WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 29
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    05-21-2010
    Location
    Seminole, Fl
    Age
    75
    Posts
    463
    Images
    26

    Default Rocks along the AT in Pennsylvania.

    I'm planning a section hike from DWG, south, to Carlisle in May. I've read about rocky trail conditions along the PA section of the trail. I wonder if those conditions prevail along the entire PA section or wether a specific section, north, south , central is worse / better than the others. I'm not seeing a lot of elevation change along this section so I don't want to assume that there might not be other challenges. Also, has anyone used one of the Harrisburg based Capitol Area transit routes to move from Carlisle back to AMTRAK in Harrisburg ?
    Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other.
    —M. C. Richards

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-16-2011
    Location
    On the trail
    Posts
    3,789
    Images
    3

    Default

    They get progressively worse as you head north.

  3. #3
    Registered User Lyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-25-2006
    Location
    Croswell, MI
    Age
    70
    Posts
    3,934
    Images
    68

    Default

    Agree with Malto. The worst rock problem for me was the section between DWG and Lehigh Gap. Small, grapefruit size rocks that twisted your feet around and rolled underneath your foot. No way to avoid them, the entire forest floor was covered with them, including the trail. Further south, the rocks are more of a slanted slab sticking out of the ground or larger boulder fields. Still not fun, but easier to navigate (except maybe when wet).

    Not saying this to discourage you. The worst of it was the five miles or so immediately south of DWG. Just plan to slow down and use care placing your feet for this section. None of it really lives up to all the negative hype.

  4. #4
    Registered User Walkintom's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-16-2010
    Location
    Eagle River, WI
    Age
    51
    Posts
    697

    Default

    Southern PA was not bad.

    Northern PA made up for that, with interest. Stoopid rocks.

  5. #5
    GoldenBear's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-31-2007
    Location
    Upper Darby, PA
    Posts
    890
    Journal Entries
    63
    Images
    353

    Lightbulb I can help with BOTH questions!

    > I wonder if those conditions prevail along the entire PA section

    No, but they CAN get pretty bad.
    http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=50496
    http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=50495
    Note that these are NOT the worst rock sections in the state -- those come further north.


    > has anyone used one of the Harrisburg based Capitol Area transit routes to move from Carlisle back to AMTRAK in Harrisburg?

    No, but I've done the opposite -- Amtrak Station to Carlisle.
    The pdf's I link to should give enough info.

    http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...-PA?highlight=

  6. #6
    Registered User evyck da fleet's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-24-2011
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Age
    52
    Posts
    516

    Default

    I thought the rocky section started just after Pulpit Rock in PA, got progressively worse until DWG and was still a pain until I reached whatever state park HQ is in NJ just before the monument near the trail.

  7. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-05-2014
    Location
    New Bern, North Carolina
    Posts
    21
    Images
    1

    Default

    Rumor has it that all the beautiful farmland in central PA is there because they moved all the rocks to the mountain ridge lines…..then, since it was no good for anything else, the decision was made to place the AT over them. Seriously, I agree with evyck da fleet. Most everything north of Duncannon, PA
    is intermittently to severely rocky. Plan for slower travel, torn up boots, and watch the ankles.
    "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
    but I have promises to keep,
    and miles to go before I sleep,
    and miles to go before I sleep." (Frost)

  8. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    07-15-2011
    Location
    Williamsburg, VA
    Age
    75
    Posts
    46

    Default

    As others have noted, the rocks in PA get increasingly worse north of the Susquehanna River. Although the PA section of the AT is relatively flat (except for river valleys), the rocks can really slow you down. Interestingly, in many areas, there is a terrain perfectly suitable for an alternate trail (with few or no rocks) just 50 meters or so to the side of the actual rocky trail. I’m not sure why this happened—maybe the trail makers/maintainers are attempting to decrease the probably of erosion or there is some issue with land use. Water can be scarce, especially in late summer/early fall in the NE section. And watch out for the rattlesnakes. They love to sun themselves on the rocks on hot days. There are great trail towns in PA, so you will have a good hike.

  9. #9

    Default

    If you want to know WHY PA has nasty rock fields, let me tell you.

    The Pleistocene glacial limit was at the Delaware Water Gap. The continental ice sheets reached from Canada all the way down through New England but stopped near the current PA line. However, the local climate near the ice sheets, for a few hundred miles south, was still cold and had a lot of freeze/thaw cycles. We call this a periglacial environment and there are specific landforms associated with it. One is the "devil's racecourses" produced by millions of freeze/thaw cycles operating on the local rock outcrops. In some cases these rock accumulations had ice cores, and flowed downhill like real ice glaciers. In the Rockies we have actual rock glaciers with ice cores, which also date from the late Pleistocene when the climate was colder and wetter (often they grew in glaciated valleys after the alpine glaciers melted away).

    So these are relict landforms of an ancient Pleistocene periglacial climate. Today you would have to go to Alaska or northern Canada to find those climate conditions. Conditions warmed up 10-20,000 years ago, when the glaciers meted away (as they already waxed and waned a few other times throughout the Pleistocene).

    This is why the rock fields are covered by fairly large lichen plants. Often you can't even trace the loose rocks to any outcrops. The shattering mechanism was so effective that everything was thoroughly shattered, unless you dig straight down for a hundred feet or so. The rock fields are indicators of a certain past climate, and this is supported by what we call weathering criteria--lichen, plant growth, soils, etc. I think that it's pretty cool that you can walk around on a landscape that formed over 10,000 years ago. Just try not to stumble on the rocks!

    RockDoc

  10. #10

    Default

    That was my second guess.....

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    10-26-2014
    Location
    Chalfont, PA
    Posts
    58

    Default

    It's not that big a of a deal, the rock sections come and go, it's not solid rocks for 50 miles or anything.

  12. #12

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by TomN View Post
    It's not that big a of a deal, the rock sections come and go, it's not solid rocks for 50 miles or anything.
    It just feels like it

    I live and hike in the whites which have a lot of rocks. When I step on a rock in the whites I have reasonable expectation that its not going anywhere, its the exact opposite in PA. Granted our trails are steeper but PA wins hands down for treacherous footing when in the rocky sections.

  13. #13
    The other white meat
    Join Date
    01-20-2004
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Age
    55
    Posts
    103

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by evyck da fleet View Post
    I thought the rocky section started just after Pulpit Rock in PA, got progressively worse until DWG and was still a pain until I reached whatever state park HQ is in NJ just before the monument near the trail.
    This is pretty much the case. After the Eckville road crossing, you should expect sporadic boulder fields all the way to DWG. Not a problem if your ankles are in shape.

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    10-25-2010
    Location
    collegeville PA
    Age
    60
    Posts
    142

    Default

    Tomn,your a PA guy like myself so i bet you've hiked a lot of the AT in pa many times over.And your correct in saying there are stretches of rocks.But,i look at it like stretches of rocks with short areas of pathway in between.It wears me and my back down.That being said,it wont scare me off.There are many cool sections like the climb south out of DWG.Or the climb north from lehigh gap.Fun stuff.
    I walk up hills,and then walk down

  15. #15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RockDoc View Post
    If you want to know WHY PA has nasty rock fields, let me tell you.

    The Pleistocene glacial limit was at the Delaware Water Gap. The continental ice sheets reached from Canada all the way down through New England but stopped near the current PA line. However, the local climate near the ice sheets, for a few hundred miles south, was still cold and had a lot of freeze/thaw cycles. We call this a periglacial environment and there are specific landforms associated with it. One is the "devil's racecourses" produced by millions of freeze/thaw cycles operating on the local rock outcrops. In some cases these rock accumulations had ice cores, and flowed downhill like real ice glaciers. In the Rockies we have actual rock glaciers with ice cores, which also date from the late Pleistocene when the climate was colder and wetter (often they grew in glaciated valleys after the alpine glaciers melted away).

    So these are relict landforms of an ancient Pleistocene periglacial climate. Today you would have to go to Alaska or northern Canada to find those climate conditions. Conditions warmed up 10-20,000 years ago, when the glaciers meted away (as they already waxed and waned a few other times throughout the Pleistocene).

    This is why the rock fields are covered by fairly large lichen plants. Often you can't even trace the loose rocks to any outcrops. The shattering mechanism was so effective that everything was thoroughly shattered, unless you dig straight down for a hundred feet or so. The rock fields are indicators of a certain past climate, and this is supported by what we call weathering criteria--lichen, plant growth, soils, etc. I think that it's pretty cool that you can walk around on a landscape that formed over 10,000 years ago. Just try not to stumble on the rocks!

    RockDoc
    Thanks RD - I think that's pretty helpful. Last time I did a section hike in northern PA, I took a copy of Collins Chew's book on AT geology and it substantially increased my enjoyment. Anytime I have the opportunity to learn about the natural history of an area I'm hiking through, I take advantage of that opportunity. Additionally, I'll say that when I did my thru I approached the trail through PA the way most thrus do - the rocks were an obstacle to overcome and the entire state was just something to be endured. Terrible attitude. Now, when I hike PA, I do it in either peak fall colors or early spring wildflower season and the broken bits of sandstone in the trail are all part of the charm.
    Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

  16. #16

    Default Silurian sandstones and quartzites of the Central and Southern Appalachians

    Quote Originally Posted by RockDoc View Post
    If you want to know WHY PA has nasty rock fields, let me tell you.

    The Pleistocene glacial limit was at the Delaware Water Gap. The continental ice sheets reached from Canada all the way down through New England but stopped near the current PA line. However, the local climate near the ice sheets, for a few hundred miles south, was still cold and had a lot of freeze/thaw cycles. We call this a periglacial environment and there are specific landforms associated with it. One is the "devil's racecourses" produced by millions of freeze/thaw cycles operating on the local rock outcrops. In some cases these rock accumulations had ice cores, and flowed downhill like real ice glaciers. In the Rockies we have actual rock glaciers with ice cores, which also date from the late Pleistocene when the climate was colder and wetter (often they grew in glaciated valleys after the alpine glaciers melted away).

    So these are relict landforms of an ancient Pleistocene periglacial climate. Today you would have to go to Alaska or northern Canada to find those climate conditions. Conditions warmed up 10-20,000 years ago, when the glaciers meted away (as they already waxed and waned a few other times throughout the Pleistocene).

    This is why the rock fields are covered by fairly large lichen plants. Often you can't even trace the loose rocks to any outcrops. The shattering mechanism was so effective that everything was thoroughly shattered, unless you dig straight down for a hundred feet or so. The rock fields are indicators of a certain past climate, and this is supported by what we call weathering criteria--lichen, plant growth, soils, etc. I think that it's pretty cool that you can walk around on a landscape that formed over 10,000 years ago. Just try not to stumble on the rocks!

    RockDoc
    Nice summary of rock fields/periglacial climate freeze-thaw/mass wasting.

    But, I believe the preponderance of the difficult rocks along the AT's Pennsylvania section are outcrops and broken pieces of the Silurian Tuscarora Sandstone. The Tuscarora and its stratigraphic equivalents are a ridge-formers of the first order, with widespread distribution throughout the Central and Southern Appalachians, from NY-NJ (where the horizon carries the Shawangunk name), through PA and MD (where Tuscarora is the name), VA (Tuscarora and Massanutten formations), and into TN, GA, and AL (Clinch Sandstone, Red Mountain formations). Given the extensive folding and overthrust faulting, Tuscarora horizons appear as continuous parallel ridges throughout the Great Valley & Valley and Ridge geologic provinces between the crystalline Blue Ridge and the flat-lying Cumberland Plateau, particularly in PA, VA, and TN (though the TN exposures are generally west of the AT).

    Particularly in northeast PA, the AT runs atop Tuscarora ridges for miles and miles, with the folding having produced the "tilted slab" noted above. Where the sandstone/quartzite on which the AT runs is not actual outcrop, blocks of Tuscarora form the rock fields so well described by RockDoc. Back in Virginia, AT hikers walk atop "tilted slab" outcrops of Tuscarora sandstone along Garden Mountain, starting just NOBO of the VA-42 crossing just over Walker Mountain from Atkins (where Garden Mountain is the eastern limb of a spectacular collapsed anticline at the center of which is the carbonate valley of Burke's Garden, aka "God's Thumbprint"). As such, the slab outcrop along Garden Mountain tilts to the right (E-SE). Much of the AT from Garden Mountain to Daleville lies atop Tuscarora ridges, including the McAfee Knob and the Dragon's Tooth areas. The dramatic vertical beds of Tuscarora exposed at Seneca Rocks, WV lie west of the AT, which at that latitude runs atop the Blue Ridge some 50 miles east. Adjacent to the AT within Shenandoah Nat Park, Massanutten Mountain is a tightly folded synclinal core of dense, hard Tuscarora sandstone/quartzite perched atop softer Martinsburg Formation sediments. Massanutten is over 50 miles in length and seemingly stands but an arm's length away from the AT atop the Blue Ridge just across the valley of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River from about Swift Run Gap to Front Royal.

    AO (Appalachian State University Geology, 1978)

  17. #17
    Registered User
    Join Date
    11-07-2007
    Location
    Hamilton, NJ
    Age
    36
    Posts
    1,551

    Default

    21 by djbigley, on Flickr

    This is the DWG. Welcome to hell
    Smile, Smile, Smile.... Mile after Mile

  18. #18

    Default

    Actually, I thought Maryland was a lot worse (WRT rocks) than Pennsylvania (from DWG going south).

  19. #19
    Registered User brancher's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-16-2004
    Location
    Wilmington/Leland, NC
    Posts
    314

    Default

    Damm. All this I thought they were just plain rocks.

  20. #20
    Registered User
    Join Date
    08-12-2009
    Location
    Spring Lake, MI
    Age
    58
    Posts
    1,470

    Default

    I have only hiked SNP (Waynesboro) north through PA...

    The first part of PA was a walk in the park....literally, some of the time we strolled through fields and farms.

    The last part of PA = rough.... The rocks end up feeling like they were sharpened to poke into your foot like razors. There is no way around them!

    But, it is just part of the trail!

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
++ New Posts ++

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •