MOSQUITO CREEK
Christy and I spent the
Memorial Day weekend with her family in Pennsylvania this year. Our main purpose was to run some
wedding-related errands, but it left some time for hiking and relaxing. I took advantage of the opportunity to hike
in one of my favorite areas, the Quehanna Plateau.
We left Charlotte Thursday
afternoon and escaped Nascar traffic without much difficulty. An improvised detour on route 100 from
Hillsville, Virginia, to I-81 helped us avoid construction traffic on 77. It may not have been any faster, but it was
certainly more scenic than staring at an endless line of 18-wheelers. We had McDinner near Roanoke, and endured a
downpour that would’ve inspired Noah to make a trip to Home Depot a few
thousand years ago.
We were in northern Virginia
before we had to stop for gas. We
stopped at the world’s largest Sheetz, which combined the usual gas station and
convenience store with a truck stop, a donut shop, a shopping mall, and, I
think, a hotel. In case you’re wondering,
Sheetz is a gas station chain that is rapidly rendering 7-11 obsolete. So anyway, you might say that we got off the
interstate for a giant Sheetz. Later,
we passed a Sheetz that was located next door to a large church. I like to think of it as a Holy Sheetz.
We survived the rest of the
drive to Clearfield, and finished our errands on Friday. On Saturday, we headed to Christy’s parent’s
camp located on the First Fork of the Sinnemahoning River. I took the scenic route getting there
though. I got up early that morning and
headed out while everyone else was still asleep. My plan was to hike on the Quehanna Plateau and meet everyone
else that afternoon.
I stopped at the Sheetz’s in
Clearfield for a coke and Krispy Kreme (breakfast of champions!). When I pulled in, I counted 7 cars hauling
canoes. If it hadn’t been for a lack of
coffee shops and outfitting stores, I might’ve thought I was in Ely, Minnesota,
for all the canoes. I guess it was a
crowded weekend on the Susquehana River.
It wouldn’t be where I was headed though. I never see anyone on the Quehanna Trails.
I parked at the state forest
service office, which was closed for the weekend. It was actually cold at the trailhead, as temperatures were in
the 30’s the night before. The forecast
was only for temperatures in the 60’s, which sounded fabulous after several
weeks in the 90’s back home.
Saucony and I headed out
under a blue sky and followed a dirt road until we reached the Mosquito Creek
Trail. We turned onto faint, blue
blazed path and headed deep into the woods.
We descended to cross a small stream, before following a ridge through
an open forest thick with ferns. After
some distance, we crossed a series of meadows without a hint of a trail. Somehow I always found the path at the other
end, and eventually we reached a gated dirt road. We followed this down to a ford of Mosquito Creek.
This is a beautiful spot, as
the valley is lush but open. I was
hiking only a hundred miles or so from Pine Creek Gorge, which is known as the
Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. That may
be a stretch, but if Pine Creek can claim that comparison, I don’t see any
reason why I can’t describe the Quehanna area as the Yellowstone of
Pennsylvania. It’s full of deep
forests, open meadows, ponds, and streams.
Wildlife is plentiful, including Elk, Deer, and Bear, but people are
not. Of course, there aren’t any
geysers, hot springs, or thundering waterfalls, but if there were it wouldn’t
be such a perfect place to get away from the crowds on a holiday weekend.
Saucony had a swim in the
creek before we hiked on. We climbed
away from the stream, only to turn off the road at a poorly marked turn. The blue blazes continued, which was fortunate,
as there was no sign of an actual path at all.
I wandered through waist high ferns as I descended to a cascading
stream. I followed it downstream,
following the blazes and the map in lieu of an actual trail. Along the way I spotted dozens of Pink
Ladies Slippers, which were still in bloom.
Finally I reached Mosquito Creek again, and followed it upstream to a
sturdy bridge. I crossed the creek to a
large, flat rock, which proved to be an ideal lunch spot.
It was along here that I
discovered how the creek got its name.
At first I thought the swarms of flying insects were mosquitoes (another
Yellowstone comparison!), but they turned out to be only gnats. Still, they were extremely annoying as they
crawled all over me. They also chewed
Saucony up, but I didn’t realize that until we got to camp.
I followed the Bridge Trail
upstream after lunch. The creek is
lovely, as it cascades beneath scattered stands of trees in thick ferns. The Bridge Trail was even more obscure than
the Mosquito Creek Trail, but I continued to bushwhack upstream. Luckily, I spotted a blue blaze right where
the alleged path turned steeply up and away from the creek. I waded through blueberry bushes, and
reached a huge meadow looking out over the valley.
I crossed the meadow and
plunged through another dark forest before reaching the Quehanna Cross
Connector Trail. The Quehanna Trail
makes a 74-mile loop around the plateau, which is ideal for longer backpacking
trips. The two Cross Connector Trails
bisect the loop, allowing for several shorter trips. Today I planned to follow the western connector back to the main
road, which I would walk to return to my car.
The connector trails are
more heavily traveled, and it was a nice change to hike a path with an actual
tread. I wandered down to the open,
marshy valley of Beaver Run, which I crossed on a boardwalk. A few minutes later I reached a pond, and
startled a pair of Herons. I hiked
around the pond, and passed a group of backpackers. This was my third hike in the area, all on holiday weekends, and
this was the first time I’d seen another person.
I worked my way around the
far side of the lake. The trail here
was a boggy mess, and I was glad I had treated my boots before the trip. I was sloshing through the marsh when I
finally saw the first deer of the hike.
A few minutes later I spotted another, but the elk didn’t make an
appearance. I passed a mailbox, where I
signed the trail register. From there,
it was only a short distance out to the road.
Saucony and I walked over a mile on the road to close the loop and
return to the car.
It was late in the afternoon
after my 10-mile hike. I drove down to
camp, where we relaxed for the rest of the weekend. I spent most of the rest of the weekend relaxing in Christy’s
hammock, which I hung right next to the creek.
The rest of the weekend was spent eating. The feasting included steaks, burgers, hot dogs, and all sorts of
sweets. My only other attempt at
exercise was a 4-mile run through Sinnemahoning State Park. That was worthwhile, but it hardly
compensated for my diet over those 2 days.
We headed back to Clearfield
Sunday night, and counted 12 deer on the drive home. We left for Charlotte the next morning, and endured the usual
hideous driving on I-81. The low point
of the drive came in Altoona. Christy
wanted coffee, and it had to come from a Sheetz. We spotted a sign for a Sheetz on the interstate and took the
exit. After a couple of lights, Christy
made a U-turn to get to the store. She
didn’t realize that the road she was heading for was one-way, so we had to go
down and make another U-turn just to get back to the same intersection. This time she turned left, and managed to
make it into the parking lot, only to discover that the building was still
under construction and the store wasn’t open yet. We had just spent 10 minutes making a series of U-turns, with
nothing to show for it. Why did they
have the sign up if they weren’t even open yet? What a Dumb Sheetz.
Back to Pennsylvania
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!