There are plenty of east steps on the PA section of the Appalachian Trail that Tom Quinn walked recently..
The Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania is definitely different than the trail in other states that I have hiked. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have a similar track; sections of trail with manageable miles between roads with some variety, some difficulty and good views mixed in between for enjoyment. Yes, I like hiking in PA, but it is just different.
Pennsylvania sections of trail are much longer between roads, with limited variety and a trail that goes through extremely large “State Game Land Regions” used by hunters and outdoor enthusiasts throughout the year. If you didn’t have AT white markings placed on trees along the way, you might never find your way out of the woods in some of these places.
My brother, Rob, nephew Jack and myself hiked such a section recently in PA. We hiked a 16.2 mile, 35,000 step section from the Clarks Ferry Route 325 AT Parking Lot (Dauphin County, PA) to the Swatara Gap near Lebanon. At this point, I am about 3-and-a-half hours away from River Vale, so this was an all-day affair preceded by an overnight at my brother’s house in PA. My AT connections are simply getting too far from my house at this point to do all this in one day. I am nearing a 450-mile swath of trail through several states along the AT.
The start of the hike (northbound) is extremely easy, passing the Dehart Reservoir (a 5 mile long reservoir that holds drinking water for the Harrisburg, PA area). The trail follows an old carriage road probably used by people 100-150 years ago for transporting iron and coal out of the mines up here. We passed several mines that were filled and no longer in use on this hike. The first 10 miles or so of the hike were extremely easy; probably the easiest hike I have had on the AT. Could I continue the 2.5-3 mile per hour pace throughout the entire hike?
The village of Rausch Gap pops up late in the walk.
We passed a couple of old settlements including an old coal mining village from the 1850’s. At this point, it was just an open area with a mailbox there for a good laugh. It is amazing to me that people actually lived and mined up here. We are miles from a main road at this point of the hike, so how could it have been for these people in the mid to late 1800’s?
Eventually, at around mile 11 or so of our journey, the hike led down a hill to the Rausch Gap. We passed yet another old settlement where coal and iron were produced. Yes, I could imagine something going on here 150 years ago. This hike had some history to it; unfortunately, it did not provide the excitement and occasional difficulty that comes with most hikes I have walked.
The good news for us was that the hike started to pick up. Quite frankly, so far it was the easiest walk in the woods we had thus far. At mile 12, we hiked over a pond that was dammed up by beavers. Previous blogs I read put a little fear into me about this crossing, but other than a few wet spots, it was a careful walk over logs and big branches across the pond (maybe 75 yards). After this crossing, it was a decent climb to a ridge, and then another larger ascent to a higher clearing (yes! something to work for, finally!).
The hike started to pack a little punch for the three of us. Miles 14 and 15 were filled with long, gradual descents down a couple of mountains that had some difficulty. We eventually were led to the beginning of the Swatara Gap, which I have said in previous writings is gorgeous. Definitely a place I would hike often if I lived out here (Lebanon County, PA). We walked through the gap from mile 15 to the end and eventually got to our awaiting car to complete the hike.
I do not think I would ever do this hike again because of the mundane parts that made up most of the walk. The hike did have a good ending, which helped; however, there are no roads that could place me three quarters of the way into the hike. Can anyone fly a helicopter and drop me around mile 12 of this hike? I am looking forward to the next section of the AT in Pennsylvania.
Tom Quinn is in his 32nd year as a geometry and calculus teacher at Northern Valley/Old Tappan High School. He was the Golden Knights’ girls soccer coach for 23 years, has been the boys golf coach for 12 seasons and is now back on the sidelines as the JV girls soccer coach. He took his first steps on the Appalachian Trail on January 1, 2019.
Quinn has logged a lot of miles since. He has walked the entire New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusettes sections of the AT and is about halfway through Pennsylvania. He shares some of his experiences, tips and tricks in our semi-regular Down The Trail feature.
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