We should have been at around 10 milemark by thenbutagain, GPS indicated 8.0 mi. The trail has been rerouted onto Va 689, Adams Rd. For more information, visit. Foliage/Fauna: I saw no animals. And while both the Tuscaroras northern and southern termini are on the Appalachian Trail, and the Tuscarora goes through the Appalachian Mountains, those two trails could hardly be more different. The ascent up to ridge was as described, and a very good workout. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. The first 3 miles were uphill via the switchbacks, which were decentlymarked. There is another nice shelter here. There is a gas station and restaurant on the main road coming thru town before you turn on the backroads leading to the parking spot (call it 5-7mi to gas from the trail). It also turned out to be a rather long day. There were also a couple places here and there where water was flowing across the trail/road. At the trail sign, turn left onto the southbound section of the 252-mile Tuscarora Trail. The Charlie Irvin Shelter is nestled on the edge of a cliff with wonderful a wonderful view of the valley. I will comment on the trail head. Advisory: Exercisecaution in Buchanan State Forest during hunting season. It looks like a zipline platform, but to be clear, there is no zipline. Begin by turning left uphill on the blue blazed Tuscarora Trail passing a closed gate. The shelter sits overlooking the valley, so on Saturday, June 21, they had to build a temporary scaffold to complete the roofing boards, underlayment & install the roofing metal. Additional trail connections in section 15: Gore Connector Trail, Biby WildernessTrail, Laurel Run Trail, Fry Path, Lucas Woods Trail. Section Update. PA-641 to Cowans Gap State Park, 15.7 miles, PATC Map K, Guide to the North Half of the Tuscarora Trail. Lean-to Shelter Camping - Tuscarora Trail | Sintax77 Weather: Thereabouts low 30s on the day of. The sign marking VA and WV was cool. Tuscarora and Warner Trail Loop. But it does make hiking the trail somewhat inconvenient. I really enjoyed myself. Max Elevation:2400 ft. Min Elevation: 790 ft. There's easily another 40 miles of gravel and dirt roads, which makes nearly the entirety of the trail in Maryland "on road". This might be a little problem if we planned on putting rain flies on the tents. THE AUTHORS OF THIS SITE AND THE PATC ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HARM TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, USE OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE. As much as I enjoyed one of the top hikes near Winchester, the rocks scrambles were a drag at times. Information on this site is presented with intent to be as accurate as possible at the time of posting, but it is provided as is and we accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone resulting from this information. Instead, you park parallel on Timber Ridge Trail where it meets Rockwood Trail. But hey, it was a good excuse to get out into the woods, so I grabbed my pack and headed out for some adventure, Route Overview Gerhard Shelter Tuscarora Trail Backpacking Trip 2022 Sintax77, Trailhead Used: Tuscarora Trail Waites Run Rd, 390055.0N 783617.8W . The trail connects with the A.T. near Waggoner's Gap. At this point the trail is a closed forestry road (FS) that slowly climbs the side of the mountain for 0.8 miles before the blue blazed Tuscarora Trail makes a sharp right, and the FS road continues straight. Hike itself was great, with plenty of sweat and breaks. Camping in Tuscarora State Forest - Pennsylvania Department of This is not on the white trail leading down. Tuscarora Trail Sections 7-10 Ive never read any reports of anyone actually finding or visiting this site, so I really had no idea if there would be anything to be found. The Tuscarora runs through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Camping: Burd Run Shelter (40.053,-77.888), PATC Silberman Trail Center (by reservation only), Cowans Gap State Park. Views: I agree with the stated rating (4). The trail can be accessed by road from both the northern and southern termini of section 4 in Tuscarora State Forest: Exercise caution in the Tuscarora State Forest during hunting season. My options for shelter would be to either use the Gerhard Shelter lean-to if I had the place to myself, or a lightweight tarp and minimalist hammock if I decided to wander out further into the woods and camp near the search area and nearby spring. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Day 14: Triple-Distilled Spring Water | Tuscarora Trail, 2020 Last year, I completed a thru-hike of the Tuscarora Trail, along with a stretch along the Appalachian Trail to form a loop. Advisory: Exercise caution in the Tuscarora State Forest during hunting season. **All GPS coordinates given on this site use the WGS-84 datum**. Additional Road Access in Tuscarora State Forest: Limited Parking at Three Square Hollow Road (40.228, -77.569), Limited Parking at 2nd Narrow Road (40.224, -77.594). I wasnt counting, but Pennsylvania felt like it had the largest number of views. PATC Map L, Guide to the South Half of the Tuscarora Trail. This is my personal website. There is evidently a trail leading from the shelter to an outhouse. It will have some family genealogy information as well as my travel journals. At this point the trail is a closed forestry road (FS) that slowly climbs the side of the mountain for 0.8 miles before the blue blazed Tuscarora Trail makes a sharp right, and the FS road continues straight. But its a difficult trail to thru-hike because of the challenges presented by the trails location and design. Access: The trail can be accessed from both the southern and northern termini of section 7: US Route 30, Tuscarora Summit (39.916, -77.9565). Proudly created with Wix.com, **All GPS coordinates given on this site use the WGS-84 datum**. 2021 Tuscarora 2021 Tuscarora Trail - Day Three - Barclays Run Shelter Posted by stoffa on 20 May 2021 Thursday, 20 May Bob and I did not put the flies on our tents last night since we knew it works be warm and almost no chance of rain in the HR forecast. The highlight of the road walk was the dozen or so cows in a field that followed us along the road. In addition to funding this website, part of the REI grant has been used by PATC volunteers to design and purchase hundreds of new full-color directional signs that will guide hikers through the entire 250 miles. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The shelter is generally used by through hikers. Wildlife. The nearest being maybe 3/4 of a mile, give or take, in the direction that you come in on. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Tuscarora Trail Sections 14-16 Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip, Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets with PA Plus, Search for evidence of the 2017 Cessna 150J Incident, Approximate location via the NTSB report is 39.039722,-78.555831, Bushwhack through accident site coordinates directly towards VCC Trail (optional of course). Turn right when it does. It stretches from Mathews Arm in Virginia to Sterretts Gap in Pennsylvania. The PATC revived the trail, began maintaining it, and united the Tuscarora-Big Blue Trail with blue blazes and one name. I did it in "reverse" that time since the hike up the standard way was pretty tough. From here, begin your descent along the rocky switchback-laden trail. Still warm. It was a little after eleven when we finished lunch and started up. I know a lot of hikers dislike being on the FS roads, but I don't mind them at all as long as it's not the whole hike! Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Tuscarora and Warner Trail Loop - AllTrails.com That was after they hauled in materials. I didn't see it but I believe one does exist. The Tuscarora is a somewhat dry trail. So yeah, it was a nice day but not much to look at other than service roads for the majority of the hike. Despite the 90+ degree day, the temps at the top and along the hike were manageable. Also, I am of mid-fitness level sporting about 15 extra pounds, and with no pack was back at the car in 2.5hrs. Charlie Irvin Shelter - Tuscarora Trail - Pennsylvania Hike To detour this section, please consult the updates page for current detour information. Theres at least 47 miles of paved roadwalk on the Tuscarora (almost a fifth of its total length), including a 14 mile stretch in West Virginia, some of which had very narrow shoulders. Erin Metcalf PA Tuscarora Trail ~ Bill Miller Trail to Cowpens Road. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The details of the aviation accident site that I was looking for can be found here. The last part back to the parking area follows Waites Run - beautiful. Create Recommended Route or Day 25: Shelter With A View | Tuscarora Trail, 2020 In a few more steps, youll start to hear moving water, then an easy-to-miss spur trail turns up on the right at the 1.9-mile mark. The views of the valley from Vance's Cove can be wonderful on a clear day as well, but the main attraction is the solitude. Check out the Trail Finder feature or send Erin a message. Parking might be lacking in the warmer months on weekends. Overall, this was a great hike, but the first three miles till you get up to the ridge was just OK. Tuscarora Treasures Maps. Learn how your comment data is processed. With a "short" 10.8 mile day planned, I didn't get up terribly early. Please respect the landowner's decision. Tuscarora Trail - Waites Run to US 50 - 4 All Outdoors That might be a good shakedown hike for my twice-delayed but upcoming Continental Divide Trail hike. Trail conditions day 1 More day 1 trail. Additional trail connections in the Tuscarora State Forest include: North Fork Trail, Couch Haul Road, Perry Lumber Co Trail, Twig Trail. On the return on the fire road, a mile or so is along a large stream I noted a guy fishing in. Follow the ridge for 1.0 miles and arrive at Gerhard Shelter. Once you reach the trailhead, you are near the top of the mountain, so of course, the hike begins with a descent.