by Jeff Mitchell, KTA Board of Directors
Courtesy of Jeff Mitchell's blog, Endless Mountains
The Quehanna Wild Area covers almost 50,000 acres and is one of the best-kept hiking and backpacking secrets in the east. It features miles of trails with countless loop options. The wild area is very isolated and has diverse habitats and scenery. There are vistas, meadows, huge boulders, cascades and waterfalls, pristine streams, scenic glens, and forests of pine, hemlock, spruce, and hardwoods. Rhododendron often grow along the streams. Beautiful campsites are along many streams. Elk also live in the wild area.
I recently did a 30ish-mile loop through the wild area following a variety of trails and a short bushwhack. The leaves were at peak in some places, still green in others, and bare along the meadows. The weather was perfect, but there was a frost in the morning. In some places, the forest was an endless spectrum of gold and yellow that glowed in the sun. I saw two bucks in the meadows, hawks, but no elk. At night, the stars and constellations were amazing. I really enjoyed all the beautiful drainages of the wild area, where clear streams tumbled over moss covered boulders under hemlock and rhododendron. The trails are so diverse—over the course of a few miles you can hike across meadows, through jungles of rhododendron with cascades, forests of hemlock or spruce, or tall northern hardwoods. I did not see another hiker, though several others signed the registers.
Afterwards I stopped by the breathtaking Bucktail Overlook with superb views across the PA Wilds. The setting sun cast shade across the glen and gorges. Massive plateaus rose to the south as rolling ridges faded to the north. Falls colors dotted the mountains.
A great weekend.
