Monday, March 22, 2010

Indian Rock Scouting Trip



Several years ago, when Richard Lutz guided me through PA Gamelands 285 to show me the route he had in mind for a new section of North Country Trail there we climbed up to see "Indian Rock". He felt strongly that this feature should be included on our course through the area and after seeing it I agreed.
Indian Rock sits atop a large, flat-topped hill that had been strip mined on three of its sides leaving sheer faces; the fourth side up against the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek and quite steep. The rock itself, approximately four feet long by two feet wide, is carved in a most interesting manner, and although theories as to when and why it was carved abound, no one has really come up with a definitive answer. Another photo of the rock here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2816893090098879960cFwlJJ


When the Wampum Chapter completed the new section of trail out to the old iron bridge in the gamelands last year we got to a point within a quarter mile or so from Indian Rock. You can take a look at the map to see where the trail is relative to where it is located. So, on this year's to-do list is to build the trail out to the rock, and at that point, we'll either loop back to the Sterling Road trailhead, or continue northeast along the creek, depending upon landowner permissions.



The first step in this project is to go ahead and scout and flag the specific route, and March is a good month to do it. The leaves are off the trees so we can see the grades and the ground is still wet enough to show where the boggy spots are so we can try to avoid them. Hope you can join in on this project!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A Backpacking Shelter For Watt's Mill

When Dennis and Cathy Garrett gave the Wampum Chapter permission to build a new section of the North Country Trail across their property at Watt's Mill we not only gained the ability to build nearly two more miles of off-road, woods trail on private-property-locked PA Gamelands 285, but also discovered that we had two new, enthusiastic trail volunteers and advocates on board as the Garretts ended up working right along beside us.
As we put the new section of trail on the ground, Dennis and Cathy expressed a desire to provide a camping opportunity for hikers walking the trail and had the perfect spot in mind - a high, level, clear area near the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek at Watt's Mill that they and their two sons had camped at during weekends in years past. Eventually, their thought process evolved into being able to provide a backpacking shelter at this very scenic spot along the creek.
Thanks to the efforts of Wampum Chapter President Lee Fairbanks who gathered information and wrote the grant application, and the Garrett's enthusiastic support, the North Country Trail Association this week granted the chapter funds to proceed with this shelter building project. To quote Cathy (upon hearing the news of the grant approval), "Whoopee!!!!!!!!!!!"


Plans are being worked on for a date for the shelter installation which will take place sometime this trail work season.