Once again, I had chosen to fly fish in Pennsylvania. I selected a stream in Forest County. Here I would have the opportunity to hook either a smallmouth bass and or some trout.

It’s never about the actual catching that I crave, but the planning and seeing the plan through. If I was to even hook a fish it would be icing on the cake for me.

I got up at 0400 and made plenty of coffee, had breakfast and headed out.

The weather called for rain and a lot of it at some point on Saturday.  I know I needed to stay on high alert because the area I was going to was prone to flash floods and at times the road I needed to drive onto washes out from time to time!

I started low down on the creek and with a single hander rod I picked up a small perch! I thought ok this is the first for me on a fly rod.

I walked about a mile down alternating the single-handed rod and then the switch rod.

The single-handed fly rod had a size #6 streamer and the switch rod had a size #10 streamer on.

The size #6 streamer was white mylar / deer hair with a mallard flank collar sparsely tied and the size #10 was grey over white and again sparsely tied.

With random 15 mph wind gusts from time to time, you knew the storm was getting closer.

It was an amazing feeling to pull trout and smallies out of the same area.

I went to an upper middle section of the creek to see what I could see. I walked down stream for about a mile before I found some good holding water.

Here I would be rewarded with one more Rainbow on the swing. Well kinda on the swing the trout took the fly mid strip.

In the upper middle stretch here, I used a #12 olive over white minnow pattern but really it looked like a tiny saltwater deceiver pattern!

I kept looking at the sky’s and the clouds began to get much darker. Then I could here thunder in the distance, and I kept listening to it to see if I could estimate how long I had.

It was moving fast and I needed to boogie out of there and get back to my car. The rain was heavy and the dense fog made it worse!

Sorry I am not as detailed in this entry. I have been up since 0400 and I am whooped. Be well my friends!

Next weekend I will be in Forest County, Pennsylvania

I will be fly fishing some new waters and camping overnight to return on Sunday.

Random Vacation Photos

 

Mid State Trail (MST) Pennsylvania - 13 Mile Hike in and out Part 02

 

Well, this was one of the more humbling hiking experiences I have had in a long time.  If you spend time outdoors doing what you love at one time or another mother nature is going to remind you that you’re only human.

On this day like any other day I check the weather and head out. I am wearing convertible pants, wicking long sleeves, and a wicking short sleeve underneath.

I would be carrying 3-litres of water and in normal hiking conditions this for me would last for a 16 – 20-mile hike. What has not been realized yet until I have 1.5 miles left in a 13-mile hike is I will run out of water.  The other sign would be my body having heat cramps in my leg one at a time, but we will get to that later.

Starting at 41.556185, -77.375912 aka Gillespie Point Trailhead being mile 0.0. I looked at a topo map and saw yes it would be a climb up to the scenic view, but what I did not do was see what the average percent of grade it would be to get there.

Starting at the trailhead and immediately started the accent with an average grade of 18 percent I grinded it out.  After ascending 932 feet I had a beautiful view of the Pine Creek Gorge.

The next leg would be the nearly 2-mile decent into Brill Hollow. There are two ephemeral water sources while hiking into the hollow.

After crossing Big Run Road, you will need to do a stream crossing at mile 2.3. During this creek crossing you will see a few small and beautiful waterfalls and the waterfall spotting will go on for about 0.70 miles.

After passing the waterfalls you will start another accent. This ascent will be 1.12 miles long, with an average grade of 10.4%, and with an elevation gain of 609 feet.

I had been used to grade changes, but none at this point lasted this long. Sweat was pouring out of me. I should have right then changed up my clothes. I knew better but pressed on. I should have converted my pants to shorts and removed my long sleeves. This would be the start of my dehydration. I should have also checked my water bladder level.

After that you will start your accent into Hoyt Hollow. This hollow has several beautiful creeks in them. As has been said by others, this is no place to be during a high-water moment.

The cold and at times chilling temperatures of the runoff from the mountain springs can be overpowering and at times dangerous.

Trout Run was running well but nothing that would stop someone from crossing it. I just did not want to get my boots wet on this day.

I began breaking trail along the north side of the creek to work up to what I call Anvil Rock Falls. The rock formation looks like the front edge of a blacksmith’s anvil.

I was walled out and needed to go to higher ground or wade the creek. I chose to get to higher ground to traverse the walled-out section.

I was walking along a ledge that I thought was surprisingly flat-ish. The ledge was also covered in dead leaves. The sandstone was also prime habitat for snakes. I oddly enough did not see or hear of any snakes.

I made it back to where I started to break trail. I began my hike out of the creek bottom. For the next nearly 2-miles I would be going up hill with an average grade of 6.4%.

On the hike back at nearly mile 9 I felt something I had not experienced in decades. I felt heat cramps in my left leg and at first it was just a nagging feeling. This would get worse to the point I needed to lay on the trail.

I made every attempt to rub it out and stretch it out. It nearly migrated to my crotch.

I then realized I was in the starting stages of heat exhaustion. I was ok for now and knew I needed to drink more water “but really it was already too late”.

I also needed to cool my core temp down slowly and not allow myself to go into any type of shock.

I got up and pressed on to find a water source for cooling. I found a shallow source of water. I took off my pack and stowed all the non-essential gear. I soaked the long-sleeved wicking shirt and began with my head to cool my core.

I did this for my neck as well as armpits. The cool water that came out of the water seep was a life saver.  I did this until I felt confident, I made a good choice to press on for the remaining 2-miles.

I was already out of water “big miscalculation”.  I held off drinking the remaining two tablespoons of water left in the bladder.  I would need to reach Gillespie Point before taking this drink of water.

The next 0.78 miles, percent of grade being average of 13.7%, and the final push up the steep grade with an elevation gain of 562 I rested again. At the top of the gorge it provided a nice breeze and further helped my core cool.

After what seemed like forever I put my pack on and made my final descent.

 I had already thought I would not be able to make the 2-hour car ride back to camp and might have to stay in a motel for the night.

Last thing I needed to do was pass out at the wheel. So, I took it step by step down the hill for nearly a mile and 900 feet down. I also was motivated by the fact that I knew I had packed extra water bottles and left them in the car.

I got back to the car and had not been as happy as I was in that moment for a while seeing the car. I did not hop in automatically I took my pack off and got one water bottle. While still walking a little I drank the water slowly.

I felt better than I thought and I would drive but still stayed on high alert if I needed to pull over.

I was lucky because this all could have been much worse.

A welcomed trip to the Wilds of Pennsylvania Days 1 - 2 & 4 - 5

In my limited travels to Pennsylvania for hiking and or fishing I have always held it in high regard for its natural splendor. All the old timers’ stories I have ever heard and the stories I have ever read. Some of my friends who have passed away talking about the old days it was nice to be back.

I would be tent camping from 17^th - 22^nd at Hemlock Campground in Potter County. You can find them here https://www.hemlockcampgrounds.com.

The campground has all the basic amenities a little camp store, amazing hot showers, and two little fishing ponds that are catch and release.

There is a town with other places of business where you can find pretty much anything but remember you are in the country and it’s remote.  The town I am talking about is Austin, but the Potter County Pub in Austin for food and drinks is a good choice for food.

I will not name streams that I fished while I was there out of respect for others.

How I found out of the region was from a book by Dave Wolf that I had purchased in 1999 called “Flyfisher’s Guide to Pennsylvania” a wilderness adventures flyfishing guidebook.

For those who know me and to read I have a book I know your laughing (lol).

I arrived in the region by mostly State Park roads to have that feeling of isolation and adventure.

The forest roads were in great shape because of the efforts of others.

I arrived at camp around noon and the campground allowed me to set up my campsite early.

I could hear the creek clearly from the site. I knew she would be running a little hard because of the rains and the dam releases.

I canceled the smallmouth trip on the shorelines of the Great Lakes because of all the rain and the colder temps.  Because I canceled my trip and my fishing buddy had family matters to attend to is how I ended up in Potter County.

I would choose to swing some flies this evening. I had brought with me my lighter switch rod a Deer Creek series 11’ 5wt – 4pc. I lined it with a 375-grain compact short Skagit head. The leader set up was not the best. I had a 10’ sinking leader (1.5”/second) with 2 feet of 8# floro followed by 2 feet of 4# floro.  The leader I should have used was the 8 foot version and kept the rest the same.

I realize that my equipment was on the heavy side for this style of fishing, but it’s all I have. I was hoping I could find areas to swing flies, and I really did not care if I hooked a fish. This was an adventure and if fate would grant me success with hooking a fish it was meant to be.

I tied up dace/minnow streamers in sizes 12’s and 10’s. The 12’s went fast in trees and got torn up by fish. I also brought my soft hackle box.  These soft hackles worked in Maine and Montana so why not Pennsylvania.  They are tied on 12’s with tungsten and brass beads.

Day 01

I walked out into the valley from camp and I felt so relaxed. Feeling the high grass brush up against my waders to welcome me to the area.

As I got closer to the water I was getting increasingly excited. I saw the riffles and would witness mayflys hatching.  This area is so pristine and clean. Because the stream lacked exposed dirt, clay, and sediment in general it was a deep green color.

I took my first step into the creek that is a tributary to the Susquehanna River and looked at a small pool of standing water. I saw minnows there. The minnow’s maximum of 1.5” long.

As soon as I saw the minnows and their size of them, I knew I would start with the dace patterns in size 12.

I looked downstream and could see a beautiful pool that had multiple current breaks and slicks. A slick to me is flat water aka this is created when two currents come up and meet and make the water flat.

A slick is also normally a feeding lane for trout. I also tried to read the water and look for color transitions between colors. The colors were in this case between the deep emerald green and clear. I would be attempting to fish from deep to shallow trying to find a trout that would take my fly.

There was also a large BFR “big fugging rock” in the river and I thought that should have a trout or two around it on the downstream side.

I decided to go upstream first to try my luck. After a few casts and no love, I moved down to the riffle.  Here in this riffle you can see the main current if still a few feet from the far bank, and the near bank has a pool. The pool in this case has a lot of eddys on the surface of the water.

I looked at this as a nice holding pool for a trout and great to swing a fly through.

After snap t casting over and over I had a hook up. It would turn out to be a feisty rainbow.

This dude had not learned from its lessons. It had damage to its mouth from previously caught. The fly was right in front of it mouth and normally I believe this means took it from behind and nailed it.

I called it a day because another fisherman showed up and moved on.

Day 02

I got to the creeks edge at about 10 and had it to myself. I was swinging my flies in and out of the shadows in hopes a fish would be enticed to take the fly.

I thought my fly would be near some submerged tree roots. I thought I could do two things, retrieve my line or take two steps down stream and see if anyone is home and maybe lose a fly. I have always said if you’re not losing flies you’re not going to catch fish.

So here we are I stepped down stream and as soon as my left foot took the second step it happened.

The take was harder than I anticipated and go the fish on the feel as soon as possible. I kept reeling which seemed like forever. As the trout was brought up stream and to the net aka trout corral.

I needed the trout and thought it was brown trout at first but saw its markings were different than anything I had personally seen before. The hook was right in the front of its mouth and after I removed the hook it decided to relax at the bottom of the net. It was one of the prettiest trout releases I have ever witnessed.

I have just caught and released my first tiger trout.

I then decided to go downstream and find the water I had chosen from some aerial imagery I had marked on my GPS.

The scenery here was as close to Montana as you could get without being there.  I was hoping to see maybe a few Elk, but that was not to happen.

I crossed the pristine creek and began to give it as much attention as I could in the search for a trout.

I saw a few other fly anglers upstream about 500 yards.

 After nearly three miles of water covered and because of the heat I headed back to camp.

Because I want to keep this post about fly fishing I will skip Day 03.

Day 04

I had chosen a different body of water to fish today and to also fish my single hander today. The creek I had chosen was a little bigger than the other and immediately below a dam.

With the hot as the sun temps, I had placed bets trout would be stacked up below the dam close by.

I would still be fishing streamers here and when I arrived, I found the parking lot empty. I thought that was strange since the outfall at the dam was the lowest it has been in weeks!

I took a little hike up and across the top of the dam to fish the other side of the dam.

I arrived at the other side, and I did bring a full sinking line it would be a lot to try and double haul with the high bank behind me.

I stuck with the 6wt line with a heavy short head made for long cast with heavy flies.

I swung my flies in the same manner down and across the creek. The deep inky green currents were strong.

It was not long before a rainbow trout took the streamer. I also want to point out I had chosen n number 8 streamer here and it was 1.75” long and sparse. What I am trying to make is bigger water sometimes calls for slightly larger flies.

I decided to start heading back to camp and call it a beautiful day on the creek!

Day 05

I took much of the day off to reflect and fish later. I would stick close to camp and just walk up into the creek valley in search of different waters to fish.

I have learned to read water from my great grandad, and I will always cherish that. I am always amazed when finding water to fish and pulling it apart with the knowledge I gained from Pap.

Mid State Trail (MST) Pennsylvania - 13 Mile Hike in and out Part 01

 

Bucktail Overlook (Top of the World) Dirfitwood, Pennsylvania

 

Short 12 mile in and out route on the Mid State Trail (MST) Pennsylvania

 

Headed to Pennsylvania on Sunday

Hello I will be headed to Potter County, Pennsylvania on Sunday. There I will be tent glamping for five nights.

The hope is that the creeks are fishable and hike a few small sections of the Mid State Trail (MST) there in Pennsylvania.

I have packed and repacked my gear because if you don’t have it, you can’t use it lol.

Plus, there is nothing worse than in IMHO than forgetting a piece of gear when you need it.

I will be back with all kinds of content on Friday.

Be well and get outside.

Potter County Pennsylvania 5-17 to 5-22

I plan on doing some hiking, sight seeing, and fly fishing while I am there.

Stay tuned it should be a good time filled with splendor!

13.7 Mile Hike in McConnells Mill State Park in Pennsylvania

The route was 13.7 miles and with a lot of ups and downs like 5000' of them! 

Going to Presque Isle

 I will be taking a few time lapse videos and others. I will hopefully be able to see some interesting birds.

 

I did see a huge fisher cat today, but of course my GoPro got disconnected. Grrr

This video was taken my my point and shoot Olympus TG6

This video was shot with my cell phone a Motorola Edge 2024

Allegheny National Forest

 

Forbes State Forest – Mount Davis Natural Area

Mount Davis is in the Laurel Highlands Region of Pennsylvania. Mount Davis is the highest point in Pennsylvania at an elevation of 3,213 feet or 979 m.

In past visits to this area,  really enjoyed my time there. I chose to look at Alltrails.com to see what estimated mileage they would give me for any trails around there.

I also need to add that the Forbes State Forest is broken into a few different areas. For example the one area is Forbes Sate Forest – Mount Davis Natural Area in Elk Lick Township, Quebec Run Wild Area in Gibbon Glade, Roaring Run Natural Area in Doegal Township Pennsylvania.

The website estimated length was 5.7 miles and because I know that they are never correct unless its flat ground it would be longer with all the elevation deviation I would most likely encounter.

The trail ended up being a loop of 6.5 miles long. It was not an extreme up and down, only one long grade climb. The footing was a little techy in some areas and that’s because of loose rocks with snow and ice on them.

The beautiful mountain laurel was everywhere in some areas. They recently did some trail care and cut back the mountain laurel, so the trail is more obvious.

I did see bear tracks in the snow and a bevy of coyote scat.

When I first arrived on Tuesday the 23^rd the fog was so thick and navigating harder than it needed to be I decided not to attempt any hiking on Mount Davis.

I pulled into the little sleepy town of Meyersdale to get some breakfast. IMHO these little sleepy towns have the best food.  I found the best little breakfast place in town. It was called Donges Drive-in Motel, and they can be found here https://www.dongesdriveinmotel.com/

Everything is made from scratch, but if you want sausage gravy they only do that on Saturday.  The prices are very low and the food is delicious.

I chose to head up to Wolf Rocks and Beams Rocks instead to see if I could get a break from all this fog. The next area would be about 1300 feet lower than Mount Davis and my hope was it would be below the fog.

The conditions of the roads were not bad and they were only wet. It was not until I reached the dreaded sign that said “no winter maintenance” is where the driving conditions got bad.

My Subaru Legacy was doing well on the slick roads and that was until the road grades got steeper. I felt the back end slip a bit and thought on this narrow forest road with these deep open ditches on the side if I slipped into one, I would have to be pulled out.

I chose to do a 6 point turn to turn around and get back to the main road.

After a little bit of anxiety, I got back to the main road.  I did not get to see the two rocky ledges and will return some day.

So, I decided to head to the hotel room and beg them to allow me to check in early.

They did and I stayed in the Days Inn off the turnpike in Somerset. The Days Inn was hmm clean and the rooms over feel were below average. I know I was only paying 150.00 dollars for two nights tax included, but the finishing touches on the room left a lot to be desired.

The new pain on the walls was missing in spots. The TV console covers one of the electrical outlets. The doors to my room had a gap so big you could see the carpet in the hallway.  The lock to the door was good and substantial.

It’s been a while since I stayed at a hotel that has multiple floors. Normally when I have stayed at such hotels you need a key to get into the back door of the first floor. Well at this Days Inn its free range and anyone can come and go through the back door to get into the hotel.

I told this to the manager slash hotel owner I am guessing and his remark to me was “they can’t get into your room”. I thought well isn’t that a strange way to say you’re not concerned about the safety of the people who stay at your hotel. Yes, they have a camera inside the building in the hallway, but if a person has an altercation, it’s already too late they are in the building.

I will never stay here again and if you’re just a worker in the area in the oil and gas field I can see this being a place you would stay at. It’s cheap and it is close to the highway and to shopping. For you to minimize a person’s personal safety that’s says you don’t care and so I don’t care to stay there again.

I checked in and cleaned up and went to go find some place to eat. After a little driving I found the perfect tavern. It is called Glades Pike Taverne and you will not find a better place to eat, drink, and they have live entertainment. You will also not find a more diverse menu either!

The Stromboli I had was made from scratch and it was a medium and the large are nearly double this size see photo below.

After a few beers I headed back to the hotel.

I was in the for the night and with the thick fog, non-maintained winter roads, and high winds I was having a planning dilemma. Where do I go and what time should I get there?

I thought I could return to Mount Davis and attempt at a time lapse of the sunrise. What time should I get there, I was thinking. I will get there later than I want to make the odds in my favor that the fog has moved out.  I knew I would miss the sun breaking across the horizon, but I wanted to make sure the weather had pushed through.

Sure, enough I had missed the prime part of the sunrise, but there was still a window for some decent cloud formation time lapse photography opportunities left. 

After I got off the fire tower, I drove down the road to the trail head of the Mount Davis Highpoint Trail. It was possible to make this a longer hike but starting at noon and making it longer would not make it a great idea.

I started at roughly at noon and it took me basically 4 hours with all the stops for photo opportunities. Most of the trail I would call rolling down and up. The first takes you to the valley bottom of Tub Mill Run and in the second part you climb up out of the valley for 1.95 miles. The slopes are not tough, but they could be strenuous depending on how physically fit you are.

This video depicts the grades you will need to hike.

By the time I got to the fire tower and was on the last leg of the hike I only had about 2 hours to get to my car. With a mile left I nearly jogged to my car. At least I was going downhill and maybe 3 mph walking, but I was not going to miss this sunset.

I rolled to the car and got in as quickly as I could and drove back to the fire tower. I was a little shocked that no one else was here.

I grabbed all my gear plus a couple of extra layers because as the sun drops the temperatures would plummet.

I set up my tri pods, one for my GoPro13 and the other for my Olympus TG6.  The GoPro13 would be set up for timelapse only.  Once I started the session, I would need to not touch it until it was time to leave.

I arranged my gear to still allow others to enjoy the fire tower if anyone else had shown up. After watching the sun take its final breath I had had enough. It was cold and the wind was starting to blow harder.

I stopped the GoPro from recording and as soon as I did that a coyote let out a howl so loud I thought it was up in the fire tower with me. I flipped on my head lamp and got my gear together quickly. I have never heard of a coyote attacking a human, but I did not want to test that theory today.

I got my pack stuffed with gear and pulled my bear spray out and then I heard a few more coyote’s howl. They were not that far away, and I moved a little quicker to the car. My head lamp was on, and I was not trying to be too quick, but just quick enough lol.

Finally, I got back into the vehicle and headed back to the hotel.

This area has so much to offer everyone. It just takes time to explore so go out and enjoy it and be courteous to others.

Sonder