2005 Pine Creek Triathilon

April 10, 2005   Sunday   Drive to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

I got up at 6:00 and ran 5.1 miles through my neighborhood of Oakland Mills in Columbia, Maryland. After cleaning up I biked to 8:30 church and back a distance of 7.4 miles. I loaded my Novara hybrid bike with rear panniers and my daughter’s Mongoose bike with 700x42 tires in the back of my 1996 green Mazda 626 sedan. I hurriedly packed clothes for three days and gear for a day of whitewater kayaking, a day of hiking and a day of trail biking.

Anne and I were ready by 1:00 and drove north on US-29. We headed east on I-70 to the Baltimore Beltway I-695 to I-83 north to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Here we picked up US-15 north which we followed into Tioga County the northern most county in Pennsylvania. We exited US-15 at Liberty and followed PA-414 west to Morris where we turned north on PA-287 into Wellsboro. We arrived at 5:15 after driving 232.7 miles. We were probably the last of our group to arrive.

We checked into the Penn Wells Lodge room 10 at $50 plus $3 taxes per night. We unloaded the car and gathered for dinner at 6:00. Frank and Kathy Anders, George and Mary Drake, Ron and Sylvia Cully, Lew and Kathleen Frain, Barbara Hallowell, Karen Klinedinst, Dan and Anne McQueen, Barry and Carol Nelson, Bill and Barbara Spangler and Jane Story walked about a block to the restored Penn Wells Hotel for dinner. John Hobner and his three friends joined us shortly thereafter and then Dick and Susan Whiteford who had been out biking. Everyone was in high spirits talking, joking and laughing as old friends got reacquainted. I enjoyed the day’s special of cream corn vegetable soup, garden salad, sauerkraut, pork, mashed potatoes with gravy, slaw, 12 ounce Yuengling black and tan and banana cake. The bill including Anne’s meal with two glasses of wine, tax and tip came to $53.08. I was soon in bed and asleep despite the room being too warm.

April 11, 2005   Monday   Kayak Pine Creek

I was up at 6:00. It is frosty and cold outside. Anne and I walked a block to the Wellsboro diner for breakfast at 7:15. Many of our group were there so we joined Karen. I had orange juice, sausage, eggs, homefries, toast and milk. My breakfast with Anne’s meal, taxes and tip came to $17.47.

Anne, Carol, Kathleen and Lew are going biking. Barry, Karen and I piled into Ron’s Toyota van at 8:00 for the 12 mile ride to Ansonia and the Pine Creek Outfitters. I got outfitted in my farmer John wet suit $10, red 12 foot Old Town Loon kayak $25, paddle, lunch $5 and shuttle back $10 for $58.46 including taxes. I had my own seal skin socks, sandals, wicking long sleeve T-shirt, Gore-Tex jacket and life jacket. We walked to the creek and launched about 9:15.

Dick and I are in 12’ Old Town Loon kayaks. Barry, Bill and Ron are in 10’ Old Town Otter kayaks. The Anders, Drakes, Karen and Susan are in a raft. Tom, a guide, with our lunches and another couple are in a smaller raft. John and his three friends are in their own two canoes as is Chuck, our guide. We floated a short distance on calm water before turning right where Darling Run enters Pine Creek.

Here we entered the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania with high steep mountains forming a narrow canyon for Pine Creek to flow through. We pass a few cottages and then there is nothing except the forested rocky canyon walls. We pass through some short rapids probably class l-ll. I am near the front behind Ron and Bill. Suddenly I am entering a long set of class ll-lll rapids around a bend beneath Barbour Rock high on the west rim of the canyon. I see Chuck on the left shore with a throw rope and realize I am in the Owasee Rapids we had been briefed on. In the lower part of the rapids I see Bill standing near the right shore. I am almost even with him in big rapids and cannot reach him to help. I soon see Ron beached on the left shore but he can’t get to Bill either. I caught up to Bill’s kayak as I exited the rapids to a relatively calm stretch and try to push it to shore. I got close but had to abandon it as another set of rapids was approaching and I needed to negotiate them. I try again below these rapids but again had to abandon the effort. Below these rapids I beach on the right side for a break and watch the kayak go by. We get regrouped with everyone in their vessels and pass through several more good rapids. Just before lunch in a narrow fast s curved rapid, Ron went over. I didn’t see him as I was busy working the rapid. I saw Barbara Hallowell and Jane on their bikes somewhere along the river. We talked some and then Jane took our picture as we passed.

We stopped for lunch at Tiadaghton about 9 miles from our put-in a little after 12:00. We had hot chocolate, sandwiches and cookies which tasted very good. I heard that Barry also dumped. We continued down stream after lunch through several rapids without incident. We got out at Blackwell by the PA-414 bridge about 2:45 after kayaking 17.6 miles.

We shuttled back to our cars in vans and turned in our wet farmer Johns. The dry clothes felt good as we drove back to Wellsboro. Barry and I walked to the Wellsboro Diner for blueberry pie but they had sold it all. We settled for apple crisp a la mode and milk so I treated for $11.44 with tax and tip. Barry sent glasses of wine over to our room.

We gathered again at 6:00 and walked about two blocks to The Steak House. Twenty three of us overwhelmed them and we ended up scattered in two rooms. Anne and I sat with the Drakes, Jane, Karen and Barbara Hallowell. I had a Becks dark, salad, lemon broiled haddock, ranch fries, beets and a great strawberry shortcake for $51.47 including Anne’s meal and wine, tax and tip. I am overloaded with sugar. We convinced Jane to give us a concert singing with her banjo, but I was pooped and instead went to bed early.

April 12, 2005   Tuesday   Hike West Rim and Bee Tree Trails

Got up at 6:00 and walked with Anne about 3 blocks to The Native Bagel. The temperature is in the twenties and there is a good frost on the cars. I had orange juice, a bagel with egg, sausage and cheese and milk that cost $7.12 cash with Anne’s breakfast. The lady (owner?) was very nice and friendly as all the people have been. We ordered sandwiches with bagel chips to go for lunch that cost $7.82 cash. Back in the room, I noticed that Anne’s bike rear tire is very flat.

We gathered at 9:15 to give it time to warm up and shuttled to the West Rim Trail head near Ansonia. By 10:00 George and Mary, Frank and Kathy, Bill and Barbara, Dick and Susan, Lew and Kathleen, Dan and Anne, Ron, Karen, Jane and Barbara Hallowell were headed up the West Rim Trail towards Barbour Rock. We walked along the canyon rim with great views of Pine Creek far below us on the left and across the canyon to the east rim. It flattened out past Barbour Rock as we walked through the woods along the rim. The views are stunning. We crossed Colton Road about noon at about 4.4 miles into the hike. Several people decided to return to the cars via the road. Lew, Kathleen and Anne stopped to eat lunch. Ron, Karen, Dick, Susan, Jane, Barry and Dan continued on straight on the Steele Run Trail leaving the West Rim Trail when it turned left.

We stopped for lunch at a logging road. The early lunch bunch and Barbara Hallowell came up the hill before we finished our lunch. We all continued up very steeply in 4 or 5 steps. Dick, Karen, Ron, Barry and Dan reached the top and traversed a relatively flat area to a high wire fence. After waiting a bit, Dick and I went back down the mountain two levels with no sign of the rest. We decided they turned back so we rejoined the three waiting for us at the fence.

We turned left and soon were on an old logging road which we followed along a ridge. We knew from the contour map that we had to descend so we turned right on an old road descending for half a mile before dead ending in a clearing. We retraced our steps back up to the original road and continued on. We passed another old road descending to our right but decided to skip it. Shortly we came to a third road so we took it descending to our right. We followed this road some distance continuously descending to a fork with the dark blue Bee Tree Trail blazes. We mistakenly took the right fork because we thought we were at a point on the map but we were not there. This was a real adventure as we knew where we were but could not find the trail. We spotted a wild turkey in the road in front of us and watched it for about a minute. The road eventually ended in a clearing so we had to backtrack up a hill about a quarter of a mile to turn right on another old road going downhill in the wrong direction. This road also ended in a clearing. We had no choice but to bushwack downhill toward Pine Creek hoping to cross Bee Tree Trail. Sure enough as we neared Pine Creek we came to a trail and spotted the welcome sight of a dark blue blaze. We turned right and followed the trail to our car at about 2:45. We planned to hike 12 miles but we probably hiked about 14 miles with all the backtracking.

We stopped for ice cream but it was too cold to serve so we drove back to Wellsboro. All but Dick walked to a dairy store and I had a large soft butter pecan cone for $1.50. It was very good but no nuts.

John Hobner and his three friends had left for home because some have to work tomorrow. The remaining 19 gathered at 6:00 and walked a couple of blocks to the Timeless Destination, an Italian restaurant. It is different but a very interesting setting. We are seated at two tables. At our table are Frank and Kathy, Ron and Sylvia, Dick and Susan, Dan and Anne and Karen. Our waiter is a handsome and friendly young man who heard about our large group in town. We are noisy and boisterous having a lot of laughs with Frank keeping it alive. I have a 16 ounce draft Yuengling Lager, salad, thick creamy mushroom soup and New Orleans shrimp and crawfish with linguini which is very good. I am stuffed and have had too much sugar so I skip dessert. Our meals and drinks, tax and tip costs $54.12.

Back in the room I have the pleasure of fixing Anne’s flat tire. The tube has four marks close together in a row on the rim side. I cannot find anything wrong with the rim tape or any puncture wounds in the tire. I did clear what appeared to be several small wood chips from the tire. The hole is so big I can’t pump up the tube so I can’t understand how Anne got in without a flat tire. I am worried because I can’t identify the cause of the flat but I patch the tube with a long patch that covers the four marks. I’m in bed and asleep by 10:15.

April 13, 2005   Wednesday   Bike Pine Creek Rail Trail

I’m up at 6:00 and it is cold and frosty. At 7:00 we walk to the diner with the Frains and Nelsons. I have orange juice, two eggs, two pancakes and two strips of bacon with milk for breakfast. The bill for the two of us comes to $16.73 including tax and tip. Our waitress is very nice, efficient and doing everything waiting on the entire diner plus being the cashier. We stop in the Bi Lo store for a chicken salad wrap, apple and a bag of Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies for $7.51. We pack up and I load our bikes and gear into the car. I check out and our bill for three nights is $159. Jane Story and Barbara Hallowell leave for Annapolis.

At 9:15 we caravan down PA-287 to Morris where we pick up PA-414 west to Blackwell and the Pine Creek Trail. Frank and Kathy Anders, George and Mary Drake and Bill and Barbara Spangler are riding tandems. Dick and Susan Whiteford are riding recumbants. Lew and Kathleen Frain, Carol and Barry Nelson, Dan and Anne McQueen, Ron Cully and Karen Klinedinst are riding road, mountain or hybrid bikes.

About 10:15 we headed north on the Pine Creek Rail Trail that is in very good shape with a very hard packed surface with very fine loose gravel on top, no problem for the road bikes. We are going slightly uphill at about a 2% grade into a gusting cold wind. The temperature is around 50 degrees so it is chilly. After about 4 miles we stop at a stream and hike up to a nice waterfall for pictures. We continued on to Tiadaghton at 8.3 miles where we stopped for the toilets. As I pulled out my rear tire was going flat. Lew stayed with me as I removed some glass from the tire and put in a new tube. Most people stopped for lunch at a stream where Lew and I caught up to them. Again I climbed up to a falls mostly on wooden stairs. The falls were nice but you couldn’t see it as well because of trees. I returned to the trail for lunch as at least a dozen rafts full of young people passed below.

After lunch I continued north about a mile when I met Ron and Barry returning from the north end of the trail. I turned around and the three of us moved along at a good pace with the slight downhill and a breeze at our backs. We passed everyone pulling into the Blackwell parking lot about 1:40. I biked 26.52 miles in 2:06:13 averaging 12.6 miles per hour reaching a maximum 21.0 miles per hour with no major climbs.

We changed into dry loose fitting pants and loaded our bikes in the car. Lew Frain followed me out PA-414 to south on PA-287 to Jersey Shore. Lew suggested this route and it is beautiful with virtually no traffic so we cruised at about 60 mph. We headed west on PA-220 for about 2 miles before turning left on PA-44 to US-15 at Allenwood. I stopped for 12 gallons of gas for $26.25. Lew bought a double scoop of ice cream for $2.50 and got about a quart of ice cream. Forewarned I got a single scoop or a pint of butter pecan for $1.50. We continued south on US-15 to US-322 to I-81 to PA-551 to I-83 around Harrisburg to the Baltimore Beltway I-695 to I-70 to US-29 to Columbia. We arrived home a few minutes before 7:00 to unload the car ending a great trip.