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View Full Version : Questions about PA section 10 of the AT



Ashman
04-09-2015, 20:08
Planning a section hike in Pennsylvania this summer from PA 325 to Penn/Mar State Park. I'm reading the AT guidebook and the lead info for section 10 has some things that seem a bit curious to me. This is Section 10 PA Rt. 944 to Boiling Springs 12.3 miles. The info states that section is in a mixture of woods, fields, and cultivated farm lands, that summer hiking can be dry and hot and o carry plenty of water. In the Shelters and Campsites section it states that there are no shelters in this section and that camping and campfires are prohibited. So if you are doing a long distance hike do you just have to blow through the area? Hiking South/North stop in Boiling Springs for the night and push through the next day? If you are hiking North/South do you just have to stop short of 944 and push through to Boiling Springs the next day? As I am studying the maps and books, Pennsylvania seems to be a bit of a contradiction. The profiles look to be much flatter than the trail to the South but I have heard that PA is challenging both in terms of a lot of little up and downs that down show on the profile and in terms of being really rocky. PA Hikers, is the guidebook overcautious?

ki0eh
04-09-2015, 20:30
That stretch, the bottom part of the Cumberland Valley crossing, is a narrow strip of government owned land between subdivisions and farms. A couple of the fields although owned by the government are still leased to neighboring farmers. The narrow strip is more wooded than it used to be, CVATC mows about 50% less of the trail now than they did 15 years ago. There is a water tap at the Scott Farm Trail Work Center about 2 miles south of the tunnel under PA 944. You can scoot down around the overpass over US 11 and go to the Middlesex Diner or various trucker motels. Thru hikers pretty much blow through the area.

tf bear
04-09-2015, 21:10
it is a easy flat walk, it can tend to be hot in the summer time. Be sure to spend some time at Boiling Springs. Really a nice days walk.

Studlintsean
04-09-2015, 21:15
I hiked through this section in January. Heading North bound we got water at the stream 3 miles south of there and then camped at the campsite just south of Boiling Springs. There are trains that go by throughout the evening and night but once I hit the sack I slept through them if they did go by. Then we hiked the 15 miles (I think) to Darlington Shelter. We got water at the spring ~1 miles south of the shelter. It is after you go through a tunnel and on the left at the bottom of the last hike. There is an old car rusted on the right side of the trail and the spring is on the left. Overall it was an easy (pretty much flat) 15 miles and was a nice change of scenery through the open farm lands. I wouldnt worry about that section.

Studlintsean
04-09-2015, 21:15
sorry. There= Boiling Springs

PilotB
04-10-2015, 06:13
Great pizza shop in boiling springs.  Also, Boiling Springs Tavern...voted best food in the Susquehanna Valley, run by a close friend of mine who bakes all deserts in house....worth a stop.

TomN
04-10-2015, 07:28
It has to be better than it was back in the 80s, it was a total road walk, yuck.

Lyle
04-10-2015, 09:39
Probably was nicer when it was a road walk, at least I would have preferred it and it would have saved a LOT of local animosity toward the trail. Big mistake on ATC's part if you ask me. Road walking is NOT something that has to be avoided like the plague.

Busky2
04-10-2015, 09:48
Boiling Springs at the Cafe 101 has some great breakfast sandwiches and while dinning outside in the fresh air with friends makes for a nice break. Dried the gear on the lawn while eating, VERY friendly staff and local folks made for a great morning brunch with a view of the lake thats just yards away.

Slo-go'en
04-10-2015, 11:37
Probably was nicer when it was a road walk, at least I would have preferred it and it would have saved a LOT of local animosity toward the trail. Big mistake on ATC's part if you ask me. Road walking is NOT something that has to be avoided like the plague.

I agree. I did the road walk back in '89 and it was a pleasant walk along shady rural roads. The relo had a serious lack of shade when I did that section again in 2005.

For a thru hiker, going from the Alec Kennedy shelter to the Darlington shelter is no big deal, it's only 18 miles. As a section hiker, doing that might be a bit more of an effort unless it's towards the end of the trip and not the beginning. And like most of PA, you can stop and have lunch at a dinner too. Just be sure to get a very early start, like at dawn to beat the heat. But that should be everyday while hiking in PA during the summer. By mid afternoon it's just way too hot to be hiking.

PA is a mix of contradictions. Once on the ridge, the tread way is reasonably flat, although sometimes can be quite stumblingly with loose rocks. The climbs up to the ridge can be quite steep, but it's typically a short climb. Getting water often involves a long, steep hike off the side of the ridge. Be sure you can carry a lot of water back up to camp, you don't want to do that trip twice.

Spirit Walker
04-10-2015, 16:22
I've done both the old route (in 1988) and the new one and the new one is much nicer. There is shade along a lot of the trail, though there is also some walking across and around corn fields. At BS there is the ATC office with water, bathroom and internet, plus a grocery across the street and, of course, pizza nearby. The trail is easy, fairly flat and not rocky.

PA isn't that hard, aside from the rocky erosion. You go up to the top of a ridge, walk flat for 10 or 15 miles, then drop down to a road crossing, then climb up to the next ridge, where you walk flat for another 15 miles. When we were thruhiking, we did 280 miles in 14 days, easily.

Spirit Walker
04-10-2015, 16:31
Re the old route - there was a shelter just before the road walk that was party central for the locals. It was only .1 from a road. When I got to it, on a Friday afternoon, there was a four foot high wall of empty beer cans. So I did what most hikers did: I walked 21.6 miles from Pine Grove Furnace to a farm that allowed us to camp in their yard, then woke up before daylight to walk the 19 miles to Thelma Marks shelter. It was 95 that day. The highlight was eating breakfast at a truck stop.

peakbagger
04-10-2015, 17:20
We did ridge line to ridge line one hot day (90 plus), we were dead when we got to Darlington shelter. We didn't even see the so called campsite south of Boiling Springs. It wasn't hard walking but not a lot of shade. Definitely a place for an umbrella.

Sandy of PA
04-10-2015, 21:40
If it is too far stay with the nice folks at Allenberry Resort.

ki0eh
04-10-2015, 22:53
The nice rural road walk of memory in the Cumberland Valley is just that, a memory. One can walk the same roads today and see subdivisions and monster warehouses from narrow shouldered paved roads. Depending on how much of a concrete jungle you're from it still may seem rural.

Slo-go'en
04-10-2015, 23:02
The nice rural road walk of memory in the Cumberland Valley is just that, a memory. One can walk the same roads today and see subdivisions and monster warehouses from narrow shouldered paved roads. Depending on how much of a concrete jungle you're from it still may seem rural.

Well then, I guess it was a good thing they moved it. I wonder if I can find the old route and do a virtual tour via street view?

Buttercup01
04-11-2015, 01:58
I hike this section of trail with some regularity. You will find this area to be relatively flat without many trees until you get past Boiling Springs and go up to Center Knob. Although you're not supposed to camp along this section many hikers do. Pushing through 20 miles a day in this area is relatively easy. It is probably my least favorite section of trail since it does pass through some industrial areas. Water is not an issue as long as there is a filter with you. Plan to take a little time to stop in Boiling Springs and enjoy the town. Stop in at the AT Trail office to say hello to the good folks keep our trail in good shape. In the summer you will find soy beans and corn to snack on, in the fall you'll find many types of berries and mushrooms along the trail. There are small red berries with brown spots on some of the bushes. These are autumn olives. Some people make wine from them, I prefer to eat them straight or put them on pancakes. they are one of the best berries in the woods next to blueberries. also, you will find wild grape vines which are also quite tasty. In the fall months look for hickory nuts on the trail. You will need a small C clamp to open these. As hickory nuts are in the pecan family, you'll find them to be one of the most wonderful nuts, yet the most difficult to open. During the summer months, plan to carry at least 2 liters of water.