The West Rim Trail is a 32 mile moderately challenging hiking trail that follows the rim of the “PA Grand Canyon”. Three of us drove to the Northern Terminus on Friday morning and met the nice folks from Pine Creek Outfitters who then shuttled us to the Southern Terminus for the start of our hike. We hiked 6 miles on Friday, 15 miles on Saturday, and finished on Sunday with 11.5 miles. To our surprise, the Mountain Laurel was in full bloom for the weekend and the fragrant scents of the delicate flowers followed us along the high points of the trail. The weather was beautiful (with the exception of a couple of showers that passed over us on Saturday), and the trail was in excellent condition. We enjoyed three long days of hiking ending in fellowship in the evenings around the campfire rings. The trip was great practice for those of us who were a little rusty with our gear and technique, and we’re all looking forward to the beginner’s Backpacking trip in September to Allegany State Park.
– Jonathan Coupal