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A 10.3 mile loop on the Golden Eagle and Dragons Back Trails with many fine vistas. Wolf Run has several small falls and cascades, but the creek was low. A great hike and a great alternative to hiking the GET alone.
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A 10.3 mile loop on the Golden Eagle and Dragons Back Trails with many fine vistas. Wolf Run has several small falls and cascades, but the creek was low. A great hike and a great alternative to hiking the GET alone.
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Thanks for posting this. I still need the Golden Eagle Trail for the PA State Forest Trails Award- but it's hard to do just a day hike when you don't live close by. I've thought about ways to potentially turn this into a backpacking trip, but my understanding is that camping is prohibited along the Golden Eagle Trail itself, even the portions of it that are on State Forest land (sounds like due to lack of good, sustainable campsite options as well as high levels of use). And of course, the presence of Game Lands further complicates the logistics of trying to plan a backpacking trip in the vicinity, since camping is not permitted on Game Lands.
One thought I had was to try to camp along the ridgeline of the Dragon's Back Trail, where it is on State Forest Land- and to access this trail via an out and back from the GET loop. The ridgeline here looks like it could be fairly narrow, however, so there may not be any options. Did you happen to see any established campsites along this stretch? (And obviously, any such sites would be dry sites and I'd need to carry water.)
The Tiadaghton State Forest public use map also shows a trail network further east in the Wolf Run Wild Area, with trails along Mill Run and Sebring Branch. Dropping down into these drainages seems like it has the potential to yield some camping options. But there isn't really a whole lot of obvious connections between those trails and the GET... it looks like there should be a connection between the Left Fork Mill Run Trail and Barrens Road near the upper end of the GET loop, but the trail is shown on the DCNR map just terminating at the boundary separating the State Forest lands from the Game Lands. Is that just because DCNR doesn't really inventory trails on Game Lands? Or does the trail really just dead end at the boundary?
Also, are either the Hillborn or Hillborn Run Trails worth including as part of a longer itinerary in the area? -
I don't recall any established sites on Dragon's Back, but the terrain can permit a small site.
Hilborn is worth doing, but is very challenging in and out of the gorge. Quite steep near the bottom. Three great views. I don't think the hilborn trails are blazed, but were pretty easy to follow.Comment
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This should help
Also, Bob Weber Trail is worth doing.Comment
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