Susquehannock Trail System Loop Hike September 2017

Facts, Figures and Beta:
Distance: 85 miles
Trail Type: Loop trail
Vertical: 12,000 feet (estimated by GPX and profiles)

Found Water: Generous and naturally occurring sources along the trail
Potable water: Pumps on the trail at Prouty Place Patterson SP*, Denton Hill SP, Ole Bull SP
Resupply: store on trail in Cross Fork

[*Edit: Prouty Place SP is off the SST. I did not visit this location. The trail crosses Rt44 at Patterson SP where there are a group of picnic shelters and a hand pump.]

Maps & Guide:      Susquehannock Trail Club guidebook and topo map set
                                DCNR map (no topo, ok for looking at the route but not suitable for backpacking)

Flickr Picture Album here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm69qn41

The Pool in Hammersley Wild Area

Day 1 – September 28, 2017
Distance: 15 miles
Weather: Sunny, 60s, 40 overnight
Camped: Three Stone Quarries Trail

Arrived in Cross Fork in the afternoon and hiked into Hammersley Wild Area under warm fall sun. The middle section of the Hammersley area is very remote and obviously a challenge to access. Hiked through the wild area and to East Fork Road as the sun was setting. Found a nice camping spot along Stony Run. The little valley had a good owl population and the overnight chorus was quite pleasant.

Day 2 – September 29, 2017
Distance: 35 miles
Weather: AM: Sunny, 60s; PM: Cold rain, 40 overnight
Camped: Scheibner Trail

The early morning hike up the western leg of the loop through Prouty Place and Patterson State Parks was very pleasant. Stopped at the intersection of Prouty Lick Trail and the Sarah Jane Trail for breakfast. Continuing north the trail was very well maintained and dry. After having lunch at the base of White Line trail, I experienced one of the few sections of this trail that I would describe as overgrown. The climb up to Denton Hill SP is fairly exposed and it was obvious what a wet summer in an open valley will produce in PA: a very healthy crop of saplings and brush. Once on the ridge however, I reemerged onto well maintained trail in Denton Hill.

Bill Fish Memorial - Denton Hill SP

Scenic Overlook - Northern Ridge

At the intersection with the spur to the northern gateway, I took the time to go out and visit the memorial to Bill Fish, the father of the STS. Hiking along the northern ridge, clouds rolled in and a steady rain started that would last all night. Reaching the fire tower at Cherry Springs, I was disappointed to find that the state had removed the access ladder to the tower and I could not climb up for a view. I took my dinner near tower and camped nearby on the Scheibner trail in a steady rain that gave way to a stiff wind that persisted all night.

Eastern Side has many of the mile marks identified

Spring on the trail into Ole Bull SP

One of Two Swinging Bridges on the trail

CCC Diatomite Shed Converted to Shelter 

Trail into Ole Bull SP

Day 3: – September 30, 2017
Distance: 35 miles
Weather: AM: Cool, damp, breezy; PM: 60s, periods of sun and clouds
Off the trail at sundown

The trail was damp and greasy early in the morning but the persistent breeze began to dry things out as the morning wore on. On the Cherry Run Trail I ran into the only two people I would see all weekend: a pair of archery hunters out for the first day of early archery season. We chatted briefly before I pushed on down the trail.

Log bridge typical of many on the loop

Swinging Bridge

Ole Bull SP was an unexpected treat. I don’t seem to know my PA history very well. I was unaware of of a Norwegian violinist virtuoso named  Ole Boreman Bull who purchased land in central PA the mid 1800s and established a the New Norway colony in what is now the Ole Bull State Park. The state park preserves the remnants of a half-finished castle and other archeology of the site.

Ole Bull Memorial

Ole Bull SP

The Susquehannock Hiking Club also maintains a board here where I found this poem posted (Rose Milligan 1998):

Poem posted on STC board in Ole Bull SP

As I hiked the climb from the valley where Ole Bull SP lies to the ridge I pondered author’s meaning. I don’t think that she meant we should all be slobs and live in our own filth. I think “dusting” is an analogy for a bigger, very human pitfall. The act of “dusting” is an act of maintenance. In a physical world, if we do not maintain, the resources we have acquired will degrade and at some point they are lost.  But as we acquire, it is easy for our effort to maintain  to begin to consume the one resource which can never decay but can never be replaced: our time and our attention.

But what about the “new” modern life? We like to think that a new modern citizen is more focused on experiences than on material. But our new modern world also requires “dusting.” Is not scrolling through your “feed” and “liking” the content of that “friend” you barely know and act of maintenance? The same can be said of “dusting” your physical world or your virtual world: if it brings you joy you are not mindlessly maintaining. The the means are the end. But if you are dusting simply to maintain an object or a space (physical or virtual) then think critically: why must I dust?

But I digress…

My pondering turned from the poem to the subtle growl in my stomach so I stopped at the base of Impsom Hollow and had a bit of lunch and tended to a couple of hot spots. After a bite and a climb, it was time to take on Spook Hollow. This trail is sort of legendary on the STS with its spooky sign. I’m not sure if it was just the hype but this section of trail was a piney wood (as opposed to an open hardwood forest) and it seemed to be spooky.

Newest Shelter Erected by STC

Gateway to Spook Hollow - Lived up to its name

I came to the new shelter just erected by the Susquehannock Trail Club. I looked at the register and it was finished only a week before my trip. It didn’t appear that anyone had used it overnight. I briefly considered cutting my day short and spending the night but alas it was very early and there were many miles yet to cover.

Forest reclaiming a rail grade

The trail re-ascended the ridge and followed an obvious abandon rail line. The entire area was covered with narrow gauge rail line in the early part of the century when logging companies completely clear cut the entire region. The trail guide book refers to the “vast Pennsylvania dessert” of treeless slopes. The rail lines took the cut timber to market along the steep grades of PA topography.

Ted's Truss Bridge

The trail descended to the very steep Morgan hollow trail and climbed the Long Hollow trail after crossing an interesting bridge. The next section of trail which followed Greenlick run was my favorite section of the hike. The trail felt very remote and the idyllic creek following the gentle grade coupled with an abundance of goldenrod in full bloom made for a very nice scene.

Fall colors popping in a meadow

Greenlick Run: My favorite section of the loop

At Scoval Branch I came to the a second shelter erected by the STC. I have visited a lot of hiking shelters over the years but none was as well outfitted as this one. A couple of chairs, wall treatments gave the open shelter the feel of a cabin and a host of cast iron cookware hung on one wall. I read through the last few entries in the journal. A 10 year old wrote about his first backpacking trip the previous weekend and how much fun he had with his dad. I’m glad his dad decided not to “dust” that weekend.

Most well adorned shelter I've ever seen - Scoval Branch

On the final decent back into Cross Fork the trail showed yet another character as tall conifers lined a well benched downhill trail. I got back to my vehicle just as the sun set, tired but satisfied.

My conclusion is that the Susquehannock Trail System is a hidden gem of Pennsylvania. A well maintained, well designed route that should be on every hikers have-to list.