HIKE DISTANCE: 13.5 miles amongst exploring together with backtracking
THE HIKE:
The hike starts beyond the gate on the Stony Valley Rail Trail. My intention was to produce the Mid-Atlantic Hikes loop inwards contrary hence I could larn the to a greater extent than pop rail trail part done early together with explore Rausch Gap before it got busy together with it tin sack live a busy identify afterwards inwards the day.
From StonyValley.com's Facebook Page: "...these are rail holders. Since the valley was hence secluded, it was a long agency to larn supplies if rails needed to live repaired inwards an emergency, hence the railroad society spaced rail holders every mile to 2 miles along the track. H5N1 30-foot long metallic rail would live spanned betwixt the 2 crosses on the concrete arms, together with a runway gang - a grouping of railroaders who were inwards accuse of repairing together with maintaining a department of runway - would together with hence live able to easily repair the damaged track, which tended to come about to a greater extent than oft when cloak-and-dagger springs were introduce inwards the area."
A few faint side trail atomic number 82 over to views of the Evening Branch Beaver Swamp on the right.
Evening Branch Beaver Swamp ...
... amongst a beaver lodge.
The hemlocks brand for dainty greenery when everything else is chocolate-brown together with drab inwards the winter.
Here nosotros receive got Balloon #1 on the offset hike of the year.
An orange-blazed trail to the left 2 miles in. I explored it together with it went nowhere that I could say really early on.
A piffling further along, a faintly blazed orangish trail to the right.
The blueish runway is what I grabbed from Mid-Atlantic Hikes together with is what I had intended to hike but I decided to explore this orangish trail together with that turned out to live a expert choice since I would postulate it afterwards inwards the hike.
There is a sign on the tree a curt agency inwards that reads "To Upper Rail Trail".
The blazes are really faint if they be at all but the path is land used since I did non receive got whatever problem staying on it.
The trail does come upwards out on the Upper Rail Trail where nosotros turned left together with directly came upon a flooded out area. It had rained the solar daytime before - AGAIN - hence it mightiness non live this moisture normally. But what is a Canis familiaris who doesn't desire to larn his paws moisture to do?
He figured it out.
After that 1 moisture expanse together with a few youngster blow downs, the trail opened upwards ...
... amongst around dainty wintertime views of Second Mountain on the left.
At the gas pipeline, nosotros turned left to caput dorsum downwards to the Stony Valley Rail Trail since in that place appeared to live to a greater extent than blow downs together with overgrowth ahead on the almost never used (except in all probability past times hunters) Upper Rail Trail.
Coming out of the gas pipeline cut, a correct on the Stony Valley Rail Trail.
The hemlocks halt equally leafless hardwood trees accept over.
It's non much further to Rausch Gap at he light-green bridge.
Before the span in that place is an quondam orange-blazed trail to the correct ...
... that leads to dainty views of waterfalls inwards Rausch Creek.
On the opposite side of the trail are quondam foundations of the homes from those who inhabited Rausch Gap long ago.
The foundations are easier to brand out inwards person. Just looks similar a pile of rocks inwards the picture.
Back at the rail trail ...
... the Appalachian Trail turns left before the bridge. We were heading towards the flooded expanse but I was pretty certain the cemetery was reachable before that together with it was.
But offset a brace of signs inwards the "main" purpose of the quondam ghost town.
All of those scattered stones belonged to the stone arch span when it stood.
Now heading due north on the AT towards the quondam cemetery.
There are lots of quondam stone foundations off the trail along the way.
There are solely iii tombstones left standing inwards the Rausch Gap Cemetery.
Heading dorsum to the AT.
We went off trail to the left through an opened upwards expanse amongst a campsite together with veered correct to Rausch Creek where nosotros took a break.
Heading dorsum to the light-green span over Rausch Creek.
The AT at nowadays turns left crossing the span together with next the Stony Valley Rail Trail for a bit.
Rausch Creek to the left.
To the right, the limestone neutralization system. The limestone is a base of operations that neutralizes the acid inwards the H2O from mine drainage.
The AT leaves the rail trail to the right.
This department of trail goes through the coal mining expanse hence lots of coal debris is constitute along the way.
Where a blue-blazed trail goes left to the Rausch Gap shelter, an orange-blazed trail goes correct ...
... to views of Rausch Creek.
Back across the AT on to the blue-blazed trail to Rausch Gap where nosotros all of a precipitous heard a loud crashing dissonance from upwards higher upwards ...
... where this branch came crashing downwards most 100 feet from us inwards the woods. Brodie most jumped out of his fur where I was frozen inwards identify non knowing where it was falling from inwards fourth dimension to know where to move. This is why I don't similar hiking on windy days together with this solar daytime turned out to live to a greater extent than windy than expected.
So on to the Rausch Gap shelter...
... amongst around dainty wintertime views along the way.
Brodie refuses to drinkable the H2O that I haul along for him but he was all over that fountain H2O at the shelter.
Heading dorsum to the AT.
A few steps after this sign is where nosotros would receive got picked upwards a red-blazed trail, the Old Stagecoach Road, to loop around.
I could non uncovering it at all hence I followed the Mid-Atlantic Hikes runway I had uploaded to my phone.
And this would live it. Seems the years receive got obliterated the trail.
I was also non comfortable amongst the creek crossing. The H2O was raging together with it was steeper downwards than it looks inwards the picture. And what if nosotros did larn inwards across together with the trail was simply equally obliterated on the other side? I decided it was non worth the withdraw chances together with nosotros turned back.
Ah ha, a really faint blood-red blaze (and a plastic pocketbook someone tied on the tree to score the trail?) on a blow down.
Heading dorsum on the AT.
Back on the Stony Valley Rail Trail together with across the bridge.
I decided to effort that quondam orange-blazed trail nosotros had been on before along the eastern side of Rausch Creek.
As I hoped, the quondam orangish trail went all the agency upwards to that Upper Rail Trail where nosotros turned left a curt distance ...
... to Rausch Creek where nosotros saw around impressive stonework where the develop tracks used to cross over. This, too, looks similar it is crumbling away.
I decided to regard how far nosotros could accept the Upper Rail Trail dorsum because I knew I could larn dorsum downwards to the Stony Valley Rail Trail via the gas pipeline cutting or the quondam orangish trail if I needed to.
There were quite a few blow downs but they were slow plenty to navigate through.
Then the trail would opened upwards up together with live truly nice. At this point, in that place were lots of people downwards on the Stony Valley Rail Trail, non a soul upwards here.
At the gas pipeline shown here, I contemplated turning left together with catching the Old Stagecoach Road that way, which inwards theory should receive got been doable, but non knowing what atmospheric condition I would run into amongst it non beingness a maintained trail together with worried most non having plenty daylight left if nosotros did receive got to plough back, I decided to move on on the Upper Rail Trail.
Passing past times the orangish trail nosotros had come upwards up on earlier, really faintly blazed where the plough is from the Upper Rail Trail.
It was getting pretty overgrown.
But would opened upwards dorsum upwards hence nosotros continued on.
But most one-half a mile from the orangish trail, the Upper Rail Trail became impassable. It was also flooded out equally far equally I could regard nether those blow downs hence that made it even to a greater extent than impassible.
We turned dorsum to the orangish trail, turned left ...
... together with headed downwards to the Stony Valley Rail Trail.
Left on the Stony Valley Rail Trail.
Zooming inwards upwards ahead, all of the people who passed piece nosotros were upwards on the Upper Rail Trail.
Sand Spring is truly on the correct where this sign is on the left. You tin sack regard the H2O bubbling upwards through the sand.
A few to a greater extent than side trips over to the Evening Branch Beaver Swamp.
The Sun starting to set. Not trying to larn over to the Old Stagecoach Road via the gas pipeline was a expert call. It would receive got been a longer route dorsum to the car.
After 13.5 miles of hiking, he wasted no fourth dimension going into post hike coma. I, however, had a 2 1/2 hr drive home.
