Pine Creek Rail Trail, PA - Day 2

ABOUT THE PARK: 

Pine Creek Rail Trail - Pine Creek Valley

Pine Creek Rail Trail - Susquehanna Valley

Leonard Harrison State Park - Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

DIRECTIONS: 

GPS Coordinates 41.55622, -77.38186

Blackwell Parking

TRAIL MAP: 

Pine Creek Rail Trail Map - Penn Wells

Leonard Harrison and Colton Point State Park Maps - Pennsylvania DCNR

DISTANCES: 

Day 1:

Shuttle:  Pine Creek Outfitters from Jersey Shore to Blackwell

Bike: Blackwell to Bob Weber Trail - 15 miles

Hike: Bob Weber Trail and Pine Cliff Trail Loop - 4.75 miles

Bike: Bob Weber Trail to Jersey Shore - 22.4 miles

Overnight: Gamble Farm Inn and Suites in Jersey Shore

Day 2:

Drive: Blackwell Trail Parking

Bike: Blackwell to Turkey Path - 12.7 miles 

Hike: Leonard Harrison State Park Turkey Path and Otter View - 3.2 miles

Bike: Turkey Path to Darling Run to Blackwell - 19.9 miles

The plan was to bike to the beginning of the Pine Creek Rail Trail in Wellsboro before heading back but because of incoming storms I had to cut it short - was almost there with just 9.5 miles to go.

THE BIKE AND HIKE: 

Early in the morning I lugged my stuff down three flights of steps and drove to Blackwell with the intention of biking out and back to Wellsboro.  The weather forecast was not so good with severe storms for the afternoon.  With the cloud cover the pictures aren't the best because this camera takes horrible low light pictures.

Same as the day before, turning right out of the parking lot then left on the trail to head north.

Going to the Turkey Path 12.3 miles away.

What a treat to see this little guy along the way!

Horses are allowed along this section where there is a path to the left off the rail trail surface.

The Turkey Path into Leonard Harrison State Park is on the right just before the bridge.  A bike rack and bench on the left for locking up my bike and changing into hiking gear.

There are lots of steps with sections of trail in between.

About half way up the steps follow the waterfalls on the left.

Those letter/number signs throughout are presumably locator number in case of an emergency.  But good luck with that because there is no cell service.

Coming out at the top ...

... where people can drive to so it's a popular place.

Views of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Taking the Overlook Trail where I ran into nobody else.

Gorgeous views from here!

There is the rail trail down below.

Continuing around the loop.

While heading back to the Turkey Path I encountered the park ranger and asked him he had any intel on the weather since I could not get any updates on my phone.  He said he had just looked at the radar and the storm was definitely coming and should hit around 1-2 PM.  No way was I going to make it to Wellsboro.  Bummer.

The sign at the top said the trail is blazed in blue - this is the only blaze I saw but they aren't needed.  The trail is very obvious.

Back out on the trail to switch back into biking gear.

In case you were wondering how I manage to bike with trekking poles, this would be it.  I don't even notice they are there.  The hiking shoes go into the backpack.

I decided I had enough time to bike a bit more north so off I went.

This is the Ole Covered Wagon Tour through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Heading back from Darling Run.

He was so photogenic and posed nicely for me.

At exactly 1:00 PM with 4.6 miles to go it started to pour so the camera went into the backpack and the rain cover came on.  The rest of the pictures are those I could grab with my cell phone between raindrops.

Made it to the car without getting too terribly wet and headed home.

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