Headed to PA Sobo this week

[Gambit McCrae]

Last section south of I90 I have left to do. I guess all the years of hearing of the infamous rocks and rattlesnakes has me in some last minute jitters.

The Crawfords last video of a 10'x10' rock patch with 5 rattlesnakes and 3 copperheads in it didn't help me any.

From Rholands website it looks like the trail is pretty well groomed in PA? I remember walking up Wind Rock last august and thinking the trail was so overgrown that if there were a rattler in the trail I would never see it.

Gunna be a hot week...upper 80s lower 90s, 1 day a high of 95 or so.

I am bringing my 2 - 1 liter smart bottles, and im bringing a 2liter rollup sawyer squeeze bag.


Headed Sobo from little gap to Duncannon, 116 miles...Estimated days to complete? I got 8 days if I need it.....

Seems like there will be a pretty big thru hiking crowd headed thru there right now?

[tdoczi]

Last section south of I90 I have left to do. I guess all the years of hearing of the infamous rocks and rattlesnakes has me in some last minute jitters.




if youve already done PA north of there youve seen the worst of the rocks. or at least the rocks at their worst. aside from the disaster zone maybe.

once south of there the rocks start to abate and from port clinton south, about the last60-70 miles of your hike, the rocks are not noteworthy.

[George]

If you are afraid of the rocks you can go to the rainbow gathering instead- give a nice report - inquiring minds want to know

[blue indian]

Which video has these snakes? I would love to see that

[Malto]

Naw, we don't have rattlers in Pa. if you need anything give me a shout. I live a stones throw between Duncannon and Swatara Gap.43027

[Slo-go'en]

All in all, that's a mellow section of trail. Your mostly on the long, flat ridge lines. Which makes water scare and a pain to get to. The HHH will be the problem. When it's so hot and humid the rocks sweat, you know it's bad.

Get up before dawn (4 AM) and get as much done as possible before noon. I'm pretty sure that's the section where your cursing along on a nice old woods road, to be suddenly detoured onto some insane rock maze for a mile or so (which is where all the snakes are), then your back on that nice woods road again. Errr.

[Durunner]

I really think this is an overhyped state. Maybe it is because I live right here and am used to it. Going down Lehigh Gap should be interesting, Knife Edge is tough, but most of the rest is easy ridge walking. Sure there are rocks at times, but they don't last too long. Amazingly, I used to trail run and hike plenty and still have never seen a rattler anywhere ever.

If it is hot, Hertlein Campsite could be a refreshing dip. I went through there early April though, so I wasn't about to go in. Enjoy the Pinnacle! I only have south of Duncannon left to do in PA.

[Gambit McCrae]

Which video has these snakes? I would love to see that


https://youtu.be/3FbkhsJKGEI?t=4m42s

[tagg]

I just finished that section this past weekend, going north from Duncannon to the Mohican Outdoor Center in NJ. It took me 9 days to do that stretch, about 150 miles. I tend to average about 16 mpd, and I was right on my normal speed in this section. Saw a bunch of rattlesnakes, and the water sources were weakening throughout the week (it only rained once during my trip, and that was at night while I was asleep). In my opinion, the bigger rocks at Knife Edge, the Superfund site, and some of those other places were easy to deal with because I could hop/step from one to another. But I will say there was a longish stretch of trail north of the 501 shelter that had those little b*****s that were too small and sharp to step on, but too close together to step between, and that got annoying. Overall, I expected them to be a lot worse through PA than they were. I also didn't see as many thrus as I expected, but I was headed north and didn't stay in any shelters.

[illabelle]

We finished up Pennsylvania (Port Clinton to DWG) in late March/early April.
It snowed. We saw no snakes. We had no problem finding water. It was never too hot. With the snow, we barely noticed the rocks. But you have fun, Gambit. :)

[Quik]

Gambit- the video snakes is how I remember them in 2010, I didn't see any copperheads and stopped counting rattlers.

Good luck on your section and have fun.

[Gambit McCrae]

Whelp- I got lots of excuses but i have put off this trip till the fall or spring.
1-The forecast is in the mid to high 90’s all week with no rain
2-No rain, most water sources I saw are already at spring 3 (.5 mile or more off the trail)
3-Im not diggin the damn rattlesnakes. Its a borderline phobia, and they wont be as bad in the milder season.
4-I enjoy going with a hikig buddy, I had no buddy to go this trip and the lack of leadership just didnt have my heart in the trip. PA will once again have to wait for another time.

[Malto]

Whelp- I got lots of excuses but i have put off this trip till the fall or spring.
1-The forecast is in the mid to high 90’s all week with no rain
2-No rain, most water sources I saw are already at spring 3 (.5 mile or more off the trail)
3-Im not diggin the damn rattlesnakes. Its a borderline phobia, and they wont be as bad in the milder season.
4-I enjoy going with a hikig buddy, I had no buddy to go this trip and the lack of leadership just didnt have my heart in the trip. PA will once again have to wait for another time.
Personally, I think fall is the best time to hike PA. Late fall under a full moon can be magical. The first time I hiked the section near the Pinnacle I hike it late evening with a full moon and it was one of my favorite days on trail.

[Slo-go'en]

Wise decision. I've hiked PA in June and even then it was too blasted hot. 20 miles into the water gap on a heat index advisory day. Brutal.

The last time I did PA, it was during early May and it was a much more pleasant experience, despite the two weeks of drizzle most days.

[chknfngrs]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of NOPE

[blue indian]

https://youtu.be/3FbkhsJKGEI?t=4m42s

Cool stuff. But why the hell did the stick his camera in the snakes business. That is incredibly ignorant. Not only are you putting yourself and your family in danger, but you are agitating the snakes for the next hikers that come thru. He also makes fun of an endangered fish population and "Like only 3 people care about". What a freaking moron.

[George]

Whelp- I got lots of excuses but i have put off this trip till the fall or spring.
1-The forecast is in the mid to high 90’s all week with no rain
2-No rain, most water sources I saw are already at spring 3 (.5 mile or more off the trail)
3-Im not diggin the damn rattlesnakes. Its a borderline phobia, and they wont be as bad in the milder season.
4-I enjoy going with a hikig buddy, I had no buddy to go this trip and the lack of leadership just didnt have my heart in the trip. PA will once again have to wait for another time.

5- give the PA maintainers more time to sharpen the rocks

[Berserker]

Whelp- I got lots of excuses but i have put off this trip till the fall or spring.
1-The forecast is in the mid to high 90’s all week with no rain
2-No rain, most water sources I saw are already at spring 3 (.5 mile or more off the trail)
3-Im not diggin the damn rattlesnakes. Its a borderline phobia, and they wont be as bad in the milder season.
4-I enjoy going with a hikig buddy, I had no buddy to go this trip and the lack of leadership just didnt have my heart in the trip. PA will once again have to wait for another time.
I'm late to the party on this one, but agree with postponing. I did the Eastern most 90 miles in PA back in June when it was still mild and water was flowing well. 90s and low water flow in PA would really suck. Here's my thoughts on your list:
1. 90s...yuck. No rain = long walk to water.
2. See #1.
3. If it's a borderline phobia for you then I'm not gonna pick on you. I went through there when the Crawfords did, and heard lots of reports of rattlers and copper heads. I didn't see a single one, and was bummed (I like snakes).
4. Agreed, I prefer hiking with a buddy.

[Gambit McCrae]

I'm late to the party on this one, but agree with postponing. I did the Eastern most 90 miles in PA back in June when it was still mild and water was flowing well. 90s and low water flow in PA would really suck. Here's my thoughts on your list:
1. 90s...yuck. No rain = long walk to water.
2. See #1.
3. If it's a borderline phobia for you then I'm not gonna pick on you. I went through there when the Crawfords did, and heard lots of reports of rattlers and copper heads. I didn't see a single one, and was bummed (I like snakes).
4. Agreed, I prefer hiking with a buddy.

Thanks and I agree with all your points.

#3 - When I see them its like "oh, yep, there's a rattlesnake, time to move along there ol snake" lol so I cant really call it a phobia, I just don't like them.

#5...I don't believe the hype of the rocks, I have done enough research, and walked enough of the trail to know it is like playing the game telephone. I will spend my rock worry efforts towards southern Maine. Hell if this kid can walk the state in dern flip flops then....I'm not gunna complain. PS..(its only the last 35 miles of PA that makes a name for the entire 225 miles of of the state for rocks)


https://youtu.be/63bJnzl1YFY

#6....? My favorite month to hike is October, so I have scheduled to go up 3rd week in Oct.

and #7 I have a committed buddy to join me. So that part worked out well!

[George]

PA is just kind of blah - complaining about the rocks gives it a little spark

like the "roller coaster" if it were not advertised, who would notice

[Gambit McCrae]

PA is just kind of blah - complaining about the rocks gives it a little spark

like the "roller coaster" if it were not advertised, who would notice

Very true. The only stretch that has lived up to its hype so far was agony grind in NY. That 10 miles or so south of NY17 - with no water - was brutal. I don't really like using the word brutal because in the big picture it really isn't "brutal" but in the moment it was tough.

[Berserker]

PA is just kind of blah - complaining about the rocks gives it a little spark

like the "roller coaster" if it were not advertised, who would notice


Very true. The only stretch that has lived up to its hype so far was agony grind in NY. That 10 miles or so south of NY17 - with no water - was brutal. I don't really like using the word brutal because in the big picture it really isn't "brutal" but in the moment it was tough.
Having done the vast majority of the trail I partially agree with the above statements. A lot of it is personal perception. Thrus hit a lot of this stuff in incredible shape and blow right through it. In contrast there are people like myself who section hike, and aren't always in the best of condition when we hit some of this stuff thus viewing it in a different way.

My personal thought on the PA rocks is that they are more than just a bit of an annoyance. I mean in the SE and Mid-Atlantic states most of the trail is well graded, and the rocky sections of PA require careful foot placement, which translates to moving slower and not getting in a nice rhythm...that's how it was for me anyway.

As for the Roller Coaster, I actually found that piece difficult just because it became strenuous for me. Agony Grind peeved me off because I went down it, and fell a couple of times. Then there are other pieces of the trail South of NH and ME that I found hard for various reasons.

[JohnThe Snail]

Just want to add that if doing that section in Oct make sure to wear orange. It will be archery season then and you don't want to be confused with a deer.