PA AT + Loop options?

[SandyN]

Hello. I am dreaming of hiking the AT in a few years on retirement, and want to hike a small section when I visit Pennsylvania this August.
Any suggestions that fit (or come close to) the following? :
a loop or combination of loops so that I'm not just walking 30 miles and turning back on the same path.
5-6 days, avg 10 miles/day.
safe place to leave vehicle.
preferably the northern part of the state, seems more challenging and scenic

I strongly prefer when hiking to loop back and return to my car, as I'm not experienced enough hiker to commit to a schedule for a shuttle. But if there are flexible shuttle options, I'd consider it - I know nothing of how shuttles work.

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered many times, but searching for "Pennsylvania loop hike" was getting too many unrelated results to find what I'm looking for.
Appreciate any suggestions.
Sandy

[PhillyHiker]

What part of PA will you be.


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[SandyN]

[QUOTE=PhillyHiker;2074379]What part of PA will you be.

I'm completely flexible.Driving down from Nova Scotia, so a couple hundred more miles won't make much difference. But I understand the AT in the northern part of the state is more challenging? I'm up for the challenge.

[PhillyHiker]

I'm from Hamburg pa which is like 5 miles from port Clinton which I suppose would be considered a trail town as the at goes right through town. I'm am not aware of any loops in this area that are over maybe 6 or 7 miles... If you are unable to find one I do shuttle hikers in the Hamburg area from time to time. Look into maybe port Clinton to Lehigh gap or port Clinton to Delaware water gap. Delaware water gap is on the PA NJ state lines not exactly sure of the mileage


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[gwb]

There are not any such loops that I am aware of and I'm always searching for loop hikes... I would recommend a shuttle. Park your vehicle where you want to end and then get a ride to your starting point. That way you have no pressure of "meeting up" with a shuttle driver at the end of the hike. Its about an hour long car ride so a shuttle should not be too expensive or hard to find. Refer to the ATC list of shuttle providers.

Route 309 at Blue Mountain Summit to Delaware Water Gap is 50 miles. Route 309 is at mile marker 1243.8 DWG mm 1293.4
That is a nice section with some views and varied terrain. Well, it varies from rocky to rockier... And you would get to climb out of the Lehigh River Gap which is a nice challenging little climb.

[ki0eh]

Does it have to be the A.T.?

There are a number of loop and circuit footpath trails in northern PA, not southern/eastern PA where the A.T. is ("northern" PA in A.T. terms, is actually eastern PA). List here: http://www.kta-hike.org/index.php?op...d=92&Itemid=65

The A.T. in eastern (or if you will "northern") PA follows a ridgeline hemmed in by suburbia and/or regulations. A number of other trails in PA are both more scenic and less rocky than the A.T. is in PA.

[SandyN]

Thanks everyone for suggestions.
KiOeh, I do want to do part of the AT first - it's calling me. But I will have more time in the area and hope to do a few more hikes, your link is appreciated.

Gwb - The suggestion to "Park your vehicle where you want to end and then get a ride to your starting point" seems obvious once you said it, but hadn't occurred to me, duh , Starting at Delaware gap and walking south 60ish km sounds like the most scenic part of the AT in PA, and would bring me conveniently close to Hamburg. That's now the tentative plan.

Phyllyhiker - I will PIM with questions regarding shuttle.

[SmallTalk]

Hello, I am planning my first section hike of the AT. I live in Philly and I am getting a group together to do The Delaware Water Gap to the Lehigh River. It's about 35 trail miles. We will drop one vehicle off at the Leigh river and then drive to the DWG(Visitor Center) and begin our hike there. We will begin on Friday Morning July 15th at 8AM and finish on Sunday at Dinner time. I am trying to get a group together because my wife does not want me to hike alone and besides I like the safety in numbers idea to. This is my first hike on the AT and this is supposed to be a difficult section. I would hope to get all of PA completed section by section by 2017. Let me know if you have any interest in joining or would want to group up on future backpacks. I recently did the PA Grand Canyon Point to Point that was 30 miles and that was beautiful. In August we have a group doing the Worlds End Loop. That's 25 miles that we will do in 2 days On August 6 and 7.

[ddanko2]

Hello. I am dreaming of hiking the AT in a few years on retirement, and want to hike a small section when I visit Pennsylvania this August.
Any suggestions that fit (or come close to) the following? :
a loop or combination of loops so that I'm not just walking 30 miles and turning back on the same path.
5-6 days, avg 10 miles/day.
safe place to leave vehicle.
preferably the northern part of the state, seems more challenging and scenic

I strongly prefer when hiking to loop back and return to my car, as I'm not experienced enough hiker to commit to a schedule for a shuttle. But if there are flexible shuttle options, I'd consider it - I know nothing of how shuttles work.

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered many times, but searching for "Pennsylvania loop hike" was getting too many unrelated results to find what I'm looking for.
Appreciate any suggestions.
Sandy

If you don't have to be on the AT, you should consider either the Allegheny Front Trail just north of State College, PA (~42 mile loop) or the Quehanna Trail just north of that (~75 mile loop). Much more manageable than having to deal with a shuttle. And, you can "thru-hike" a trail of decent length with absolutely no backtracks.

[SandyN]

Hi Smalltalk. Unfortunately the timing of my trip doesn't match, but it sounds fun and thanks for the invitation.

[may79]

I'll 2nd the Quehanna Trail, it would be an excellent loop hike.