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.
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