Hiking, Cycling, and Kayaking Near Wellsburg, WV

I never thought of my home town of Wellsburg, WV as an outdoor playground because it is not, but that seems to be changing. While growing up in Wellsburg I would play and hike in woods near my home, ride my bike around town, and occasionally fish and swim in nearby Buffalo Creek. Over three days, however, I recently enjoyed day hiking, cycling, and kayaking, all about twenty five miles or less from town.

The Appaloosa Trail
At Raccoon Creek State Park

Last Wednesday I hiked a five and a half mile loop at Raccoon Creek State Park, PA, about twenty five miles from home. The temperature was a little warm for early October and the leaves had not yet started to turn. Since it was a week day, I saw only two other people, two teenage boys, while I was out on the trail. Other than the occasional low flying jet on its approach or departure from Pittsburgh International Airport, reminding me how close I was to civilization, I could have imagined that I was in a remote wilderness.

I did not know about Raccoon Creek State Park while I was growing up. In fact, I never heard of it until I moved back to the area about three years ago. I have since hiked about every mile of the forty-four miles of trail in the park. In addition to regularly day hiking there I have also kayaked on its 101 acre lake.

The Brooke Pioneer Trail
Near its Northern Terminus

The next day I cycled twenty miles on the nearby Brooke Pioneer Trail and Wheeling Heritage Trail. Parking at Smith Oil just south of Wellsburg, I rode south on the Brooke Pioneer Trail, a paved rail trail. At the southern end of the wooden trail bridge over Short Creek and the Brooke County and Ohio County line, the trail becomes the Wheeling Heritage Trail. I have cycled this trail all the way to the southern end of Wheeling, but this day rode just past the Pike Island Lock and Dam before turning around and riding back to the car.

I did not ride the Brooke Pioneer Trail when I was young because it did not exist. What is now a paved rail trail was, back then, an active rail road. The Brooke Pioneer Trail started being developed about twenty years ago. While the trail surface is completely paved, amenities along the trail, like shelters and outhouses, are still being developed. This superb rail trail, offering beautiful views of the Ohio River, is also filled with local history and lore. I hope that Wellsburg business will learn to be more cyclists friendly and better promote themselves to people using the trail. Once a trail connection is made from Wellsburg to the western terminus of The Panhandle Trail in Weirton, a cyclist could ride from Wellsburg to both Pittsburgh and Washington, DC and points in between. That also means that cyclists from Pittsburgh and Washington could also ride to and through Wellsburg.

Cross Creek Lake, Washington County, PA

After hiking on Wednesday and cycling on Thursday, I took one of my kayaks to Cross Creek Park in Washington County, PA and kayaked on the parks 258 acre lake.  I could have kayaked on the nearby Ohio River but I prefer not to paddle against a current and dodge river barges. With a picnic area, playground, toilet facilities, and launch site with docks and a ramp less than eleven miles from Wellsburg, Cross Creek Lake is the closest flatwater kayaking I have available to me.  It is near enough that I am willing to drive there to paddle for just an hour or so, but the lake is also large enough that I could easily paddle for three or four hours  if I wanted to.

I could not have kayaked at Cross Creek Park when I was growing up because, like the Brooke Pioneer Trail, it did not exist back then. It opened in 1984 and is still being developed, the access area nearest to Wellsburg opening only in the past year or two. I hope that eventually a few more miles of hiking trails and even cycling trails will be developed there so that I can enjoy all three of my favorite outdoor activities in one location.

Return to Raccoon Creek: Blood and Sweat but no Tears

Not wanting my hiking legs and skills to atrophy over the summer by cycling rail trails rather than hiking forest trails, I returned yesterday to Raccoon Creek State Park, my go to local hiking destination. I had not hiked in over three months, my last day hike being an 11.68 mile circuit at Raccoon Creek. I decided to hike the 9.78 mile Heritage – Forest loop because I thought the mileage would be manageable after three months off the trail and because the Heritage Trail between Rt. 18 and its southern terminus is one of my favorite trails in the park.

I had last hiked this mostly ridge top loop on February 5^th. When I started that hike four months ago  the temperature was a cool 26° but warmed to a moderate 38° by the time I finished the hike. As I hiked that day I carried a small stove as well as a wind/rain jacket and pants. I also wore my full leather hiking books, a pair Merrell Wilderness Originals.

Bloody scratch from a pricker bush

After parking at the Mineral Wells parking area, I glanced at my phone as I hit the trail. The temperature was a warm78°, 52° warmer than the last time I had hiked this loop. My day pack was also lighter than last time because I was not carrying a stove or any extra clothes or rain gear as the weather forecast was calling for almost perfect conditions. I was carrying the ten essentials and four liters of water. I was also wearing a brand new pair of Solomon XA Pro 3Ds rather than my heavier hiking boots.

With less weight on my back and feet I felt like I was more agile and hiking at a faster pace. Gone were scenic views through barren trees I had seen in February as the canopy was thick and green this June 14th. The understory was also verdant, and so thick that in a few places I could not even see the trail I was hiking on and that was before me. In some places pricker bushes had overgrown the trail and I could not but being scratched so deeply it drew blood.

Sweat running down my face

A couple hours into my hike I found myself standing at the bottom of what some call “a very steep climb of a hogback.” (Walks, Hike and Overnights in Raccoon Creek State Park by Mark H. Christy, page 70). I call it “The Hill”, perhaps the steepest grade I have ever encountered in the park. The first time I faced The Hill was from the top and it was snow and iced covered. Even though I descended it with trekking polls in hand that first time, I slipped on a snow and ice covered exposed root, one of the many roots protruding from the earth on this almost sheer section of trail, and ended up sliding down several feet of its slope before stopping.

The Hill is so steep that yesterday I found myself employing the mountaineers rest step, using my trekking polls for balance and to insure I did not slip backward on the loose dirt, stones, and tinder as I climbed from its base to the open area in the forest at its top. At little winded and sweating as I reached the top, I decided I would rather climb this steep grade on a warm day like yesterday than descend it on a snowy, cold winter’s day, as I had done several months ago.

I saw less than a dozen hikers while I was out two couples and several singles. One in particular bothered me, a young man, wearing large headphones to assumingly listen privately to his favorite trail tunes. I consider that a safety issue and wonder why anyone would venture out for a day hike in the woods and not want to hear the chirps, calls, and songs of birds and small game rustling through the grass and dry leaves. To each his or her own however.

By the time I returned to the car four hours and forty-five minutes later, I had drunk more than two liters of water, so I was glad I had taken a couple of two liter bottles rather than just one. I had also developed a hot spot and a small blister on each instep, but considering I had just hiked 9.78 miles wearing a pair of Solomon’s I had not  broken in, with brand new Superfeet insoles I also had not broken in, I felt like I could not complain. I was also happy that my left knee was not aching as it has after other day hikes of a similar distance, thanks, perhaps, to the Aleeve I popped just before I left home to drive the 26 miles to return to Raccoon Creek State Park.

#OptOutside

Any avid and experienced hiker and backpacker will recognize the brand names and retailers I encountered today, the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday: Recreational Equipment Incorporated, Fox River, Smartwool, Merrell, Royal Robbins, Patagonia, Eastern Mountain Sports, Kelty, Marmet, Sea to Summit, Nalgene, and GSI, just to name a few.

I did not come across these brand names in a mall or driving around to various stores. I wore or used gear bearing these names as I hiked over 8.8 miles of trails in western Pennsylvania’s Raccoon Creek State Park the day after Thanksgiving as I supported the #OptOutside alternative to shopping. Rather than joining the mad rush of Black Friday I chose to enjoy a Green Friday as I opted to go outside.

I left the house this morning before 8:00 AM and drove the twenty-five miles to the trail head at Raccoon Creek State Park.  The 7,572 acre park boasts over 44 miles of hiking trails and the past several Fridays I have been exploring its trails using Mark H. Christy’s Walks, Hikes and Overnights in Raccoon Creek State Park as a guide. When I parked in the small lot across the park road from the trailhead there was only one other car in the lot, a car with three REI stickers on the back window.

Opting out on the Forest Trail

I was on the trail by 8:45 AM this morning under overcast skies and with the temperature around 40 degrees. I first hiked the 4.24 mile Heritage-Buckskin-Camp Loop and saw only three other hikers on the trail, first a single man and then a man and woman pair.  I next hiked the 4.59 mile Palomino-Buckskin-Camp Loop and saw a man on horseback, a group of two men and dog, and a group of five or six male hikers. By the time I finished the two loops the temperature had risen to 64 degrees, 20 degrees higher then what I experienced in the park a week earlier.

By the time I returned to the car there were at least four of five other cars in the lot. As I drove out of the park I saw two or more cars parked at each of two other trail heads. I met more people on the trails today than I have ever met before while hiking in the park. Apparently others, like me, opted to be outside in the wild outdoors this day rather than engaging in the wild retail rush of Black Friday.

I have been a member of Recreational Equipment Incorporated (a member co-op) for at least forty years. Over that span I have spent probably thousands of dollars at REI as I have purchased sleeping bags, hiking boots, clothing, climbing gear, tents, and more. I applaud my co-op for not only choosing to close on both Thanksgiving and the day after, paying its employees nevertheless, but to also encourage its employees and others to opt outside the day after Thanksgiving rather than going shopping. I hope REI will make this an annual emphasis and that other outdoor retailers, outfitters, and brands (like #royalrobbins) will join them in the future.

Raccoon Creek State Park (PA) - First Hike

At the start of the hike,
the Appaloosa Trail

It had been almost nine months since I last hiked, a grueling twelve plus mile day hike while camping along the banks of Shavers Fork in the Monongahela National Forest. Even though I was recently on vacation I did not have the time to drive several hours down to the Mon to camp and hike, so instead I explored nearby Raccoon Creek State Park, about forty-five minutes from home and just across the state line in Pennsylvania. Since this was going to be my first hike in the park I set out to hike an eight mile circuit described in Bob Frye’s Best Hikes Near Pittsburgh, a Falcon Guide published in 2009.

Wildflowers along the
Wetlands Trail

It was a beautiful spring day for hiking. With temperatures in the mid-fifties I began with a short sleeve base layer and long sleeved wicking top but as the day warmed up into the mid to high sixties I abandoned the long sleeve top. The first five to six miles were thoroughly enjoyable as I passed through naked oaks, shagbark hickory, and walnut trees that had not yet started to bud and then a long, open air grassy meadow laced with a meandering stream leading into the Upper Pond. The only signs of spring were scattered assorted wildflowers and skunk cabbage breaking through wet and damp ground.  This slightly out of shape, overweight, fifty-seven year old started to tire, however, after only about six miles and the last few miles were a tough going. In retrospect, perhaps an eight mile hike was a bit of an over reach for the first hike of the season.

Near the end of the hike,
the Heritage Trail
as it crosses Nichol Rd.

While the circuit hike offered a variety of ecosystems and some nice views, parts of some of trails were very muddy. In one particularly wet section, hikers and horses had created a side bypass trail that was also muddy. In another stretch of trail, even though it had not rained in a day and a half, water was flowing down the center of a muddy walkway.  Several times I was forced to either climb over or hike around downed trees blocking the trail. While there were some small rocks and roots, the trails were still much easier than many in the Mon and with less elevation gain.

From beginning to end I saw, from a distance, only two other people and their dog as they hiked through a nearby area. While crossing a road to get from one trail head to another I saw only one car.  I felt like I had the park to myself.

When I returned to the car and checked the track on my GPS I learned that I had hiked not eight miles but 9.4, reason enough for feeling a bit spent.