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Current conditions on the Bucktail Path and the Donut Hole Trail?

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  • Current conditions on the Bucktail Path and the Donut Hole Trail?

    Calling Jeff Mitchell once again!

    Has anyone here recently hiked any portions of either the Bucktail Path or the Donut Hole Trail in PA, and can comment on current trail conditions? I've heard that these two trails- the Bucktail Path especially- can be overgrown and not particularly well maintained. "Goat path" are the words I've heard used by several different sources to describe the Bucktail Path in particular.

    A few friends and I are starting to plan a tentative week long backpacking trip for next early April as a follow-up to our Loyalsock Trail hike this past spring. We'll probably have somewhere around 5-7 full days to devote to hiking, and one option we're considering is to do a portion of the combined Bucktrail Path and Donut Hole Trail... the southern terminus of the BP is about 1-2 miles of road walking from the northern terminus of the DHT, so it wouldn't be too hard to link these two trails together.

    Obviously, our timeframe probably does not give us not enough days to hike the combined 120 miles of both trails in a single trip, but one option we're considering is to hike half this trip, and the second half on a future trip (likely spring of 2023).

    Also, on the plus side, early April would be early enough that the herbaceous growth wouldn't be out yet... so the tread should be easier to spot (and no stinging nettle yet, either).

  • #2
    Bucktail was followable when I hiked it, but unestablished and grown over in places. Have to keep an eye out for the blazes. Expect much of the DHT to be the same. Hiking in April will be easier.

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    • #3
          The Bucktail Path (BP) has the distinction of being one of PA’s most isolated and least hiked trails.  This 34 mile long linear trail explores the ridges and streams of the Elk …

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      • #4
        last time I was on the Bucktail was '07 or '08. Sorry no recent knowledge. But there was one campsite we could hear the live music from a local tavern. We were tempted.
        "There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service

        My trail journal: DuctTape's Journal

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        • #5
          I tried to hike part of the bucktail a few years back. Opened a canister at a trail head to find a bat living in it. Where I was at, it was very overgrown and full of nettles. Not fun. It was also difficult to follow. So unlike the Susquehannock and Loyalsock trails

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          • #6
            Originally posted by DuctTape View Post
            last time I was on the Bucktail was '07 or '08. Sorry no recent knowledge. But there was one campsite we could hear the live music from a local tavern. We were tempted.
            The Loyalsock Trail goes right by a bar on the road-walking portion... it looks like it's part of a private hunting club, but we were nevertheless quite excited when we spotted it from a distance. We figured in any case, the club would not be opposed to separating us from our cash in exchange for a cold beer or two each.

            When we discovered that it was not open, our disappointment was immeasurable and our trip was ruined.

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