September 2010 Monthly Hike

The Clarion County Chapter of the North Country Trail Association held it’s September 2010 monthly hike on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

Four hikers showed up for the walk from Kiser-Wagner Road to the game lands parking lot at the end of Pine Terrace Road above Deer Creek.  In attendance (from left to right in the picture) were Gene Stiglitz, Devin Callihan, Dan Ochs and Dave Galbreath.

It was a pleasant late morning/early afternoon to be on the North Country Trail for a hike.  The walk in the woods began about 10:15 in the morning and the group reached the State Game Lands Parking lot at the end of Pine Terrace Road at about 1:30.  The total distance travelled was just under 6 1/2 miles.

After leaving Kiser-Wagner Road, the trail winds through the woods for just under half a mile before crossing Route 322.  Once across 322, the trail follows Doe Run Road for almost exactly a mile until it enters the woods after the road crosses a small stream.  Where the road crosses this small stream and the trail heads back into the woods cannot be missed because the guard rails on both sides of Doe Run Road are painted completely in NCT blue.  While walking Doe Run Road, Dave Galbreath explained a plan to move the trail to the hillside below Doe Run Road.  This project will possibly be tackled next spring.

Once leaving Doe Run Road, the trail heads through hillsides of hardwood trees, stands of conifers and open meadows for just about 2 miles.  There is really quite a bit of variety on this little section of the hike.  Towards the end of the 2 miles, the trail crosses Myers Road and then a small field before crossing Route 66.

After crossing Route 66, the trail goes through an open field for about a hundred yards and then parallels a few feet off of and then follows on East End Road for approximately 2,000 feet.  At this point, the trail enters State Game Lands #63.  The trail through State Game Lands #63 travels along old logging roads and pipelines as it arcs around the Southwestern side of the Clarion County Airport.  The trail then follows the remnants of Bryner Mill Road to the game lands parking lot at the end of Pine Terrace Road.

After reaching the parking lot at the end of Pine Terrace Road, the group posed for a picture then rode in the van down to Deer Creek.  The hikers wanted to see how the stepping stones that were placed in the creek earlier in the summer were holding up.  They seem to be doing fine.  We will see if ice this winter or a high creek next spring will move them though.

All in all, it was yet another enjoyable day on the North Country Trail.  A map of the hike is found below.