September 5, 2019
This morning, we very carefully hitched up the toad to the RV and with trepidation, set out towing again. Fortunately, all went well. We stopped for lunch at a rest area and ate in the RV among the truckers. Around mid-afternoon, we pulled into the Canyon Country Campground and set up the RV. We are near the canyon rim, that is the rim of the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, near the town of Wellsboro. I wanted to relax after driving, but Jane was eager to hit the trail and so left me to hike to the canyon alone.
About half an hour after Jane left, I started hiking. The trail from our campground went for about a mile through a hardwood forest then entered another RV park. After skirting around that park it connected to the Leonard Harris State Park with beautiful overlooks of the Pine Creek Gorge, aka Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon, not to be confused with North Carolina’s Grand Canyon, the Linville Gorge. After enjoying the views from several overlooks which were connected with a paved path, and with no sign of my wife, I decided to hike the Turkey Path to the bottom of the gorge.
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| One of Several Overlooks at Leonard Harris State Park |
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| Pine Creek Gorge – Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon |
The Turkey Path was a mile descent that started with easy switchbacks along the ridge side but soon got rockier, rootier and steeper as I descended. There were overlooks for two waterfalls in the lower half of the trail. In steeper sections, steps and boardwalks had been installed to aid the hiker. At the bottom I crossed a rails-to-trails path at a wooden bridge and then hiked down to the edge of Pine Creek. After a brief rest, I slowly proceeded back up the Turkey Path, stopped for some more views at the overlooks at the top, and then proceeded through the forest back to our camp site arriving just before darkness set in.
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| Waterfall along the Turkey Path |
Jane had already eaten supper when I arrived. As I exhaustingly heated mine up, I learned that Jane had not made it to the canyon overlooks on her hike. Rather, she had found a “creepy” looking tower with an old trailer parked next to it. There was a machine at the tower base that asked for a $3 admission, credit card only, no cash. Jane had decided against climbing the tower and returned back to the RV. After dinner, we completed the 10th puzzle from the 12 pack before heading to bed
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| The “Creepy” Watch Tower |
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| Puzzle #10 |