👋 Meet Dave, a KTA supporter from Venango County! Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you? A: "PA has a great variety of scenic trails for all levels of hikers. And for me personally, hiking iin PA s a way for me to escape all the distractions of life and have some personal reflection time and some quiet time with God." Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often? A: "multi-day backpacking; and some full day, half day hikes. In 2019 at the age of 63, I completed a thru-hike of the AT with my 3 sons, ages 22, 24, 26 at the time." Q: When did you start hiking? A: "1974" Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life? A: "Completing the North Country trail in PA, hiking the Black Forest trail (for the 4th time) and the Susquehannock trail this spring. Also, introducing youth from our church to backpacking for the first time." Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live? A: "Minister Creek trail, Gerard Hiking trail in Oil Creek SP, Kennerdell tract in Clear Creek State Forest." Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)? A: "Black Forest trail, Loyalsock trail, Quehanna trail, Susquehannock trail and of course the AT in PA." Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission? A: "Maintaining and upgrading the hiking trails and opportunities in PA. PA has one of the top hiking trail systems in eastern USA." Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania? That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html 👋 Meet Kent & Rachel ,KTA supporters from Berks County! Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you? A: "PA has so many beautiful forests and challenging trails. Hiking here is great exercise for the body and therapy for the mind." Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often? A: "We spend many weeknights and most weekends day-hiking in and around Berks County. " Q: When did you start hiking? A: "I started hiking in college and have enjoyed it my whole adult life. During COVID shutdowns it became a great activity and we began tracking our miles and number of hikes per year." Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life? A: "We are planning to complete the Susquehannock Trail System loop, the Horse-Shoe Trail, and also hike in more PA state parks this summer. Together with our dog Ripple we have hiked over 3,000 miles in the past three years! " Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live? A: "We are lucky to have the Pinnacle nearby and love hiking the AT and other trails near there. My favorite trail in that area is the Furnace Creek trail." Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)? A: "Susquehannock Trail System, Golden Eagle Trail, Midstate Trail, hiking in Ricketts Glen State Park, hiking around the Lebanon Reservoir, The Conestoga Trail and The Mason Dixon Trail." Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission? A: "We appreciate the volunteers and workers that help keep the trails in great shape!" Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania? That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html 👋 Meet Jason, a KTA supporter from Telford, PA! Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you? A: "great connectedness of trails that lead through state forests and historical locations." Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often? A: "backpacking; over the last two seasons, I've been section hiking the AT in PA" Q: When did you start hiking? A: "I've been hiking since I was a kid in the '80s; even though I've backpacked most of my life, I've really spent significantly more time doing it since 2019" Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life? A: "I want to complete the entirety of the AT in PA in both the north and south directions" Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live? A: "Anything in Green Lane Park" Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)? A: "Old Loggers Path; The West Rim trail in the grand canyon; AT section that goes through yellow springs, PA" Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission? A: "It's great to have a way of meeting up with and accessing a group of likeminded people in order to do things that benefit the PA hiking community" Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania? That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html KTA's nominations committee has nominated Polly Chatterton and Tony Robins for KTA's Representatives At Large (RAL.) Voting took place at the fall board meeting during the Keystone Hiking and Outdoors Weekend in the Susquehanna Riverlands, PA. Get to know Polly and Tony below! Polly Chatterton"I think I have always been an outdoor person since growing up in a rural area in central PA. Hiking is one of my favorite outdoor activities but I also enjoy kayaking and riding bikes. I have worked in a lot of different jobs, stay at home mom, unit clerk in a hospital, computer programmer and help desk to name a few, while raising four children. Since I retired, I am in the process of section hiking the AT, with over 1000 miles to date. I also have helped with trail care with KTA which gets me out on trails I don’t know. I have gotten to see so much more of PA and made new friends from all over PA. I have also been an onsite cheerleader for the Frozen Snot for several years and help the local coordinator maintain a portion of the Mid State Trail. I am looking forward to doing more miles on the AT in the future and learning how to better care for PA trails. " Tony Robbins"My first exposure to KTA was the September 2010 Super Hike, now known as the Trail Challenge. On the bus ride to the starting location, I met Ed Lawrence, who told me about the trail maintenance program. I signed up for the next event in September on the Loyalsock trail. Since then, I have attended every trail care event except a few code orange events. Eventually, I started to lead some of the events and later transported the tools. After a backpacking accident that prevented me from being able to do a lot of the work, I started to cook a meal for everyone on Friday nights. I have backpacked many of the major trails, some multiple times over the years. This all came about from needing to spend a lot of vacation time in July 2010. I got to a trailhead very late in the day near Hamburg, Pa, and met a hike leader coming back from a day hike I would do on my own. She asked me if I knew about KTA. I did not, and when I returned to the campground where I was staying, I looked up KTA and signed up for the Super Hike." Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail - KTA 2024 Slackpack, David W. “Cyril” Quatrone, aka FourFeet10/25/2024
On Friday, October 4, 14 intrepid individuals met in Ohiopyle to tackle the southern half of the stunning 70-mile Laurel Highlands Trail. The event was sponsored by Keystone Trails Association (KTA), and known as a slackpack; participants stayed in a motel at night, and were transported to and from the trail each day. KTA also sponsors international hiking trips, day hikes, backpacking journeys, trail maintenance weekends, and so much more.
Several of the participants met Friday morning to tour the world renown Fallingwater. This is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935, built partly over a waterfall. A very informative tour guide led the group through the grounds, house, and guest house. We learned many fun and interesting facts. One fun factoid was that Wright was greatly irritated when people did not have furniture arranged in what he considered was the perfect style. When visiting people, he would often rearrange a room. It was for this reason, he often built furniture into the room so that it could not be moved. We were welcomed to the Ohiopyle Suites Friday afternoon by KTA staff Casey Schneck and Haley Feaster, and Terry Marshall, our hike leader. (His co-leader and daughter, Shawna Burger, would be joining us later that evening.) Our initial hike was a nice short 7.5-mile warmup with a little less than 1000 ft elevation gain. Haley drove us to the trailhead in the maiden voyage of the new KTA van. There were not many views, but the woods were beautiful, and we did circumnavigate a rather large Bullrush Pond. After our return the entire group gathered, with Shawna joining us, for a repast at the Twisted Spoke Café. The next morning started out with a gourmet breakfast served up by the Bittersweet Café. They also provided us with sumptuous lunches for the trail. On this second day we traversed 12.3 miles, gaining 1500 ft altitude. Whereas yesterday the group stuck together, today a faster group went ahead led by Shawna, and her father running sweep, led a group that preferred a slower pace. The trail goes through Seven Springs Ski Resort which had some amazing views. Towards the end of the hike we passed through giant rock “walls”. A cemetery was on the trail a few feet from the trailhead. The stones were so old and weather-worn, we could not make out any dates. We were on our own for dinner that night, but a few people went to the Pumpkin Festival. On Sunday we started with a simple, but nutritious and delicious breakfast cooked by Casey. Our hike was about 11.5 miles with 1750 ft elevation. We had an amazing view of the Youghiogheny River. Someone also pointed out some Lions Mane, a mushroom that has a long history of medicinal use in East Asia. The group took a break at one of the amazing shelter areas on the trail. These areas contain five Adirondack shelters with fireplaces in the shelter AND a fire ring outside. They have men’s and women’s pit toilets, a water pump, and plenty of chopped firewood. After lunch the group split into two again, and the faster group returned to the cars, changed into crocs, convened at Falls City Pub and Restaurant (right at the base of the trail) for some libations. As the slower group appeared the faster group gathered in two opposing lines with hiking sticks raised to form a tunnel of victory! A fitting end to a challenging but fun-filled weekend. David W. “Cyril” Quatrone, aka FourFeet |
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