We ate lunch at the top, then started out across Hemlock Mountain. The climb back out wasn’t as steep, and it was about 900 ft up. At the bottom we enjoyed the convergence of the two streams, with a small waterfall on the right branch. We started the steep descent into Callahan Run, about 1100 ft down. The vista at Big Trail Road was very impressive, allowing us to see the terrain we were about to traverse. We were ready to take on day 3, which would test each one of us. We cleaned up, put on clean clothes, ate breakfast, dropped trash, and enjoyed some treats we stashed in the vehicle. This campsite appeared at just the right moment for us to call it a day!Īfter a surprisingly steep climb out of the campsite to mile 23, we reached our resupply vehicle at PA44. The BFT wanders through some great rhododendron tunnels. Our timing was perfect for the mountain laurel blooms! Railroad spikes are often found when you are hiking along former narrow gauge rail lines. The old pump house built in the 1880s for the Tidewater Oil Line. Morale was up because we covered the mileage we needed to cover, and we felt rested after the relatively easy terrain after day 1. It pumped water from Baldwin Branch to cool the engines for the pipeline. We found two RR spikes, a RR tie, and the depressions of a RR bridge between mile 21 and the campsite in the hollow before mile 23. This section has a lot of history - we found a pump house built in the 1880s for the Tidewater Oil Line. The vistas between miles 18 and 21 looking down into County Line Branch and Baldwin Branch were impressive. Unfortunately, this one came too early for us. One of many excellent campsites along the BFT. We were happy with the 7 miles we covered before lunch, knowing that we needed to push to almost mile 23 today. We were on a logging RR grade from mile 13 to mile 16 along County Line Branch, which was uneventful except for the yellow phase timber rattler on the trail! We climbed the 500 ft out of County Line Branch, which got very steep and rocky, and ate lunch at the top. The trail was gently rolling to PA44, and we encountered some really nice campsites under the pines after passing PA44. The first vista we encountered was very impressive. We camped at mile 10 and heard cuckoos and whip-poor-wills!īeautiful cascades at Morris Run falls to finish day 1ĭay 1 beat us up a bit, so we were looking forward to some flat and gentle sections. We swam at Morris Run Falls, then headed over to Slate Run to get fresh water for the climb to the campsite. The trail followed Red Run for a little bit, but was diverted up onto a logging RR grade on its way to Morris Run. There were nice cascades along the way down, and at the bottom where the tributary pours into Red Run. The 'upper quarry' vista of the first day - one of many along the BFTĪfter a nice vista at mile 6 we dropped very steeply along the rocky tributary of Red Run. We unofficially called the vista “Rattlesnake Vista”, and the big blueberries there were the “forbidden blueberries.” A fellow hiker warned us about rattlesnakes at the vista past mile 5, and we ended up finding at least 7 timber rattlers there. We also saw our first glimpse of blooming Mountain Laurel, and ate lunch around mile 4. The trail got pretty steep, and by mile 2.5 we had climbed about 1200 feet from the bridge over Slate Run. The trail takes you to the remains of an old quarry. Proof that at least some parts of the Black Forest Trail are flat. The vista at the lower quarry was a nice surprise. The upper quarry vista is more impressive, and we ate the first of MANY blueberries there! The first climb up onto the knoll above Slate Run got our legs warmed up, and we enjoyed the “Hoodoo Rocks” and other rock formations.
After crossing Slate Run on the footbridge we again checked out the Slate Run RR bridge site, but from the south side. We checked out a couple headstones in the Slate Run Cemetery on our way to the Hotel Manor.
The hike started with a glimpse of the site of the first Slate Run RR trestle over Slate Run. We parked a resupply vehicle at the south crossing of the BFT on PA44, then drove down to the parking area along Slate Run Rd to start at mile 0. We studied the Purple Lizard map to see the campsite locations, of which there are many, and get a general sense fo the elevation gains (and losses) as we thought about our daily distance goals and where we could park a vehicle for self-supported resupply mid-hike. We (myself and my good friends Mike and Bryant) decided to hike the trail counterclockwise although there isn't a definitive preferred direction. The Black Forest Trail is a Pennsylvania classic, and considered by many to be the most difficult trail in the State, even though it is relatively short at 44 miles and very accessible, located in Tiadaghton State Forest in the Pine Creek area, also known as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.
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