A backpacker examines ice along the Loyalsock Trail in Pennsylvania. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY 2.0
Let’s get frigid.
The 60-mile Loyalsock Trail in northeast Pennsylvania provides ample opportunity to introduce someone to winter backpacking. The trail passes over mostly flat plateaus with challenging ascents and descents in between, but generally a backpacker needs no technical climbing experience to explore this trail during colder climes.
And the views? Oh man …
A look from Canyon Vista in Worlds End State Park, Pa., part of the Loyalsock Trail. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
The linear trail has a western terminus along PA Route 87, about 8.7 miles north from the I-180 exit for Montoursville. The path runs parallel with the Loyalsock Creek, crossing the river several times by foot and over bridges as the trail winds deeply through Pennsylvania state forest (although it sometimes crosses private land). The eastern terminus is located along Mead Road, 0.2 miles from U.S. 220 just north of Laporte.
The trail explores second-growth forest, stopping at vistas of the canyon cut by the Loyalsock and passing through prime Pennsylvania black bear and deer country. It was built in 1951 by the Boy Scouts of America, Explorer Scouts of Post No. 110 and a man named Howard Ulman Jr., and maintained since 1953 by the Alpine Club of Williamsport.
One reason why I find this to be advantageous for introductory winter backpacking is because the trail runs mostly on level plateau between challenging ascents and descents. But those ups and downs usually don’t require crampons, just willpower. You’re going to face frigid conditions, but in sections like the eastern half near Worlds End State Park, there are plenty of bailout points should you find yourself in trouble. Also, watch for massive ice formations along the river where tributaries during warmer months tumble into Loyalsock Creek.
And there are no shelters. You’re going to have to tent camp. However, since the Loyalsock Trail passes so much level ground, finding a campsite is not hard to do.
Check out this video about the Loyalsock Trail from CamptheSummit.com. They’re hiking the eastern portion near Laporte, Pa., visiting the Haystacks, Sones Pond, Alpine Falls and Worlds End State Park.
CampTheSummit: Hiking along the Loyalsock Trail from p gensel on Vimeo.
