Hittin' the Tuscarora Trail

 

With Amos at the southern terminus of the Tuscarora Trail

*This post was written on August 26th and posted on September 5th. We are now eleven days into our hike.

It was time to take a walk, a long walk. I’ve been working more than ever, although I don’t really consider my work with plants and people work in the typical sense. It is a joy. I can’t imagine my life without it. It’s a part of who I am. But it does require a lot of “brain” time – a lot of researching, organizing, and scheduling. Sometimes, even I, who spends most of my workdays outside, needs to just go be in the woods. To walk, eat, sleep, be in the beauty that enthralls me, and give my gratitude to that which gives me so much by being present, giving my full attention.

These days I typically seek a trail that I can commit myself to for a month, sometimes a little less, sometimes more. To decompress I needed a path that was well-mapped and blazed and could allow me to sink into the trail state of mind rather than worry about logistics. I needed a trail that our dog, Amos, could navigate and where I could resupply regularly at post offices along the way. Amos is agile and in his prime, but his ninety pounds requires that I carry A LOT of food. So, these days with a four-legged love, I have to plan strategically. And that’s okay with me. He is my companion, and our bond contributes to the magic I experience out here.

Tuscarora Trail sign

Meet the Tuscarora Trail, a 250-mile trail that travels from the northernmost portion of Shenandoah National Park, near to Mathew’s Arm and Hogback Mountain, to Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania. The Tuscarora Trail was initially established in the 1960’s as an alternate route for the Appalachian Trail. At that time, much of the AT was on private land and threatened by ever expanding suburbia and industry. The alternate route would use largely public land to ensure a more permanent corridor. Originally it was built as two distinct alternate routes: the Tuscarora Trail (northern portion) and the Big Blue Trail (southern portion), however in the 1990’s the two were melded under the present-day Tuscarora Trail and overseen by the Potamic Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The Tuscarora connects with the AT at both its southern and northern terminuses.

When I hiked the AT I knew nothing of the Tuscarora Trail, in fact I knew nothing about any other long distance trails. But after hiking that trail I wanted more . . . and a more solitary experience. I've since sought out and completed numerous long-distance treks, each one lesser-traveled and lesser known, however each also exceptional in its own right. I’ll have to get back to you on how many folks have completed the Tuscarora Trail, but I can guarantee the number is relatively small. I’d stumbled upon the Tuscarora Trail while googling trails and was curious, but when my good friend, Star Left, who I first met on the Finger Lakes Trail eight years ago – she and her hiking partner were the only other long-distance hikers I met in the nearly 1,000-mile FLT – started talking about it, I was hooked. Star Left has been working steadily on completing the Great Eastern Trail in sections, which the Tuscarora Trail runs concurrently with for 130 miles. 

The Great Eastern Trail is also a trail that I have been, by accident, ticking off portions of for years now. The Crystal Hills branch of the Finger Lakes Trail makes up its northern mileage and the Mid State Trail which Amos and I hiked two years ago also is the Great Eastern Trail. I’ve done nearly 400 miles of this 1,800 mile trail, so why not carry on? 

And so today, the length of the Tuscarora Trail lays before me. Be sure to stay tuned as our story unfolds on this lesser traveled, surely special trail!