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I have heard about this and seen on youtube there may be a reroute of the trail around a beaver flooded part of trail somewhere between Duncannon and Swatara Gap state park. Two questions, what mile marker is this near and how many more miles, if any, does the walk around add to the trail?
It is very close to rausch gap. I went thru there prior to reroute last october. Water knee high and a "forrest like leaf bottom" very messy and probably 200 yards long. Busy beaver
dont know how much it adds
I went through there recently. It's just north of Rausch Gap shelter.
Looked like a lake, but some purist thru hikers trudged through it and said it wasn't too bad, only ankle deep and there were logs and rocks to stay out of some of the water. Your still going to get wet feet though. I went down to the beaver dam, looked at the muck and turned around as I couldn't see where the water ended, so that added a mile to my day right there. The trail down to the beaver dam was pretty muddy, but it had just rained and had rained a lot the week previous. Personally, I'd recommend doing the detour unless it hasn't rained in a month. They really need to take out the dam or make the detour the official route. It's a real swamp down there.
The sign said 1.6 miles to connect back to the AT. I'm not sure how long the AT is between those two points, maybe a mile, so adds maybe 0.6. There is a small sign showing you where to turn off the old RR bed (but going NOBO you have to turn around to see it), onto an old woods road. I was getting worried I missed it, looked at Guthook which didn't help other then showing the RR bed lead off to points unknown. I then went another 100 feet and finally saw the sign. The detour was pretty easy to walk on, easier then the AT.
BTW, don't show up at Rauch gap shelter on a Saturday, it was really busy, but there is plenty of tenting spots near-by. I heard about the crowd and camped a mile south of the shelter and was glad I did. A Ranger was waking everyone up at 10 PM trying to figure out who wasn't "thru hiking" (game lands, so no in and out from the same parking lot). I'm pretty sure nearly everyone there was in violation.
how long is a year? 365.25 days?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae
Yards woopsQuote:
Originally Posted by cliffordbarnabus
From the ATC "Trail Updates" page:
Prescribed Burn - 4.5 miles south of Swatara State Park
(4/22/19) The PA Game Commission plans to conduct a 726-acre prescribed burn on state game lands 211 between late April and June 1, 2019. The "Beaver Dam" burn unit is located directly adjacent to, and northeast of, the A.T. near Rausch Gap Shelter, approximately 4.5 miles south of Swatara State Park. The A.T. will remain open, but due to the close proximity of the burn, hikers will likely experience smoky conditions.
That was no ranger. That was a PA State Game Warden.
I love that stretch in the fall when the leaves turn. Rausch Gap Shelter as delicious water flowing right in front of the shelter, too.
The flooded section is about .20 miles nobo of the RR grade, about .80 miles nobo of the Rausch Gap shelter. Attached are some pics I took today. Also gave warnings to some out-and-back hikers. One pic shows where the detour begins, at RR grade; one pic is a closeup of the regulation for camping on State Game Lands; and one pic of the flooded stream crossing. The AT used to go from the bottom left to top right of that picture. Unfortunately I was unable to get to the other end of the detour to assess the distance. Attachment 45153Attachment 45154Attachment 45155
There is a way around that area... NOBO from the Rausch creek, the trail crosses, Greenpoint Schoolhouse Road. Cross that road and climb a small knoll to the next white blaze. And you will be on Rte 443... Turn right, follow rte 443 until it meets Rte72. Just at the bend, there is a parking lot/trail head omn the opposite side of Rte 443 for the A.T. I know this as fact.. I reside in Lancaster and that is the area I test all my camping equipment and nature photography. You can check it out on Google earth... Type in Greenpoint, Pa...Quote:
Originally Posted by joefryfry
Your description is at odds with Game Wardens. Greenpoint road is MUCH further away from Rausch Gap. The rail trail is the straight section just north of the cross cursor which is where Game Warden describes the flooded area. There are multiple “trails” just off the rail trail that can hook you into the AT.Quote:
Originally Posted by Borg
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malto
Yea, the AT crosses Greenpoint School road just before 443 and otherwise doesn't come close to the AT. You either go through the swamp or take the detour to get to it.
As for the RR bed, look for the woods road to the right which is signed. Wander off anywhere else at your own peril.
Just there last week. Took detour, which added 0.3 miles based on Guthook mileage. Northbound, detour is well marked. Several other we talked to took Trail and only got a little wet, despite lots of stories about bad conditions.
The section between Dauphin and Swatara Gap is my weekend playground. (PA's 2nd largest roadless wilderness area) :) The A/T crossing is located literally just a few feet downstream of where the beaver(s) built their dam. Under base flow conditions, it's about 100 yards long and the muck is above ankle deep. Western end pic in late October of 2018, when the water felt painfully cold.
https://i.imgur.com/vtsMMDP.jpg
Last year I was able to avoid the muck by stepping on fallen branches/logs for part of the way, then walked on the top of the actual dam jumble. For most of it, the dam was firm and steady. I walked in my water shoes which is to say practically barefoot so obviously the footing was not dangerous. To me it was worth the extra few minutes to scout the crossing and stay on the trail vs the detour which was marked well before the dam(southbound).
Went through 2 years ago. At the time it was shin deep and was a felt refreshingly cool on the feet. Fortunately had Crocks to wear.