The start of summer 2010

Another school year has ended (and a good one it has been) so that means that my summer traveling plans have begun. This past weekend, my friend Tanya and I spent three days on the Loyalsock Trail. We planned on doing about 38 miles of the 59 mile trail but hiked 42 miles due to some directional challenges. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for hiking and the company was was pretty great too.

On day one we started off on what we thought was the right direction but when we passed mile marker 20 (we started at 22 and were supposed to be counting up) we realized we hiked for about an hour in the wrong direction. The trail guide told us that the section we were planning on hiking that day would take us 12 hours so we were a bit concerned about getting into camp late after hiking 4 miles out of our way. However, Tanya and I hiked like it was our job and did 10 miles before lunch and then finished the last 6 to get us into camp at 4pm. We definitely celebrated with some "celebration stew" and biscuits for dinner and were asleep before the sun went down.

Day two was a little less strenuous but tired legs from the day before caused us to hike much slower and we took frequent breaks and a long lunch. We hiked 12 miles to World's End State Park and checked in at the park office since we had already reserved a campsite. However, when we learned that our campsite was another mile from the office, our look of despair must have caused the park rangers to have pity on us and we got a ride to the campsite from Ruth, a lovely retired teacher who volunteers with the Alpine Club and helps maintain the trail.

We decided to change our plans a bit on day 3 and make it to "the haystacks" to play in the water and then camp instead of getting there on sunday. It was a hot afternoon and the water felt great. We took advantage of various photo opportunities and lounged on rocks. We ate our last dinner (more biscuits of course with a hamburger stew) and hiked the last two miles to Tanya's car and came off the trail a night early.

It really was a great trip--one of the best backpacking trips either of us have ever had and a great way to start the summer for me. Now my legs can rest for a few days before they tackle cycling in the Sierra Nevadas with my brother and dad.