Allegheny National Forest Part 1

Dee and I started out from Akron mid afternoon, getting us to our starting point later afternoon, it was about a 2 hour drive. On this trip we plan on staying on the easter n side of Allegheny National Forest .

We hit the trail running and aired down and started down a snow covered trail. We got a mile or so do the trail when there was a complete washout, we back tracked to a clearing we found close to etc start of the trail and made camp. We used for the first time raised camp fire, we didn’t need to clear out a foot of snow off the ground, simply opened up at the stand and built our fire. Worked great! Used a blue tarp to make a shelter for cooking dinner.

Started out Saturday breaking camp and hitting the road. First stop was the Kinzua Bridge. The bridge was once the longest and tallest railway structures at 2,053 feet longs and 301 feet high. A tornado in 2003 destroyed the bridge. Looking down you can see the mangled steal and iron on the ground. It was a cold and windy January morning, so our time was limited, but it was a marvel to see.

The rest of the day we we on mostly dirt fire roads, but traveling through many small towns and villages. We mapped out future potential camp locations.

We make camp in what is a primitive camp, with an established fire ring, but chose again to use the raised fire pit. Also made another shelter around 4th Jeeps to cook dinner out of the elements. The camp had some garbage, someone tried to burn a ceiling fan, we put it in the back of Dee’s Jeep and dispose of it properly. The temperature dropped as the night went on, and we just stayed next to the fire, dreading getting in the our cold sleeping bags.

We wake up to a cold, fresh snow fall. We make it an early start, as we still have some exploring to do and drive back home. I had a few fire tows on etc map to find, but the were removed all that was left was the concrete foundations of the supports and guide wires. Down the road we found a clearing with a few spur rails in the woods, we had to use the winch to clear a fallen tree, but it was fun to get into 4L and explore the woods.

What a great trip, Allegheny National Forest has so much to offer, and can’t wait to get back and explore more.

Full video on my YouTube channel