Â
Finally!! After about 8 years of wanting to hike this trail, i did it. My son and i hiked the entire loyalsock trail, 59.2 miles in 4 days/3 nights. We left Long Island at 4 am Wednesday, October 14 and arrived in Pennsylvania at the east end parking lot, Dutchman Falls area at 8 am. Our arranged shuttle showed up right in time, Thank-you Allie!! She had us starting our adventure on the west side trailhead at approximately 9:15 am. Up.. UP.. UP.. Up.. i will say this trail had many many ups ups ups, lol. I posted a short video on YouTube.. hopefully that link up above works.
Day 1. Approximately 14 miles
Day 2. Approximately 20 miles
Day 3. Approximately 17 miles
Day 4. Approximately 8 miles
This trail was pretty rugged and tough. We woke early and hiked until just about sunset every day. We slept snuggled in our hammocks as there is no shortage of trees to hang from. My Ti-Tri 600 Sidewinder performed perfectly. No fires permitted at the time we went, so first night used the inferno mod and boiled water for meals. The next 2 nights we were so tired.. esbit did the job qick n easy. We both carried Gossamer Gear G4-20 packs.. loving them. His GG LT5 trekking pole tip snapped and broke the first 3 miles of trail!! We were able to extend the pole long enough to still be useful, so thankfully it was not an issue.. but something to be mindful of..Many of the waterfalls we passed were running low or dry.. but we still appreciated what we got to see. There were also plenty of beautiful vistas.. and the October colors were still bountiful and popping!! The weather held up perfectly.. only raining down on us over the 2nd night from 11 pm to about 7 am.. pitter patter on our DCF tarps while we slept the night away.
Rocks and Roots galore.. no shortage of either one along this trail. I am used to them as i mostly hike in NY and PA.. but yes.. they are everywhere. There was also plenty of woods roads walks, which were nice and made up some miles and time.
If you are looking to do a great adventure, a nice thruhike and only have a few days on schedule, I would highly recommend the Loyalsock trail in Pennsylvania. We did it in 4 days/ 3 nights.. which I would say was just right.. if you dont mind some hi mileage days and if daylight is limited.. But doing this trail in 5 days or even 6 days would also be highly recommended..
My favorite part was near mile 57.. the Haystacks. We both whitewater kayak.. currently class 2 and 3 rapids.. and the haystacks are a class 4 section of whitewater rapids. Again the water level was low when we came through, in the springtime.. they are flowing class 4 but it was still beautiful to see the water chutes, slides, falls, holes and gorgeous rock formations. We stopped and spent some time in this area, also being so close to finishing up, the end.. Dutchman Falls. I would tell anyone to most definitely hike this trail West to East and save the best sections for the ending!
Check out my short video link above..and feel free to hit me up anytime with questions.. Joe
sones pond
