17 Mile loop in the Pennsylvania Wilds part 2

 

17 Mile loop in the Pennsylvania Wilds part 1

 Here are some sections of the hike from sunday! 

Headed out to Pennsylvania for the day

 I'm going to attempt a 16 mile in the Cook Forest. I am working on the content and I also have alot going on sorry for the delay.

Hang in there friends

Public land a float tube and panfish that sipped flys like they are trout

 

92 Days until my return to the Monongahela National Forest

 

I took this week and weekend as a zero!

 I will be back at it next week and weekend folks.

I hiked 17.7 miles in Pennsylvania in Raccoon State Park

This park is in a part of the southwestern corner of the state of Pennsylvania. I also feel by the lack of evidence that these trails overall do not see a lot of foot traffic. I did a similar loop last winter and even then, I did not see a lot of foot traffic.

Now take a certain thing I am doing longer hikes than most, but still I am still surprised by this.

With the heat index being above 100 degrees Fahrenheit was about being hydrated and paying attention to oneself looking for signs of a heat type of injury.

Last time I was in Pennsylvania it nearly ended up with me being in a box.  I brought with me 5 liters of electrolyte filled water.  I brought a rag to drape over the back of my neck to soak up water from any body of water to help keep my core temp down as much as I could.

I started at 0500 on the trail to beat the sun and I utilized the canopy of trees to give me the advantage of being potentially cooler.

As luck would have it, there was a slight breeze all day that allowed me to stay cooler longer.

I saw a few people hiking but that was not until about 10 am. They were hiking into the hiking shelters to camp overnight.

This loop I put together using the Garmin Basecamp program. I combined part of the Raccoon Creek Extended loop and part of the Forest, Appaloosa, and Heritage Trail loop.

The 17.7-mile loop with the total ascent and descent of nearly 6200 feet took me 8 hours and 50 minutes.

I had to take several breaks to cool down and to a wellness-check.  I have been very fortunate in my life and there is no reason to be careless while we are out in the wild.

I relearned my lesson the last time I hiked in Pennsylvania.

Stay hydrated and get some electrolytes into your body. Do your homework about heat and cold injuries to try to prevent them.