PA Mid State Trail

[volks-man]

i went.
i'm back.

i just bit the bullet and went for sect 14. i wound up being solo but had a pit crew 2 hours away in the event i couldn't finish due to knee troubles. my bail out point was to be bull road, about halfway through.

all went well and there really isn't anything to report on the trail conditions. i completed the 14 mile section in 6.75 hours. without further injury. i especially liked descending the 'lions back' about midway. though very slick with dry leaves from last fall, it was a pure pleasure seeing the steep inclines on both sides veiws of nearby peaks. IDK, that part just spoke to me.

if i had a comment on sec 14 as a whole i suppose it would be this:
if i were a novice looking to up the ante a bit (i am), this would be the section to go for first. northbound it starts lightly and gives you little breaks between each of the harder ascents and descents in the middle. and the final mile or so is a great cool down area of some easy walking.

sidenote:
for you mst officianados:
i stumbled upon catherine's grave during the rail walk at the end. apparently she died at the age of 7 in 1872 (if i read the weathered stone right). does anyone have any input or further information concerning the grave? was it a family plot and this is the only stone left? very interesting but very sad too.

[ki0eh]

i stumbled upon catherine's grave during the rail walk at the end. apparently she died at the age of 7 in 1872 (if i read the weathered stone right). does anyone have any input or further information concerning the grave? was it a family plot and this is the only stone left? very interesting but very sad too.

Glad to hear all was OK!

The grave is something I don't know about, but I'll bump in case someone else does - and if I have time I can e-mail folks who might know more.

I do know that if the 1872 date is right, the railroad at Ramsey dates from ca. 1883 so could very well have disturbed a family plot. But I won't speculate in a vacuum any further about it.

Any photos or video of it?

[pattydivins]

Me and my friends have been hiking the section that runs through RB Winter State park for the past few weeks now. Trail has been in great shape every time, everything looks great. Went out for an over-nighter this past weekend and camped out at a campsite right near "Crocodile Spring". Anybody familiar with this campsite? It was really nice and the weather was great.

[ki0eh]

Went out for an over-nighter this past weekend and camped out at a campsite right near "Crocodile Spring". Anybody familiar with this campsite?

'

Mentioned in passing here (the guide hasn't included that observation since at least the 9th, 1995, edition though)

[Hoop Time]

'

Mentioned in passing here (the guide hasn't included that observation since at least the 9th, 1995, edition though)

Thanks for the link, great tale about Dr. Thwaites! After meeting him last year, I can almost hear him saying that stuff in his voice.

[volks-man]

Glad to hear all was OK!

The grave is something I don't know about, but I'll bump in case someone else does - and if I have time I can e-mail folks who might know more.

I do know that if the 1872 date is right, the railroad at Ramsey dates from ca. 1883 so could very well have disturbed a family plot. But I won't speculate in a vacuum any further about it.

Any photos or video of it?

i have two or three pics of the gravesite. alas, i am not home and have no remote access to them. when i get home i will try and post them.

without my guide in front of me, the best i can say about the location is 30' off the trail between mst and the railroad/road. this is in the short area where the trail is nearly on the same elevation as and parallel to the railroad... just before camp klein. there was a newer white cross laying against the base of a tree nearby, so someone must be aware that it is there.

please express my thanks to the mst clan for maintaining sec 14 so well.

[volks-man]

ki0eh,
where would a guy score an older mst trail patch? i already have the retro 70's one offered by mst now. i assume there were some others offered over the years?
if there are any laying around the mst HQ let me know... i'd like to have a few different ones. i have not adorned my pack with any kind of patch yet but would like to with all of the odd mst i can find.
thanks!

[volks-man]

Glad to hear all was OK!

The grave is something I don't know about, but I'll bump in case someone else does - and if I have time I can e-mail folks who might know more.

I do know that if the 1872 date is right, the railroad at Ramsey dates from ca. 1883 so could very well have disturbed a family plot. But I won't speculate in a vacuum any further about it.

Any photos or video of it?

here's an attempt at posting pics..........
the sun-washed out hill in the background is the west side of the rail-trail.

[ki0eh]

So far my e-mail inquiries have only found that the local volunteer coordinator knew the grave was there but not any further info.

I've only been around for a little more than one of the four decades of MST, I'm not sure I've seen any patches besides this one (with its overseer rocker, which has to be earned) and this one but I'm not much of a patch collector.

Dr. Thwaites is still one to indulge curiosity about things like patches and grave sites, he's not a real regular on e-mail but his phone number is still listed on here if you'd want to give him a call.

[volks-man]

So far my e-mail inquiries have only found that the local volunteer coordinator knew the grave was there but not any further info.

I've only been around for a little more than one of the four decades of MST, I'm not sure I've seen any patches besides this one (with its overseer rocker, which has to be earned) and this one but I'm not much of a patch collector.

Dr. Thwaites is still one to indulge curiosity about things like patches and grave sites, he's not a real regular on e-mail but his phone number is still listed on here if you'd want to give him a call.

thanks for the info regarding patches. though, i do not fully understand the text acompanying the assn patch.
am i to understand that the patch is only available to assigned overseers?
or that the rocker that matches the patch is only available to assigned overseers?

im not real worried about the gravesite. i thought maybe one of you fellers knew some legend that would explain it, is all.

neither issue is important enough for me to disturb the good Doctor with a phone call.

[ki0eh]

The "Association" patch is available to everyone - it's the rocker that goes on it that's for overseers.

Tom T loves to talk to folks, he's among the most approachable of trail legends. Besides, you're famous as "that guy fron the Internet who found all those trees down on the Great Island Path"

[volks-man]

The "Association" patch is available to everyone - it's the rocker that goes on it that's for overseers.

Tom T loves to talk to folks, he's among the most approachable of trail legends. Besides, you're famous as "that guy fron the Internet who found all those trees down on the Great Island Path"

you mean these trees?

[ki0eh]

Seems that folks get frustrated for whatever reason on a section hike following PA's longest and wildest footpath, see what seems to be a short cut on the maps, then regret it: see for example this interesting trip report http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=222365

[Helios]

I was out this weekend hiking the Pine Lick trail in MD's Green Ridge Forest, which ends at the PA border. My map showed I wasn't far from the start, or what I thought was the start, of the PA Mid State Trail. So, I bopped down the road a short piece and found the trial. I thought the blazes where a bit faded and what not, but still managed to follow the trail in about a mile before deciding to head back. It was after I got home and looked at the web site did I find out the trailhead had been relocated! ha!

Question: Is there parking near the MD/PA border at this trail head? I'm interested in starting to section hike this trail, and will obviously need to pick a guide book and some maps. Now that my interest is peaked... see ya' out there!

[ki0eh]

It was after I got home and looked at the web site did I find out the trailhead had been relocated! ha!

MST folks got a blistering e-mail from some people who were looking in the printed guide and discovered that, with much more difficulty, without looking at the web site. In reply they said they didn't know to look at the web site. We found six mentions of the pending relocation in the printed guide with the web site address. Don't know what to say.

Question: Is there parking near the MD/PA border at this trail head? I'm interested in starting to section hike this trail, and will obviously need to pick a guide book and some maps. Now that my interest is peaked... see ya' out there!

Look in the "Temp Guide to Section 1" linked from http://www.hike-mst.org/guide.html for the nearest parking, on page 4. An alternative might be to use a park-and-ride lot on the north side of the Flintstone I-68 exit. The page 4 site might be less vulnerable to vandalism but one does need to ask permission at the private business. The first parking area on public land is 13.51 km north of the MD line.

By the way, the map for this area is now at the printer and will be available when the http://www.hike-mst.org/guide.html web site sells the map and guide set again

[volks-man]

Seems that folks get frustrated for whatever reason on a section hike following PA's longest and wildest footpath, see what seems to be a short cut on the maps, then regret it: see for example this interesting trip report http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=222365

yikes! thats a hard read!

first section of mst i did was old section 1 from joe hayes vista to pa322.
it wasn't that flippin' hard!

mr. ki0eh,
any insider information concerning sections north of little pine state park? the cooler weather has had me itching to start walking the trail again.

[The Solemates]

mr. ki0eh,
any insider information concerning sections north of little pine state park? the cooler weather has had me itching to start walking the trail again.

i'll be hiking again thsi year over thanksgiving if you want to join me.

[volks-man]

i'll be hiking again thsi year over thanksgiving if you want to join me.

definitly a possibility.
though, i feel like i let you down the last time. therefor, i'll say:
i'd like to go, but don't count on me.
with my job i never know whether i'll be able to get away untill the week of an event (usually). on the plus side, i haven't had any knee issues since last fall. i hiked 2 mst sections in the spring and feel like i can take on the world.

if i can get away this month or next my next is section 16 above little pine state park. as i recall you've been there already, no?
i plan to spend the night on the trail somewhere near the middle of sec 16(if the guide permits).
any pointers for this section?

[The Solemates]

definitly a possibility.
though, i feel like i let you down the last time. therefor, i'll say:
i'd like to go, but don't count on me.
with my job i never know whether i'll be able to get away untill the week of an event (usually). on the plus side, i haven't had any knee issues since last fall. i hiked 2 mst sections in the spring and feel like i can take on the world.

if i can get away this month or next my next is section 16 above little pine state park. as i recall you've been there already, no?
i plan to spend the night on the trail somewhere near the middle of sec 16(if the guide permits).
any pointers for this section?

no problem...its all good. i dont remember having any problems finding a campsite in section 16, and i remember plenty of water...so you should be fine.

[ki0eh]

I've been away, up in Maine for a week including the Big K so I don't know what I will do to the next person who bitches at me about PA rocks. Little Pine to Blackwell (section 16 in the current Guide) has fewer rocks and better water and camping availability than most other sections. Actively hunted so bring your orange out in another three weeks. Blackwell Hotel is still closed AFAIK and there was and is nothing else there in terms of establishments.