen in the foreground - one of the many nice people we met. She offered to lend me a raincoat for the next day, and she had only just met me!
A group pic - about 35 of us!
Saturday was chilly in the a.m., but generally sunny and beautiful. The trail was ever-changing: sometimes open, sometimes forested with birch and maple, sometimes lined with tall thin pines, sometimes pressed against the base of a mossy slate wall. Always green.
Just moments after taking this, the split rail fence disappeared, making way for the mama bobcat and her two cubs to bolt across the path just 10 yards in front of us! It took us a minute to understand what we were seeing. Deb L. asked: "Was that a mountain lion?" Deidre said, "I thought it was a goat." I was momentarily speechless. We eventually determined they were bobcats. We felt quite privileged to have seen them and were sorry Deidre didn't have the GoPro running!
The picture doesn't do them justice at all, but this was a family of mergansers. You can see papa in the front with his dark head, then the mom with a brown head, then the young all fresh and golden and sparkling in the water. They eventually turned and flew into the sun, their white breasts brilliant in the light.
This was supposed to be a pic of us in front of a pretty water fall, but the woman who took our pic cut out the waterfall, so it's a picture of us in front of a railing!
Deb did a much better job with the composition!
Lots of rock outcroppings.
On our way up, we saw a mama bear and her cubs disappearing into the brush as they ran to escape the line of humans snaking up the trail. I pretty much only caught the top of the mother and a baby bear butt disappearing over the ridge. They're awfully cute ... when they're running away!
This is just a random guy on the trail in the way of my picture!
And then we reached the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania! It was quite pretty to get this vantage of where the creek cuts through the mountains. No wonder our bike ride was flat!
Debbie Lane looking cute.
This was the best view of the creek. Pretty sure this is Deb L's pic.
The hike came at Mile 9. After hiking up 1 mile and back down, we rode seven more miles to where we had sandwiches and fruit delivered for lunch.
Took this just to have the name of the stop in case we return!
Little waterfalls like this appeared all along the path.
Always need at least one pic of the steady steed.
Hillary suggested we check out this "notable" bridge just off the trail. It was built in 1890 after a flood swept away many bridges in the area. Folks more knowledgeable than me would note its unusual design, a Warren quitangular truss.
More here about the bridge and the meaning of a quintangular truss.
When we returned, their were fly fisherman in the creek. Trout were a big thing around these parts.
Then an evening spent listening to homegrown bluegrass by the creek with a mountain backdrop courtesy of Tony and friends. Very enjoyable!
After grilled veggies, roasted chicken, beer, and wine, plus a s'more (or two, or three), we hit the hay early (9:30!) so we could get up in the morning and face the cold and potential rain.
About 12 hours later, we were packed and ready to go.
The morning still threatened rain, but that has its own special beauty.
We had light rain for about 20-30 min, then it cleared and remained so for the rest of the day. The sun even peaked out a few times.
The signs said the bridges were slippery when wet. They weren't kidding. This one was like ice.
So many beautiful bridges! I found this website with technical details and some cool aerial and side photos as well.
And then a rooster! Other creative things along the trail that we didn't capture in photos included a red canoe with a pirate flag paddling down the creek and a huge sculpture of a dog made out of scrap metal peeing on a fire hydrant in the middle of a field. This huge rooster was just hanging out in the middle of the woods.
 |
| Thanks for the pic deb! |
And then we had arrived in Jersey City--I mean Shore, which marks Mile 0 of the Pine Creek Trail. They are apparently devoid of spiritual resources.
 |
| Thanks Deidre for this pic and the next one! |
And much to my surprise, after handing my keys over to a what Deidre aptly described as a "stoned and drunk and confused" couple who kindly transported it there, we found my car!
Distance: 62 miles
Speed: 11ish mph
