Finishing up Pennsylvania

[illabelle]

That section north of Swarta Gap wouldn't be bad, except that several miles of trail was overgrown with poison ivy and devil's tail vine. It's hard to avoid rocks when you can't see them!
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Never heard of devil's tail before. Learned something new.

[Gambit McCrae]

Never heard of devil's tail before. Learned something new.

It is native to most of temperate and tropical eastern Asia, from eastern Russia in the north down to the Philippines and India in the south.<sup>[5][6]


Does this make the Devils Tail an invasive species to the US?</sup>

[illabelle]

It is native to most of temperate and tropical eastern Asia, from eastern Russia in the north down to the Philippines and India in the south.<sup>[5][6]


Does this make the Devils Tail an invasive species to the US?</sup>

Yep.
Per wikipedia:

The first records of Persicaria perfoliata in North America are from Portland, Oregon (1890) and Beltsville, Maryland (1937). Both of these sites were eliminated or did not establish permanent populations of the species. However, the introduction of P. perfoliata somewhere between the late 1930s and 1946 to a nursery site in Stewartstown, York County,^[7] Pennsylvania produced a population of this plant that did become established in the wild. It is speculated that the seed was spread with Rhododendron stock. The owner of the nursery was interested in the plant and allowed it to reproduce; subsequent efforts to eradicate it were not successful. The distribution of P. perfoliata has radiated from the York County site into neighboring states. Fifty-five years after its introduction, the range for this plant in the United States had extended as far as 300 miles (480 km) in several directions from the York County, Pennsylvania site.

[illabelle]

I need some education about hiking eastern PA in snow.

A few years back we hiked PenMar to Duncannon in mid-April. Pleasant weather and temperatures. Then a couple years ago we went from Duncannon to Port Clinton, again in mid-April. Still very nice out, although there was a lot of water on the trail from snowmelt.

So now this year we're supposed to hike from Port C to DWG. Had a conflict with mid-April, but figured late March/early April would be okay. We arrive in Allentown next Wednesday. But with one snowstorm after another, I imagine the trail is nowhere close to clear.

Other than OR gaiters and warm clothes, we have zero gear for snow and ice, and only minimal experience. We hiked from Buena Vista VA to the Tye River last weekend. Patchy snow, knee-deep drifts here and there. Would have fallen a thousand times without our trekking poles.

ATweather.com showing 20's to 40's so far with a chance of snow or rain about every other day. Intellicast.com showing current snow cover in eastern PA to be 12-18 inches (I don't trust their accuracy cuz they also show snow coverage here in Knoxville, but there's none left from the dusting we got yesterday).

Maybe it will all melt before we get there, and the birds will sing, and the flowers will bloom.
Or maybe Lehigh Gap will be an impassable ice chute.
Your thoughts and advice?

[Gambit McCrae]

WB's own Bloomer posted this morning he has 12" of snow in southern PA. If it were me I would wait Illabelle, till late April Early May for a much better experience. I know this may be difficult with plane tickets etc but just my opinion. PA is hard enough with all those pesky rocks, put a 12" blanket of snow on top of them and I just don't think I would be a fan of that. Wish yall the best

[Water Rat]

I need some education about hiking eastern PA in snow.

A few years back we hiked PenMar to Duncannon in mid-April. Pleasant weather and temperatures. Then a couple years ago we went from Duncannon to Port Clinton, again in mid-April. Still very nice out, although there was a lot of water on the trail from snowmelt.

So now this year we're supposed to hike from Port C to DWG. Had a conflict with mid-April, but figured late March/early April would be okay. We arrive in Allentown next Wednesday. But with one snowstorm after another, I imagine the trail is nowhere close to clear.

Other than OR gaiters and warm clothes, we have zero gear for snow and ice, and only minimal experience. We hiked from Buena Vista VA to the Tye River last weekend. Patchy snow, knee-deep drifts here and there. Would have fallen a thousand times without our trekking poles.

ATweather.com showing 20's to 40's so far with a chance of snow or rain about every other day. Intellicast.com showing current snow cover in eastern PA to be 12-18 inches (I don't trust their accuracy cuz they also show snow coverage here in Knoxville, but there's none left from the dusting we got yesterday).

Maybe it will all melt before we get there, and the birds will sing, and the flowers will bloom.
Or maybe Lehigh Gap will be an impassable ice chute.
Your thoughts and advice?

You might try contacting one of the local AT clubs in Pennsylvania. The local clubs might have specific trail info. The snow last week nailed some parts of Pennsylvania, skipped some places, etc. Each of the March storms seems to have said "hi" to Pennsylvania, though the amounts left behind have been extremely different (depending on location...even a few miles away).

[Slo-go'en]

The trail will be treacherous. It will be hard to see where the rocks are and in that section you need to stay on top of the rocks. The rocks are randomly spaced and keep you up to 12" off the ground. The rocks are spaced so it's easy to get your feet trapped between them. You can't walk in a straight line, you need to keep staggering left and right like a drunk. I was SO happy to be done with that section so I could walk normally again.

I would strongly suggest you delay the trip or risk a sprained ankle or worse.

There is a winter trail out of Lehigh gap so you don't have to do the rock climb.

[illabelle]

WB's own Bloomer posted this morning he has 12" of snow in southern PA. If it were me I would wait Illabelle, till late April Early May for a much better experience. I know this may be difficult with plane tickets etc but just my opinion. PA is hard enough with all those pesky rocks, put a 12" blanket of snow on top of them and I just don't think I would be a fan of that. Wish yall the best

Not what I wanted to hear.
I saw your post in the Roan Mtn thread about heading up there in a few weeks. Wish we could reschedule. Ugh. I guess we'll have a talk about it tonight.

[Gambit McCrae]

Not what I wanted to hear.
I saw your post in the Roan Mtn thread about heading up there in a few weeks. Wish we could reschedule. Ugh. I guess we'll have a talk about it tonight.

Better to know now then later...Better safe then Sorry...Lots of little saying for being smart on the front end of trip planning. I chose to deal with the danger of heat then I do the danger of snow.

I wont be in PA till June 29th at 10:30PM

My first AT trip of this year will be Easter, in some low altitude TN terrain. Then its wide open all the way to springer on weekends until PA in July, and 2 weeks in Mass/ Vermont first of September.

[Angle]

My guess is that most of the snow will be gone by next Thursday. Here in Lancaster we had 12" and it is melting quite nicely today. Your first area of concern would be the Bake Oven Knob area and that would probably be on day 3 of your hike. The good thing is the elevation is only around 1,250' and there are a lot of road crossings if you need to bail. PM me if I can help you in any way. Iceman

[LittleRock]

I am in the same boat...kinda; Little Gap, PA to Duncannon ...115 miles left.
PA for me is a 10 hours drive non stop. I can:
A- Leave work at 330 and drive until midnight get a hotel and be at the trail about noon the next day for a total of 21-22 hours of driving. Gas cost round trip is $170. with a Friday night hotel $100, but only 1 shuttle at the beginning of the trip
B-I can fly to PA...Looking like a round trip to Allentown for about $400 with a shuttle at beginning and end of trip would get me on the trail by about 9am Saturday, still having a Friday night hotel $100.
I am weighing if the flight is worth saving the 18 hours of driving...I know it will as soon as I am in PA at 9pm Friday night....

It's just money, right?

We try to avoid those motels, not only because of the cost, but also because they're so far removed from nature. Light pollution, noise pollution, people everywhere, commercialism - ugh! Usually we'll take a morning flight up, do whatever is necessary to get to the trail (shuttle/rental, fuel, travel, food, etc), and expect to be camping somewhere in the woods that evening. Leaving the trail is the same in reverse, off the trail in the morning, shuttle to hostel/shower/car/airport, get home late. For more remote locations (most of Maine), I budget a full day of travel on each end.

This is something I've also had to start thinking about more lately. Springer was about 8 hours from my house, then it got shorter for a while through NC/TN and even into VA, down to about 3 hours to get to Roanoke. But now the driving distances are getting longer again.

I'll probably be OK driving up through PA. After that, I'll probably end up dropping from 2 one-week trips per year to 1 two-week trip. Which is really only 10-12 days since I'll have to spend 1.5-2 days driving each way. But I'd rather do that than switch to another form of transportation. Having to book plane tickets and shuttle to AND from the trailhead just seems like too much. And if one link in the transportation chain gets screwed up, it can throw off the whole trip.

[Gambit McCrae]

This is something I've also had to start thinking about more lately. Springer was about 8 hours from my house, then it got shorter for a while through NC/TN and even into VA, down to about 3 hours to get to Roanoke. But now the driving distances are getting longer again.

I'll probably be OK driving up through PA. After that, I'll probably end up dropping from 2 one-week trips per year to 1 two-week trip. Which is really only 10-12 days since I'll have to spend 1.5-2 days driving each way. But I'd rather do that than switch to another form of transportation. Having to book plane tickets and shuttle to AND from the trailhead just seems like too much. And if one link in the transportation chain gets screwed up, it can throw off the whole trip.

I did my first 2 week trip this last October. We were able to use that entire time to our advantage by flying. we were on the trail the first Saturday of the trip, and stayed on the trail for 16 days until the last Sunday at noon. We were home at 8:30 that night back in Tennessee. I have done it both ways for a total of 54 trips, and when I get over about 7-8 hours of driving, ill just fly.

[DrL]

I can also confirm that we got ~12 inches not too far from Port Clinton. It's 46F now and the snow is melting fast. It's quite slippery in the shade.
I'm planning on a day hike tomorrow and will report on trail conditions. Suspect slush, puddles, and some icy patches.

[Slo-go'en]

The real question is what will the weather be like next week? We're close enough to guess. The AT weather app shows high of 54, low 38 for next Wednesday and a little warmer for Thursday. Is the worst over? But there will be a lot of freeze/thaws going on in the days previous. With all the recent snow there, that's a good recipe for lots of ice. Better bring spikes.

[Mugthumper]

The real question is what will the weather be like next week? We're close enough to guess. The AT weather app shows high of 54, low 38 for next Wednesday and a little warmer for Thursday. Is the worst over? But there will be a lot of freeze/thaws going on in the days previous. With all the recent snow there, that's a good recipe for lots of ice. Better bring spikes.

Thanks Slo-go'en, I never knew this app existed. Talk about convenience. No more texting my wife and having her send me forecasts.

[QuietStorm]

I hiked Pennsylvania through the winter last year. Had both snow and ice, particularly in Eastern Pennsylvania. Lehigh Gap was clear, however, and I wouldn’t recommend climbing it if there’s ice. The photo is of Wolf Rocks last March. I did use microspikes quite a bit.


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[Red Laces]

saw some of the posts for this thread, late May I'm flying into Allentown, Uber is $40ish to Port Clinton from there. Plan to hike up to Bear Mtn from PC

[DrL]

Trail condition near Port Clinton was variable. But it was also beautiful.

The high traffic areas were icy. Footprints, pawprints, skitracks all turned to ice. These were starting to melt later in the morning but were slippery in the early am.

The low traffic and shady sections were covered with a few inches of the heavy wet stuff. My trail runners got wet quickly. Bring extra socks if you go.

The climb up the hill south of Port Clinton was fun. Gald I brought the snowshoes and poles.
Some photos:

Rail trail from Hamburg to Port Clinton
20180323_085614.jpg

Climb south out of Port Clinton. There are rocks under there. Somewhere.
20180323_091806.jpg

Top of the hill at the junction with the pipeline trail
20180323_095111.jpg

[illabelle]

After considering advice given above and elsewhere, the most recent weather forecast, and the cost to change plane tickets, we've decided to go for it. On our way to Pennsylvania! Thanks to everyone for your input!

Temperatures have moderated sufficiently that any lingering snow will be manageable - we hope. We'll cover 76 miles in 8 days, so no overly ambitious daily mileage goals.

Will post a trip report when we return.

[Durunner]

Nice. Have fun. I have to do Port Clinton to Lehigh Gap yet. Next time I get three days off maybe. I have been out twice in the last month. Not many overnighters yet and this lingering cold will still keep most away, even on weekends. We had close to a foot of snow with that last storm and it is basically gone now. I imagine you will encounter snow, but don't think it will be too bad. Probably some of what I had from Duncannon to Swatara Gap at the end of February. A couple of inches that slowed me down and made hiking hard, but still managed 15 miles a day.