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| Hiking | 11.75 Miles |
2,802 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.75 Miles | 5 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.20 mph |
| 2,802 ft AEG | 9 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Got a chance to do another segment of the Rachel Carson Trail. This time I decided to start over at the west end of the trail, in North Park. My friend from childhood, Paul, lives 20 minutes from there, so it was a good chance to hike this and visit with someone, which is hard to do when all the bars and restaurants are closed. I've known Paul since we were 4 years old and met when I moved into the neighborhood. Now we're two old guys hiking the woods in PA.
this end of the trail is much nicer than many of the segments I've hiked on the east side. North Park is a slightly ritzier area in suburban Pittsburgh, so that probably has something to do with it. There are fewer urban areas to hike through, and they're not so bad. The first mile or two was in North Park, then a short segment along train tracks and a road, then back into single track in a valley.
We got off trail a couple times onto intersecting trails. Nice to have the track with me so I can check that and get back on track. There was a heat advisory for this day, but since most of this hike was in the shade, I really didn't notice the heat so much. It was very humid and I was pretty drenched when we were done, but it wasn't as bad as I remember it last summer when I hiked two segments of this trail. The bugs were in full force, and even in the shade I found it useful to have my hood up to keep them away.
The funniest part of the hike was when a hiker was coming the other way with his dog. We stopped to let him pass and started talking a little. During our talk, we mentioned where we're from. I said how I live in AZ now, but I'm from New Kensington originally. he then asked me if I knew a certain person from there, and it was another friend of mine who I visit with. Alot of times people ask if you know someone from an area you mention, this was one of the few times I did.
Paul doesn't hike all that much, but he hung in quite well. The hardest part for him was coming down a steep hill on our last mile, which slowed him down due to a gimpy knee, one of the benefits of middle age.
Finished up just before noon, and hung out a bit by the lake and boat house before I was on my way to get some lunch. Nice to do a hike with another person for the first time in several months and to see an old friend again. |
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