Hammersley Wild Area: Backpacking Loop

This next trip is one I actually just did just two weekends ago with PSOC, the Penn State Outing Club. It was a 2 night, 20 mile backpacking loop in the Hammersley Wild Area, a part of the Susquehannock State Forest in North Central Pennsylvania. I’ll admit I’m usually not much for PA trails just because of how much time I’ve spent in the Rockies, but this hike certainly had both forest and vista scenery that impressed me.

Hammertime Round 2 Group photo! Also, all the photos from this post are from other group members who actually had good cameras.
Hammertime Round 2 Squad! This is right after hiking the gas pipeline. Also, all the photos from this post are from other group members who actually had good cameras on the trip since I did not.

The route is a lasso loop with two STS (Susquehannock Trail System) trails linked by gas pipeline. The map below is the one we used on our trip, its not great but certainly good enough since there aren’t many intersecting trails to get lost on.sts-hwa

There is a sizeable parking lot in the town of Cross Fork which I believe is a specific trail head for the STS. Park there then walk back towards the road and turn left, you’ll be on it for about half a mile. The trail will be signed on your right, enter and you’ll begin a strenuous but fairly well graded ascent to the top of the ridge.  After completing the climb, you’ll reach the start of the loop, turn left and then descend the other side of the ridge you just came up until you reach the valley floor.

The trail then follows a large creek upstream but does so mostly on a ridge; the trail is very narrow here so be careful.  The map shows a bunch of campsites along this portion, the one we stayed at is near the camera icon and is easily the best in that area.  The trail opens into a large grassy area with a fire pit, and you can swim in a sweet swimming hole nearby on the creek.  The first day is 5 miles; our group did this in the dark, so I can’t say much for the scenery, although we did get lost at one point because the blazes are very sparse at times.  In daylight this section should be fairly easy.

Stream at first campsite. Swimming hole is nearby
Stream at first campsite. Swimming hole is nearby

Day 2 begins with a fairly long walk (3-4 mi) upstream, terrain is gradual but I found it to be rather boring since there really isn’t much to look at.  The main event is the gas pipeline, which you need to cut across to get to the other section of trail. It’s only 1.5 miles but is extremely strenuous since it goes straight up and down 4 ridges.  Fill up all your water at the stream right before the pipeline, it’s the last water source of the day.  Honestly the pipeline is fairly fun if you like a challenge, the first hill is pretty killer but it’s really not too bad from there.

Just a taste of what the gas pipeline was like.
Just a taste of what the gas pipeline was like.

At the end of the pipeline you will get to a road, turn right onto it and follow it until you find the Twin Sisters Trail, which you will follow on your right. The scenery here is very nice with some open forest, but the best view of the day is an awesome vista in a massive meadow caused by a 1964 forest fire. I’ll just show it to you:

This is your view for a while, we camped in an nearby off trail meadow hilltop surrounded by ferns. There’s no water but it is totally worth it to watch the sunset and stargaze.

Our awesome view from campsite 2 surrounded by ferns
Our view from campsite 2 surrounded by ferns
Watching mist rise of the ridges in the morning at campsite 2
Watching mist rise of the ridges in the morning

The last day is pretty easy, it’s 7 miles, all relatively downhill to complete the loop and return to the trail head. The first water source is a small stream probably about 3.5 miles into the hike, so be sure to have enough water to get you there.  We filled up straight from its source about 200m upstream (probably not recommended?) then kept hiking through fern understory and open forest until we reached the trail intersection.  From here its all downhill to the end of the hike, so just make your way down the ridge and return to the parking lot the same way you came.

Fern cover on Day 3. This is what I mean when I keep saying open forest.
Fern cover on Day 3. This is what I mean when I keep saying open forest. It’s like you can see into it. I like it.

The hike is a good one for less experienced backpackers, the hardest part is the lack of water but that can be easily taken care of with some planning. Once again, I was impressed for PA scenery, I was not expecting such a good view from the meadow and there is a significant amount of picturesque spots in the forest with the amount of ferns and the streams.  This is a great trip that I would highly recommend, and I might have to explore more PA wild areas because of it!

Keep on hiking,

AJ Rothenberger

2 thoughts on “Hammersley Wild Area: Backpacking Loop”

  1. Sounds terrific. Could you please recommend a trail route with 1 overnight
    to experience “the most remote area in PA”? 58, not experienced and not necessarily out of shape. Thanks a million.

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