Pine Creek

[twisteroo]

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I had my weekend off this week on Weds and Thurs, I drove down to Pa, took my mountain bike and bob, and I rode the Pine Creek trail from Ansonia Pa, to Jersey Shore Pa, probably about 55 miles one way.

I had no real plan, just hope for the best. I had all my camping stuff but could not get a camping permit at the DCNR office in Wellsboro before I left. Fuck it, I just went. I had no idea what I was gonna do. After about 6 hours of pulling bob I got to Jersey Shore and was looking around town a little bit. Not much of a town, just a small place, a grocery store, and Arby's, a few pizza places, a drug store, a diner, a small town court with a conservation officer sitting in his truck out front.
Ding, ding, ding!!!!!! I ask the game warden guy for help, he was a hell of a guy. He make about 30 phone calls, finally got hold of some chick. We went in the town court and asked if I could use their fax machine. I called the chick back, she took my info and faxed me a camping permit.
I was all set, I thanked all people involved profusely, stopped at the diner for a burger, the dollar store for some more water and set back up the trail about 10 miles to the camp site place.

When I stopped for the night I had logged 67 miles on the trail pulling bob loaded. It's pretty primitive camping, no water except what you get out of the pump, composting toilets that are all along the trail, and all the free firewood you can burn if you have some paper or something to get it lit.
After I was on the trail that morning I noticed that my air matress had splits in it, it would not hold air, but lucky for me I was so damn tired and the thing has foam in it, I slept like a mofo.

I was up this morning sometime after 6, packed up all my crap, had a coffee energy drink that I had bought and stashed the night before, (it caught my eye in the store because it was made at the place that I work at, I checked the code on the can), a slug of warm water and I was off. A steady diet of fig newtons and warm water for the next 5 hours and 46 miles and I was back to my truck and headed home.

Nothing like 113 miles on a mountain bike pulling bob full of stuff and a night sleeping on the cold hard ground to set your mind right.

I saw a shitpile of deer, bunches of tiny fawns, a bear, a mink, either a big muskrat or a small beaver (it's hard to tell without seeing a tail), I'm pretty sure I saw an eagle, that is supposed to be rattlesnake country but the only snake I was was on the trail sunning himself, I wasn't paying attention and ran him over, I didn't mean to but I couldn't help it.
He limped slitherd off listing toward starboard, I think I ruptured his spleen.
Anyway....the pics, the pics...

4 bucks all together, if you enlarge the pic you can see the horns, funny as hell seeing them hanging around together, come November they will be kicking the hell outta each other over some rotten, skanky, doe pussy.


My steady diet for 2 days.


This is supposed to be good drinking water, although I carried enough to get by.


These bathrooms were all along the trail, so much so that I only used the ground once.


One of the bridges.


The creek this morning/and just another shot of the creek.



Then there is my "rig", my mountain bike with bob in tow.

[Sally]

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Who is Bob?

[Eric]

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Man I love the pics!

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Bob's the trailer Sally.

Wow, Pa is gorgeous. You look like you had a great weekend. I enjoy that kind of camping too... but the bathrooms are a plus that I wouldn't complain about!

[twisteroo]

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Yes, bob is the trailer. I didn't name it that, it came from the factory as a bob.

The next time I go I will carry less stuff, I found out I really didn't need the food I took, I carried cans of sardines, a jar of peanutbutter and a can of brown bread all that way for nothing. There were actually a few little Mom and Pop stores and stuff along the way to buy sandwiches and drinks and stuff. I might even be able to get away with using saddle bags instead of bob, that would make the ride a whole lot easier.
I tried to mark my map as I went so I knew where I could get food and stuff, and possibly a place to stay if need be, the one place was a little store, deli, I mean they served sandwiches on plain old white bread, and it was also a B&B, I wonder how the rooms were. I also now know more about getting the camping permits and stuff. I wondered all day if anyone would really care if you had a permit or not, but sure enough that night as I was sitting by my fire staying warm and reading a ranger pulled in and checked permits and made sure everyone was doing OK. Real nice guy too, I'm just glad I had the permit.
There was just 2 other people at the camp site, a guy and his son who was about 17, I talked to them for about an hour or so, real nice people. I was actually nice having someone else there, not like a big crowed campground but just someone else there incase I go bit by a rattlesnake or some stoned teenagers showed up and needed to be beat down or something. I carry my extra large buck knife and my tiny extremely bright flashlight, I figure that I can just explode out of my tent in a bright blinding slashing stabbing rage of fury and fight off anything from drunk teenagers to grizzly bears. Lucky for everyone this weekend that nobody knocked on my tent door looking to borrow a cup of sugar or anything. Let me look for a pic of the campsite.

The campsite.


Another shot of the creek.

[twisteroo]

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I just need to add that today I will walk around work feeling a little smug. I mean the old fat guy can log that many miles, sleep on the ground, pull a trailer full of gear, live on fig newtons and warm water, and I will still ride bike to work today. Man, 99% of the young 20 year old kids I work with can't get outta their own way. It is the same feeling that I get from riding my bike to work every day. Something about being up early and doing something that takes some effort, it's that dawn patrol feeling, doing something early before work. You feel a little superior about it.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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I know that feeling. When I had the horses, getting up while the mist was still on the pastures to feed them and clean the barn and all that good stuff was great. Then off to work cutting hair making ugly people think they're pretty. I loved it and I miss it terribly.

I don't have that kind of physical activity in me anymore with my injuries but I still get up early (sleep or no sleep determines that ) and I get all my stuff outside done before I go inside and do all the domestic bullshit that I hate. Summer is nicer because I can putter around in the flower beds, vacuum the pool and other things like that. I let Matt mow and weed wack because I end up with bad pain from that now. The accident fucked me up with soft tissue and nerve damage. I got a crappy Huffy Blades bike I should take to the bike shop and let them fix it up. The gears need timing and I tried it myself but it is worse. Plus the two flat tires don't help. But nice mornings here I could hit the nature trails we live up against. Now you got me wanting to be in the woods.

We can't even think about a vacation away from home until the dog dies. I couldn't bear it if he dropped dead in the kennel while we were away.