View Full Version : Mid State Trail in PA
Smooth03
02-23-2005, 10:16
Just looking for anyone who has thru-hiked or done a significant portion of the trail. I hear nothing but good things about it and after doing the Black Forest Trail and the Quehanna Trail in Central PA I'm looking forward do getting back in the region with a thru-hike this May.
Any comments concerning water, trail towns, safety, and trail termini accessibility would be greatly appreciated.
BlackCloud
02-23-2005, 11:52
I wouldn't say that I've done significant portions of it - less then 50 miles actually. Back when I was organizing trips in college for the Bucknell Outing Club I found the MST to be a great option for linear hikes.
Overall, I found it to be relatively dry, poorly marked, and about as remote as Central PA will allow. The map & book set is ok. While the mileage book is very good, the maps are not. They are black & white and have too many contour lines for me. You will rarely see anyone else out there, even on a Saturday. Trailheads are all rather accessible, but I would recommend Delorme's Gazateer for PA, as most all road crossings are obscure and back, BACK road......
Smooth03
02-23-2005, 14:37
Thanks Blackcloud.
I have the 1995 Trail Map and guide book and your right the maps seem to be a little confusing but I appreciate that they have water sources and "bail out" options marked in case something were to go wrong. I'm looking forward to a little solitude after my year living in NYC so I'll be happy if I don't see many people.
Spirit Walker
02-23-2005, 15:37
We've hiked about 100 miles of it and maintain a section in the north. The northern parts are less rocky than the southern sections. They are still building the trail - in a year or two it will connect the Greenridge Trail in Maryland to the Fingerlakes Trail in New York. If you want to hike the new northern sections, contact KTA or the MSTA for information on where it goes. A very nice overnight hike is Little Pine SP to Blackwell, if you have two cars. The trail has nice views and is very little used, for the most part. While it is mostly maintained, there are places near roads where it won't be apparent as they attempt to keep bikes and horses from using it by leaving it rough.
Wise Old Owl
05-04-2008, 19:53
Overall, I found it to be relatively dry, poorly marked, and about as remote as Central PA will allow. The map & book set is ok. While the mileage book is very good, the maps are not. They are black & white and have too many contour lines for me. You will rarely see anyone else out there, even on a Saturday. Trailheads are all rather accessible, but I would recommend Delorme's Gazateer for PA, as most all road crossings are obscure and back, BACK road......
Just got back after doing a section and found these old posts - The trail is under used and is fantastically remote in some areas. The best thing is to get the Map & Guide Set. EMS just dumped it and does not carry the MST in stock anymore. I looked at the PA Gazateer the MST is NOT included! Maybe it is in one of the years printings, but clearly missing from three I looked at. Water is not a problem at the moment in Bald Eagle State Forest.
Here is a better idea; Stop by one of the State "FOREST" District offices where they have many maps for different options. Maps for Hiking, Car Touring, ATV, Mountain Bike, and other fun sports. All Free.
Ramble~On
05-05-2008, 03:29
Wow..I haven't heard or thought about this trail in a long, long time.
The MST was my first long hike and is no doubt a good part of what has resulted in a love of backpacking. I did many sections hikes as a kid and we hiked the entire trail twice and on the third go my hiking partners dog had a run in with a porcupine and we didn't finish.
The "ridge and valley" of central PA is beautiful and I like to remember it as I last saw it...I'm sure it would be a different scene now with the hemlocks mauled. If I remember right it was orange blazed and had long stretches of overgrown trail and on some of the ridges we'd lose the trail for miles in the rocks. We built a memorial to one of our close friends on the ridge looking out over State College. The MSTA was my first trail club and first experience with the hard work of maintaining trail.
Edit: - I just checked out their website and was amazed to see how this trail has grown! Wow.
Just got back after doing a section and found these old posts - The trail is under used and is fantastically remote in some areas. The best thing is to get the Map & Guide Set. EMS just dumped it and does not carry the MST in stock anymore. I looked at the PA Gazateer the MST is NOT included! Maybe it is in one of the years printings, but clearly missing from three I looked at. Water is not a problem at the moment in Bald Eagle State Forest.
Here is a better idea; Stop by one of the State "FOREST" District offices where they have many maps for different options. Maps for Hiking, Car Touring, ATV, Mountain Bike, and other fun sports. All Free.
Mid State Trail web site for others who might be looking: http://www.hike-mst.org
The MST Guide is out of print at the moment while it's being updated by the volunteers. The MSTA has had to temporarily stiff Liberty Mountain (the former Equinox), its main distributor, which (hopefully temporarily) is why EMS doesn't have it. When the guide comes back (hopefully this summer; there's a lot of hope involved here...) it will describe a route from the MD border to the NY border and the sections will progress in order from MD to NY - a major step! :)
The MST maps are even more slowly being changed from B&W to color. One color map is already available and the next is in process. The contour interval has been changed from 10 or 20 feet to 50 meters which clears things up considerably. In about three years there will be four color maps to go with the guide - and the sections will have the same numbers as the maps.
As of today no one is known to MSTA to have thru-hiked the entire MST as presently constituted - however someone may be starting this week armed with an early draft of the new guide, we'll have to see whether he survives the experience! ;)
It is definitely handy to have DCNR Forest District maps that you pick up at the office. MST passes through 5 Forest Districts and there is a zone of MST not covered by Forest District Public Use Maps too. Although DCNR has Public Use Maps on their website, strangely the updated ones are only in print form NOT on the website! (Hel-LO????) Plus there are District Hiking Trail maps that never made it onto the website.
Also the entire MST and its Greenwood Spur are part of Great Eastern Trail http://www.greateasterntrail.net
WOO - Where'd you go and what did you see?
sparky2000
05-05-2008, 08:56
One of the great guarantees on this trail is large rattlesnakes under your feet and mommy bear with cubs along the many creeks that the trail travels1
Ramble~On
05-05-2008, 17:10
Sparky I see you're from Happy Valley...I moved away long ago but have logged many, many miles up through Shingletown, Boalsburg and Pine Grove Mills. Rothrock must look a lot diffferent with the Hemlock dead.
Allan Seeger was always a favorite hike.
As I remember it the MST was just shy of 300 miles- how long is it now ?
The hemlocks aren't dead quite yet - HWA is noticeable only from Mifflin County south and serious mortality only in Bedford County from my observations this year.
The open length of MST is 502 km or about 312 miles. You probably remember it being 300 km not 300 mi. :)
Ramble~On
05-10-2008, 04:20
The hemlocks aren't dead quite yet - HWA is noticeable only from Mifflin County south and serious mortality only in Bedford County from my observations this year.
The open length of MST is 502 km or about 312 miles. You probably remember it being 300 km not 300 mi. :)
It was aka The Metric System Trail.
Wise Old Owl
05-10-2008, 04:40
Kioeh, I was invited by a cool hiking freind who owns a hunter cabin within the forest. We did sections south of Paddy's Mountain together. We also checked out a virgin old growth valley full of Hemlock that for the most part looked ok, then you see an occational red barked tree that has been decimated by the woolies.
Location
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?cp=40.860175%7c-77.275158&style=h&lvl=13&v=1
Woolies
http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/research/hwa.html
It was aka The Metric System Trail.
Still is! From the MST web site http://www.hike-mst.org/contact.html
Why does MST use the metric system?
The MST was the first hiking trail in the United States to use metric measure. The second edition of the guide (1973) was completely metric. Metrication is a patriotic measure designed to help end our cultural isolation and ease our chronic balance of payments problems. Click here (http://www.rps.psu.edu/notebook/metric.html) for more information.
The new color maps (only 1 of 4 is out yet) declare complete independence from "outdated colonial units" - except for the sheet size from the printer... :D
We also checked out a virgin old growth valley full of Hemlock that for the most part looked ok, then you see an occational red barked tree that has been decimated by the woolies.
You mean Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area? Guess I need to get my 5yo daughter out there soon...
Article about MST from AMC Outdoors:
http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/2008/traverse-pennsylvanias-mid-state-trail.cfm
BAG "o" TRICKS
11-18-2008, 09:57
I have a cabin in the Bald Eagle State Forest .5 from the Mid State Trail and one mile west of R.B. Winter State Park. I'm usually head up there as many weekends as possible from mid-September thru May. If any of you 'hiker trash' are planning a trip on the MST in that area and would care to stop by give me a hollar ahead of time. I've hiked the MST and other major trails in Northcentral PA. IMHO the best hiking in PA lies in this region. For those that have hiked some of these trails you know exactly what I mean. Still somewhat remote and wild, at least for now.
Bag o Tricks, what's the best way to get hold of you regarding MST? Can't seem to figure out how to PM you here.