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Thursday, October 15, 2015

Pine Creek Rail Trail

Phil Ruth and I rode part of the Pine Creek Rail Trail yesterday.  It was relaxing fun!


We left from the Ramsey parking area and our turn-around was the Black Walnut Bottom camping area. The route is highlighted in yellow, below.





"One day this all could be yours."




We saw this house which Phil will research


This little red squirrel was very unhappy with us.  We described the squirrel to a little waitress later, but she didn't know what kind it was.  "Al would know," she said, and scurried off.  Shortly she reappeared and said "You won't believe this: it's a Red Squirrel."
http://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/redsquirrel.htm



Phil is a wealth of knowledge, with plenty of insights, opinions and musings peppered in.  That's what makes these escapades so much fun.



By 1910 to 1920, this entire area was clear cut, and in its' denuded condition was called the Pennsylvania Desert.  All these trees we see today are younger than 100 years.
This photo taken pre 1920 in PA.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pennsylvania_Desert.jpg








Whups





Sycamore saplings line the trail.  They are planted very close together.  This trail will be a tunnel in 40 years!













Here is a link to the trail http://www.pinecreekvalley.com/Pine_Creek_Rail_Trail_About.asp

We overheard frackers talking at the bar, in their southern accents.





Here is my entire trip as tracked by that scary thing, Google location history.  It includes the car journey and bike ride.