Somebody slow this thing down, will ya?
And, that's one of the things I love about these weekends... slowing down! Putting the phone and computer away and working together to lug some camping gear miles into the forest over hill and through valley in search of beauty, grandeur... and some father/son memories.
Unfortunately, Dylan was not interested this year. At age 15, he has precious few of these opportunities left and I think he cheated himself by choosing not to go. But, I'm just a Dad... what do I know? I considered making him go (which I have done with other things and he often thanks me later), but he was pretty adamant. I decided to let him make his choice and invest the weekend in the boy who wanted to go.
The calendar was filling up for the month and it was looking tough to coordinate schedules and weather, so we decided to pick this weekend and go, rain or shine... and we had some of both.
Traditional weigh-in and backyard "ready to go!" picture.
Dad: 35 pounds (including 5 pounds of tent that I don't usually pack)
Zachary: 22 pounds.
After four years of backpacking Raccoon Creek State Park, which was ideal for the boys first trips, I decided it was time for something different and a little more challenging. Oil Creek State Park has similar designated backpack camping areas with adirondack shelters. It is the more scenic of the two parks and has more challenging terrain. Zachary was excited to see some different woods, but the offer of a new park still didn't sweeten the pot enough to persuade Dylan. Also different this year, when I got online to reserve a shelter, all 12 shelters in the park were already taken, which meant we were tenting, instead.
Our weekend totaled about 12.5 miles of hiking. We left the car near the park office (left side on the picture above). Our Saturday hike was about 7.5 miles on the northern portion of the red loop pictured, ending at the Cow Run Shelter Site. On Sunday, we backtracked the first few miles, then returned on the southern portion of this loop... a distance of about 5 miles.
Saturday lunch stop, Benninghoff Farm Tableau
As luck would have it, the weekend we chose happened to hit Western Pennsylvania's foliage color peak (hence, the unavailability of backpacking shelters). Even with overcast skies, the colors were gorgeous during the hike and the drive each way. My camera does not do justice to the beauty of the reds, oranges and yellows highlighted by the ever-bold evergreens.
We would later cross this bridge and camp somewhere in the hills beyond it.
Saturday Lunch 2.0. We were commenting that this trail didn't have a "lunch bench" like the trail we usually backpack... then we found one!
Humoring me with another "smoked" beef stick pic!
Pioneer Falls... the view from the bench
Oil Creek
As promised, crossing the bike trail bridge we could see from the overlook
I don't advocate playing on railroad tracks, but these are for a scenic railroad only and our trail legitimately crossed them at this location.
Just as we started climbing the stairs back up to the trail, we heard something coming down the tracks...
Seven of these little gasoline driven cars putted past and stopped near our trail crossing. I was talking to one of the drivers and they were private vehicles. One belonged to the coordinator of the scenic railroad and the others were his friends. The train only ran once in the morning and once in the evening on this day, so they all gathered for a Saturday drive through the beautiful park. (I guess you can do that sort of thing when you know the guy who operates the railroad!) I asked him how they went the other direction and he showed me a turntable that lowers from the center of each car, down between the rails. It picks up the car and rotates it for the return trip. It looked like fun!
Zachary truly appreciated the beauty of the Pennsylvania hills and forest
Our campsite at the Cow Run backpacking area (Cow Run being the nearby stream... not stampeding bovines!)
We had some light drizzle off and on during Saturday's hike, but nothing too significant. It wasn't enough to bother with rain gear... and hiking in rain gear with a pack tends to just make you wet from the inside out, anyway. The rain picked up in intensity and was steady for about the last 45 minutes of the hike, so we hurried our pace to get into the camp area. Shortly after we arrived, it slacked off enough to get our camp set up. Passing showers continued throughout the evening. We went to bed about 9:00... and then it rained in earnest! But, through several hours of moderate nighttime winds and rain, the tent was snug and cozy!
Morning broke with only occasional mists, but clearing
Being the Lord's Day, I wanted to share a few spiritual thoughts before hitting the trail. I asked Zachary if he had any scripture he wanted to share and he quoted Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions." I had to admit I was a bit surprised impressed... maybe he does listen in church! We then read Psalm 8:1-9, which speaks of God's care for us, amidst the glory of His creation.
Heading out Sunday morning
Sunday lunch at an old foundation from something time forgot
At this scenic overlook, we could see across the valley to the spot we stopped for lunch the day before (just to the right of my sleeping bag at the bottom of my pack)
On several of our other backpack trips, we tried to take humorous or creative photos. As we hiked Sunday, we were commenting that we had not found any of these photo ops on this trip. And, then, we came upon this...
What the... ? (Imagine our confusion!)
Maybe we are supposed to bushwhack along the trail edge?
Or, crawl down the trail with loaded pack?
Ah, forget it... we're walking!
The sun came out for the last half of our Sunday hike
And, we ended with another tradition... the Taco Bell refuel!
Despite some rainy weather, this was a GREAT backpack outing and I really enjoyed the solo time with Zachary. He broke some of the teenage stereotypes by opening up and talking about some things of depth. He appreciated the beauty of his surroundings and the challenges of things like hiking and rain. And, he thanked me on multiple occasions for taking the time to do this with him. It was rewarding, as a dad, to see a side of him that I don't always see in the chaos that is our home.
Zachary, you are a fine young man, and it was truly a pleasure to share this weekend with you. (And, it doesn't hurt that I love backpacking!) I'd repeat this weekend anytime you want and I can make the schedule work! Zach-packing... same time next year?
