Where: Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, Pennsylvania
When: Saturday 4/25 - Sunday 4/26
Distance: 70 miles
Conditions: Saturday: Cloudy with 3-4 hours of steady rain followed by random showers. High around 60 and low of about 45. Sunday: Mostly cloudy turning partly sunny. High around 60.
Lighterpack: https://lighterpack.com/r/1c4lk7
Useful Pre-Trip Information or Overview:
The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail is a 70 mile linear trail in southwestern Pennsylvania. The terrain is a mix of classic “Rocksylvania” and what one would expect of Appalachia. I have previously thru hiked this trail in spring of 2022 in 4 days and 3 nights. My other two friends who were completing this trail with me on this trip have hiked sections of the trail but have not previously hiked it all or thru hiked it. This trail does not allow dispersed, primitive camping other than the 8 reservable, designated areas accessed by side trails. These areas have Adirondack style shelters, primitive sites, privy’s, water pumps, and food hanging poles. This logistical consideration dictated the mileage split for this trip. We went north to south, or SOBO and had set a group goal of completing the trail in under 36 hours. Mile 1 to Mile 0 is notoriously short with there being a gate about .2 miles closer to the parking area. The gate was our end goal for time and not Mile 0.
The Report:
Day 1: We met at the southern terminus of the trail at Ohiopyle State Park/ Mile 0 at 5:15 am. We staged a car there and packed into another car for the 1 hour and 20 minute drive to the northern terminus/ Mile 70 trailhead in Seward, PA. We started the trail at 6:45 am on Saturday at mile 70 and headed south with the biggest single climb of the trail directly ahead of us. We made it about 10 miles in before the rain began. We clocked 20 miles before noon. At 25 miles we came across our first water on trail - we would have otherwise needed a side trail to access water. Soon after that, we began to spread out on trail. The steady rain had become an occasional shower and the temps remained steadily around 60 f. Trail conditions were muddy but the wet rocks and wooden footbridges were more of a hazard than anything. I arrived at camp at 6:15 pm after about 37 miles and 6,736 ft of elevation gain. I had 11:15 of hiking time and 15 minutes of stopped time. We set up camp and changed into clean, dry clothes before stretching and wolfing down a quick dinner. We were all asleep well before 9 pm.
Day 2: One of my friends was up and on trail at 5 am. The other friend and I assessed the heavy fog and mist, along with the cool temps, and deemed it necessary to sleep a bit longer. After 8.5 hours of sleep, we were packed up and on trail at 6:25 am. My friend and I hiked together for about 16 miles. Part of this section goes through a ski resort where the trail cuts through some now grassy ski trails. I stopped to do some “maintenance stretching” while my friend hiked on. He was within my sight at one point but I thought he dropped me by about 20 miles on the day. I picked up my pace at this point and even began to zone out. I made good time in doing so and found myself within 10 miles of the southern terminus by 2:30 pm. It was then that I realized we might be able to finish in under 34 hours. From Mile 8 to Mile 6 on the trail, going SOBO, you come to a long descent that is a fun, but challenging run. It was on this stretch that I caught up with my friend who left camp earlier in the morning. It was then that I realized I likely passed and dropped the other friend when he pulled off to dig and backfill a cathole. We waited and filtered water at a stream crossing near Mile 6 waiting for him to catch up. We made plans to regroup at an overlook near Mile 2 for the final push and set off to gain and lose significant elevation 2 more times along the way. At the overlook, we decided that we wanted to get to the end as close to 34 hours as possible but didn’t want to risk injury trying to beat 34 hours. At 5:05 pm, 12,179+ ft of gain and 34 hours and 20 minutes from our start at Mile 70, we reached the gate at Ohiopyle. I completed 33 miles and 5,443+ ft gain on day 2 in just over 10 and a half hours with 32 minutes of stopped time. Finishing under our initial time goal felt good and knowing that the weather added to our suffering made it all that much sweeter.
Gear Notes:
Prior to the trip, I’ve only used my 3FUL Koala pack for training hikes and shakedowns. This was the first overnight fastpacking trip I’ve gotten to use this pack for. I needed to sew attachment points for shock cord on the vest straps to accommodate 650 ml soft flasks. Halfway through day 2, some of my stitching came loose, however I was able to continue using the shock cord support with just one attachment point. Otherwise, I don’t really regret any gear choices but could have likely left the Alpha top at home and substituted the puffy vest for an EE Torrid jacket for a small weight savings on warmth I only needed and used in camp. I’m sort of new to Injinji toe socks and am happy to report that over 70 miles, the only foot issue I had, other than tenderness, was an abrasion blister on the top of one of my toes.