July Chapter Hike Scheduled

The Clarion County Chapter of the North Country Trail Association will be having it's monthly hike on Saturday July 17, 2010 at 10:00 A.M.  We will hike from the trail head at White Oak Drive (N41* 17.148'  W079* 20.598') to Kiser-Wagner Road (41* 14.392' W079* 23.863').  This will be an approximately 5 mile hike over moderate terrain.

We will meet at the trail head on White Oak Drive at 10:00 A.M.  The chapter will provide transportation back to White Oak Drive from Kiser-Wagner Road.

If you are interested in attending, or have any questions, please reply to this e-mail or contact Dave Galbreath at (814) 226-5574 or Ed Scurry at (814) 437-1168.

Clarion NCT Maps

This past semester, a Clarion University student, Mitch McAdoo undertook a project of mapping part of the North Country Trail in Clarion County for his GIS class.  Mitch successfully mapped the trail in Clarion County from Route 36 in Cook Forest the whole way to the fiberboard plant on river hill.  Many thanks to Mitch for taking on this project.

Click on the maps below for a larger version

State Route 36 in Cook Forest to Gravel Lick.

Gravel Lick to Highland Drive

  Highland Drive to Sarvey Mill Road

Sarvey Mill Road to Breniman Road

Breniman Road to Kiser-Wagner Road

Kiser-Wagner Road to Fiberboard Plant and Fiberboard Plant Loop.

Clarion Chapter June Hike

The Clarion County Chapter of the North Country Trail Association held a monthly hike to celebrate National Trails Day on June 5, 2010.

It was decided to walk from the fire tower in Cook Forest to the Highland Drive Trail Head. The threat of severe thunderstorms and the first hot and humid day of summer kept attendance low but it was a fun day on the trail in Clarion County.

The hike began about 10:15 in the morning. Along the route, many elements of Northwestern PA's scenery were taken in.

In the Cook Forest area, the hikers were treated to hillsides full of blooming mountain laurel, beautiful views of the Clarion River and Hemlock Island, a waterfall at the mouth of Henry Run which is the only remnant of an old Clarion River logging era sawmill and old foundations also from the logging era that the trail was recently rerouted to allow hikers to experience. After hiking the hillside away from Henry Run, before descending to Gravel Lick Road, a short break was taken at Scurry Overlook. After the DCNR removes 2 trees from the area, this overlook will give hikers a birds-eye view of the Gravel Lick area of the Clarion River.

At Gravel Lick road, the band of hikers was whittled down to five and they pushed onward up and over Thomson Hill. After descending from Thompson Hill, the hikers were again greeted by the Clarion River and hiked alongside it for just over a mile. This section of the hike was mostly level and included crossings of 2 small streams. Canoers and kayakers were seen along this section of the river that is to be labeled as a National Wild & Scenic River. The band stopped for lunch along the Clarion River just before heading up the remnants of Kline Road to the hilltop above the river.

The hike continued along this hilltop with a brief stop at another future overlook called Galbreath Overlook and down to another stream crossing and a quick glance of the Clarion River and the mouth of the Maxwell Run before heading up over another hill towards the Highland Drive Trail Head.

The hikers reached the trail head at approximately 3:20 PM. A map of the route taken is found below. The route taken is in solid red on the map.