Yellow Creek State Park

Been doing a lot of work east of town lately and exploring that area, so write-ups on Crooked Creek and the northern section of the Laurel Highlands Trail should be on the way.  For today: Yellow Creek State Park in Indiana County along Route 422, about 90 minutes from Pittsburgh.

I ran the southern side of this park on a very muggy, muddy morning after the recent Irene-induced rains, but still found it enjoyable for the most part.  Based on the official map, I'd planned on doing about 5-6 miles connecting the Ridge Top and Damsite Trails.  I did that, and a bit more.  With better research I would have realized that much more than a half mile separates the two trails, and it's a winding route between them. 
This park is popular among mountain bikers for good reason, and they've done a nice job of mapping things out.  Check out the RideYC.com web site before venturing out, and I'd suggest printing their map as well.  Here it is.

What I ended up doing was the Ridge Top Trail to the South Shore Singletrack to the Damsite Trail to the Bear Cave Loop and back, which was about 10.2 miles. 

The Ridge Top Trail is great.  Lots of stretches through pine forest, some fun rolling hills, a few small creek crossings (or just runoffs from the prior day's rain) and good, mildly technical terrain. 

The rest of the trails were a mixed bag, though generally on the positive side.  The South Shore Singletrack meanders a bit too much in its easternmost sections, but is very fun as you move west.  The biggest creek crossing of my run--roughly shin-deep and about 8 feet wide--was somewhere along there, and was very refreshing on a hot day.  The Damsite trail is pretty standard fare, and same goes for the Bear Cave Loop with a tough climb thrown in there. 

I did get a bit off-track onto one sticky, buggy, disgusting stretch of mud on my way back around, which I suspect might have been the Billygoat Trail.  I reckon you'd best avoid that area unless you find yourself there during a drought.

I looped through the Ridge Top Trail again at the end, and enjoyed it even more the second time around, knowing where to let loose and where to exercise a bit of caution.

Finally, I was thoroughly pleased that I'd parked near the beach, as a dip in the cold lake (with a Power Ade from the nearby pop machine) was the only proper finish to this slow, poorly planned jog.

The takeaway: a very nice park that I'd be open to exploring again.  As for the trails themselves, certainly not on par with Laurel Highlands or McConnell's Mill but, then, there's a lot to be said for ending your run in a deserted lake.

(And I should mention the birds.  If you're into fowl, put another in the plus column for this park.  I saw several falcons, some wading birds (Heron?) and a huge owl along the way.)

Youghiogheny Scenic & Wild River: Kendall Trail

This one's not in Pittsburgh, or even Pennsylvania, but if you happen to find yourself at nearby Deep Creek Lake for a weekend, this is a nice, easy, scenic trail worth checking out.

This is an out-and-back.  Starting from the town of Friendsville, simply follow the river upstream along Morris Avenue and you'll see the trail head where the road ends, more or less under the I-68 overpass.  It runs five miles sticking pretty much to the river bank, then just sort of peters out into ever thicker brush at National Falls.

A map of this trail is unnecessary, and I don't have one anyway, but this map of the adjacent Yough should give you a pretty good overview.  National Falls is at the southern end of that cluster of rapids.

This is a beautiful river valley, and its general inaccessibility (except by foot or kayak) means you're pretty well out there in the wilderness after the first mile.  At the end of the second mile you'll reach a fork; to keep running, stay to the right, along the river. If you're feeling like a break, check it out to the left, where you'll find the foundations of the ghost town of Kendall.  In fact, these first two miles are the remnants of a railbed that once ran to Kendall, where the railroad apparently decided that the canyon became too tricky to keep going.

Here the path turns to an unmaintained fireroad-type surface for another mile or so, then gets into some singletrack.  There is a rocky section about halfway along that can be a bit tricky with the fallen leaves and a lot of loose rocks, but other than that, nothing serious.

Since you're going upstream, the trail is uphill.  You barely notice it, though, until you realize how much easier it is coming back down.  One of those.

Along the way are many points to access the river, but be warned that there is a dam upstream, from where they release large amounts of water which can take this from a rather shallow, mild river to one of the fastest around.  If you happen to be there on a release day, you'll likely see many kayakers and rafters on their ways down.

You'll know when you've reached the end because you really won't be able to push any farther through the vegetation.  Also, there will be a large boulder (and a few smaller ones) on the edge of the bank that you can climb out on to get some great views of the valley above and below you.

Raccoon Creek State Park: Raccoon Loop Trail(s)

I'd never heard of Raccoon Creek, but a friend had been talking this park up for sometime (all relayed hearsay, as she's never been there herself), and when I looked into it I saw that it's one of the DCNR's 20 "must-see" parks, so I thought I'd check it out. 

Maybe I missed something, but I'd rate it pretty average on the whole.  That pic above is from the park web site, and that's pretty much what you can expect to see on the trails.  Nothing wrong with that.  I like a good lowland eastern woods trail; I guess I just expected a bit more.  In any event, your map:

Raccoon Creek State Park

The Forest, Heritage and Appaloosa Trails all link up to create the Raccoon Loop, a 19.5-mile perimeter trail around the park.  A bit off-center of that loop cuts through Route 18, splitting it into two sections of probably 11 miles to the west and maybe eight or so to the east.  I set out from the main park office right along Route 18 and did the western half of the loop, then tacked on the Valley Trail at the end for some additional mileage. 

Sections of the Forest and Heritage Trails are fantastic.  I started out on the Heritage Trail, which is well-travelled for about the first mile, although it was by no means crowded.  After that, I saw only two day-hikers, two horseback-riders and three groups of backpackers the whole time.  A few miles into the western section of the Heritage Trail it gets into some really nice rolling hills as it crosses a few low ridges and nearly-dry creeks.  The inclines are very manageable, and the downhills are pretty open and really fun through this area.  Then things get a little thick.

I anticipated some overgrowth with an early autumn run on trails that probably don't see a ton of traffic, but there were sections where I completely lost the trail among all the thorns, burrs, bushes and downed trees.  Luckily, someone did a hell of a job marking the trees every 15 feet or so along these trails, so it never took more than a quick visual survey to get my bearings back. 

The Heritage Trail eventually dumps out onto the Appaloosa Trail, which is shared with horses.  Thanks to them, the trail is wider and generally pretty well packed down.  Nothing too exciting along this section.  This eventually leads you to Nichols Road, which you then have to follow for a brief stretch to get onto the Forest Trail.

At this point, you're as far as you'll get from the park's main attractions, so the first mile or so of the Forest Trail here is, despite being right by the road, like a labyrinth of weeds and branches.  Soon, however, it opens up into a really nice little pine grove through which you'll wind for less than a mile, unfortunately.  After that, pretty standard fare. 

After the Forest Trail crosses Route 18, I got a bit off track and somehow ended up on the Lake Trail very briefly, then on the road.  I consulted my map and figured the Valley Trail would be a nice finish to the run, and it was (notwithstanding a minor faceplant as I came too fast into a damp wooden bridge). 

All things tolled, nothing too technical, no serious steeps, no great vistas, but generally some nice woodland singletrack.  Also, the fact that the park office (with clean bathrooms) sits roughly in the middle of this trail (with a potable water station somewhere along the Appaloosa or Forest as well) means that the full loop would make for a solid marathon training run. 

If I return, I suspect it will be during spring or early-summer, before the ground cover has too much time to spread.   I also suspect I'll start with the eastern portion of the loop next time, in search of some grand view of the pond, which seems to be the park's main draw, and which certainly provided a great place to cool off after my run.

McConnell's Mill: Slippery Rock Gorge Trail

This blog has fallen by the wayside as I've been doing a bit of traveling. Along the way I've had some nice runs on the coast of Maine and in the mountains of Maryland, and when I've been home I've stuck mostly to Schenley and Frick, and so haven't had much to report. But enough excuses.


McConnell's Mill State Park is about 40 minutes north of town and it's a pretty sweet place. Here's your map.

I ran the Slippery Rock Gorge Trail this afternoon, connecting to the main parking lot via the Kildoo and Alpha Pass Trails. That gives you about 1.5 miles before you get to the Slippery Rock Gorge Trail, and that then goes on for a little over 6 miles. It is not a loop.

The terrain is rugged for sure. Though not terribly steep at any point, the trail is often narrow and very uneven thanks to many rocks and exposed roots. The trail follows Slippery Rock Creek pretty closely, except for one section where (although not apparent on the map) a couple of switchbacks take you to higher ground, offering an occasional view through the trees of the glacial valley below. The trail then finds its way back to the creek and stays there. Which is nice, because I was really heating up, and a quick head-dunk in a small rapid was just what I needed to keep going.

If you take it all the way, you'll find yourself at another parking area and able to access the Hell's Hollow Trail, which leads to a nice little waterfall.

Bottom line, this is my favorite run yet in the Pittsburgh area. You might avoid it if the weather's wet, as the rocks can indeed be quite slippery, but the colors are just starting to change, and I can't imagine a better time of year to look down on the gorge.

One note: If you begin at the main lot, expect to dodge hikers--a lot of them--along the Kildoo and Alpha Pass trails. (But once you cross the Eckert Bridge, you won't see a soul.) In retrospect, the Hell's Run lot would probably make for a nicer starting point, but I saw a sign on the way in warning of recent vehicle break-ins, and I wasn't taking any chances with those miserable thieves after my experience at Frick.

Another note: I wore a pair of these weird Injinji socks for the first time today, and they are totally awesome, even if they're a bit of a pain to pull on.