A Thru-hike on Pennsylvania's Wildest Trail: The Mid State Trail

Amos, my trusty companion on this upcoming hike, at a campsite in our Pennsylvania woods

As many of you know, I have been in the throes of publishing my third book, Love and the Long Path. This book has been a project in the works for over the last three years. With all this time and energy spent before a computer screen, I thought it was high time to get my feet in the dirt again. I will be continuing to promote my new book, but from yet another lesser traveled trail.

The Mid State Trail's northern terminus on the border of New York

I am excited to announce I will be thru-hiking the Mid State Trail (MST) or what is also called "Pennsylvania's Wildest Trail" starting April 21st. That name alone was enough to lure me in! But it was while thru-hiking the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) and its six branches that I first learned of this trail. The Crystal Hills Branch which begins at the main Finger Lakes Trail in South Bradford State Forest, travels south, roughly 47 miles, to the northern terminus of the Mid State Trail. I remember well standing at that northern terminus sign on a dirt road and wondering just what it might be like if I continued southward. While hiking the FLT, I got to know Peter Fleszar, Regional Manager for the Tioga section of the Mid State Trail, and he suggested I look into thru-hiking the MST one day. The idea was alluring, especially given that this was my home state's long trail and the idea stuck. But with trails, like many things in life, you'll know when the time is right. Now is that time!

The Mid State Trail travels 331 miles from the Maryland-Pennsylvania border in Bedford County to the Pennsylvania-New York border in Tioga County -  smack-dab through the center of the state. But if I put that distance into kilometers - I may as well start now - its 533 km in length. This trail is the only long distance trail in the country that measures its distance, including its elevations, in metric measurement. Planning alone has been a mental exercise, but I've gotten mighty good at converting kilometers to miles by now. 

The MST is the creation of Tom Thwaites, a fervent supporter of the metric system, and began as a project with the Penn State Outing Club back in 1969. He measured this trail by pushing a Rolatape measuring wheel along hundreds of kilometers through the state and is the author of the guidebook that I will be using on this hike. In 2014, Tom Thwaites passed away, but his memory and trail lives on. The Mid State Trail Association, founded in 1982, is now largely responsible for the trail, and ensures its protection in conjunction with the Keystone Trails Association, PA DCNR, PA Game Commission, US Corps of Engineers, and about two dozen private landowners that allow the trail's passage on their property. 

Rocky trail - what I imagine the MST may look like at times, likely worse

I tuned into the Facebook page a couple months ago, when the notion to hike this trail really started to gel and asked some questions about terrain. Memories of boulder fields and hatchet-sharp rocks on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania were still vivid in my mind and I hoped that this trail would not offer the same. Well, according to the answers I received...this trail will indeed be a rocky one, at times on par with the Appalachian Trail, at least for roughly half its length. But that's not stopping me. 

The trail is also known for its tremendous views, its remoteness, and the likelihood that one will "see more bears than people" when hiking it. If the numbers on the Mid State Trail Association's website (www.hike-mst.org) are accurate...only twenty-nine people have hiked the trail in its entirety and a mere four have thru-hiked it. I suspect there are more, hikers who simply didn't certify their hikes, but probably not many more. The southern half is reportedly more treacherous than the northern half, so I figured why not start with the worse of it and gradually walk into more rolling, less rocky terrain. I hope, too, that by starting in the south, I will be at the height of spring ephemeral season and continue to revel in these plants as I head north. 

Painted trillium (Trillium undulatum)

Speaking of the plants, as I have on all my long-distance hikes following the Appalachian Trail, I will be observing and studying the wild plants - with a focus on those that are edible and medicinal - that call this trail home. I am excited for the abundance of wild greens to enliven many a boring hiker cheese sandwich or pot of noodles and flowers to spy and sometimes nibble as I walk. Spring is a prime planty time and it has been a long time since I have been on trail in this season. 

Chickweed (Stellaria media) and cheese, anyone?

As time and internet permits, I will be sharing my findings online here at this blog and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/thebotanicalhiker and at www.Facebook.com/groups/midstatetrailpa. I will also be sharing weekly videos with the Delaware Highlands Conservancy to share on their social media. Find them at www.Facebook.com/delawarehighlandsconservancy. The Delaware Highlands Conservancy provides land protection for the Upper Delaware River Region, promoting quality of life for the region's inhabitants from fish to fowl to four-legged and two-legged creatures. 

My father and I on the Appalachian Trail - Blood Mountain 

And I will be in good company and support on this hike. My father, trail name - House the Cat, will be joining me for about the first week and a half. My father, now 75 years old, joined me for many hundreds of miles on the Appalachian Trail back in 2008 and has walked numerous miles with me on other long distance trails to boot. 

Wise Man and myself on the Long Path

My love and life/trail partner in crime, Scott, trail name - Wise Man, will be with me for roughly two weeks of the journey. He would have loved to have set his sights on the whole trail but alas work, guitar-building projects, and music-making, is requiring him to not step too far from the civilized world. He will, however, be meeting me about weekly on the trail to help with resupply and brighten my spirits. 

Me and Amos

And here's the cincher...our four-year old, 80+ pound, coonhound, Amos Moses will be along for pretty much the whole trek. Amos lives for the outdoors. He is my trail running companion, joins us on every day hike and has got a number of overnights in a tent under his belt (and many nights in a tiny travel trailer). He will be a joy and a handful - he hates taking breaks on the trail and it takes until about mile nine for him to finally lay down and take a snooze while I take off my pack and eat a granola bar. But it has been a dream of mine, ever since reading A Walk Across America at 16-years old to have a canine companion on a long journey. However, because of Amos, I am not planning particularly long miles on this hike and I am prepared to alter my preconceived notions as needed. His safety is my primary concern.

 I estimate our hike will take roughly five weeks to complete. I am eager to more deeply explore the beauty of my home state and to know its hollers and mountain tops. It is said in a memoriam to Tom Thwaites, found on the Mid State Trail Association's website, that "He described hiking and the pleasure we get from being surrounded by and moving through nature, as an activity that reattunes us to our deepest selves." My sentiments exactly. I look forward, more than anything, to finding that solace that can only be found on the trail. 

Mid State Trail, here I come! I hope you'll follow along as I hike through our beautiful state of Pennsylvania.

Amos on trail in Pennsylvania game lands near home