So /out/... I'm from out west and wanted to explore the eastlands. I went down the Pennsylvania rabbit hole and discovered the entire northern part of Pennsylvania is known as the "PA WILDS" and is more sparsely populated than Mongolia. I'm now dying to check it out. What can I expect if I try to wild hike through the whole region. Any concerns beyond getting lost and dying? Why is this region so fucking mysterious?
>>2732401Funnily when I looked for such a map the only one labled in English was PA wilds as if the term "PA Wilds" has a special aura that can't be translatedBut top left is Erie, top right is pokinos and endless mountains Bottom left is pittsburghMiddle is Appalachian and Susquehanna Pink PA Dutch countryBottom right Philly region
>1/4th of PA>4% of populationThat speaks VOLUMES.
I have spent some time in that area. My mother is from a small town up there.As you noted it is very rural and lightly populated. The road network is good. It is extensive forest with a lot of fresh water and game. The main activity in the area is deer hunting during the official season and fresh water fishing. A person can definitely get away from society in the area.
Is it cool? I live in northern central PA and and just getting into camping
>>2732496>I live in northern central PAluckythere's nothing like SUPER amazing cuz the elevation is somewhat limited, but there's a lot of nice trailsthe problem is they aren't really maintained unless it goes right to a view, so you are hiking on an eroded trail at a 30 degree angle for hours if you want to do an interesting trail through a random hollerthere's lots of interesting trails and overlooks along the pine creek gorge(pic related)there's the black forest trail and the west rim trail which I think interconnect that you could spend a week onthere's a really pretty section of the mid-state trail near Arnot near Sand Run Fallsnot all of this is wilds but there's an absurd amount of public land in northern paif you haven't seen it, go to leonard harrison state park (pine creek gorge), and hike down to the left from the parking lot to the otter viewas for pa wilds there's the hammersley fork trail, if you start from the northern end up on the ridge it takes you to a view in 2 milesif you start from the downstream hammersley fork trailhead in 3.5 miles ish there's a semi-locally famous deep swimming hole I have yet to get to myhikes.org has TONS of info on northern pa
>>2732503Elevation isn't directly proportional to interest for everbody; I've had a great time at spots in PA with <500ft change
>>2732401Do you have a map that is in American English?
>>2732401First try Presque Isle then Lake Erie Bluffs
>>2732510Yeah, I don't mean to shit on it but if you are expecting Adirondacks or West Virginia you will be a little disappointed. That said, the roads are (generally) in good shape, especially up in the wilds. On that note I have yet to drive up to band rock vista, apparently the road is full of rocks and crappythere's tons of sort of "social trail" hikes around there to waterfalls and you can also hike up the old coal bucketway and there's swimming holes along the creek Pic related ishttps://myhikes.org/trails/hanging-rock-overlookits a 180 degree view and its not a hike just a park your car there off a dirt road but one of the better ones of those and there's plenty of hiking nearby on houselander mountain, I'm not sure if you could drive further down the road and connect into trails from right therehttps://myhikes.org/trails/houselander-mountainyou can hike up houselander mountain from the bottomthere's tons of trails thereacross pine creek there's this one which looks cool but I haven't done it cuz it's hard:https://myhikes.org/trails/stone-cutter-vista-loop
Pennsylvanian here. The mid state trail is about the best pa has to offer because its mostly on ridges above 2k feet. Otherwise pa really got the shaft mountain wise. Maryland has 4k footers, wv 4800, ny 5200 ft. Good place to get dialed in with your gear before going to a place like alaska.
>>2732510Elevation makes hiking and camping in the humid NE bearable. Way cooler nights about 3.5k feet
>>2732529>NE>humidIt's a dream compared to the south
We're FULL
>>2732559PA grand canyon?
>>2732401If I had to say what would be a fun trip for someone out west to go in the east, I'd say to go to the FL panhandle. Go to Apalachicola National Forest, then Torreya State Park, Tate's Hell, St. Mark's, Aucilla, Steinhatchee, Big Bend, Wakulla Spring area, then maybe finish the trip off at one of the beaches near Apalachicola bay. If you didn't mind driving a bit maybe do a drive over to Okefenokee too. I don't see why someone from the west would really enjoy the AT or the Smokies I mean the mountains etc. are so much better out west, I'd think someone out west would want to see something different and I think the gulf coast would be the best place to really see something different that they had never seen before. It won't be reasonable remote as they are used to though for sure.
>>2732646Nearly as remote*
Ah, my brodas and sistas, make I yarn una sometin wey dey important well well. If you wan go explore nature for PA wilds, you gats shine ya eye wella. No be only animals dey dere o, but juju spirits too. Dem fit vex pass the beasts wey dey Western USA.First of all, make I tell una say PA wilds na one of the best places wey remain for this world. E get thick forests, rolling hills, and rivers wey dey flow like mama tears. If you wan see nature wey pure like ogbono soup, na there you go find am. But e get as e be o.You sabi say juju spirits no dey play. Dem fit appear for night, dey dance shaku shaku for middle of road. If you no respect dem, wahala go burst. Dem fit turn you to goat or make you dey see double like person wey chop too much suya. No joke!As you dey waka for PA wilds, make you carry ya juju repellent. E fit be kola nut, alligator pepper, or even small ogogoro. Dem go respect you if you sabi wetin you dey do. But if you dey form say you be oyibo wey sabi everything, na so dem go show you say juju pass book.E get one time I see juju spirit for waterfall. The thing look like person wey chop belleful for palm wine joint. E eyes red like firewood wey dem dey use cook jollof rice. I just sidon jeje, hail am like say I dey greet my papa. Dem no vex, dem just waka pass.So my people, if you wan explore PA wilds, carry ya juju sense along. No dey form say you sabi pass dem spirits o. Dem fit vex, and you no go like wetin dem fit do you. Na so e be for this life.Safe journey, my pipo!
>>2732401It's sparsely populated by eastern standards. You can easily find more remote areas out west (like 90% of Nevada). In summer and fall, you will have tourists from Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, Jersey, Maryland, Ohio and elsewhere so you're probably going to be disappointed unless you go in the dead of winter. Long story short, fuck off we're full.
>>2732503Can you go shoot innawoods in PA’s public land?
>>2732829No
>>2732829only on the west coast is that allowed, sorry :^)
>>2732829Outside of the designated public ranges?Nope>p.s. the ranges have a "3 rounds in magazine maximum" rule because they were built for hunters, not tacticool larpers>and yes, you will be ticketed if they catc you with more than 3 rounds
>>2732880Huh what about state game lands?
>>2732829If it's for hunting, yes. Just bring a slingshot if you want to plink at cans.
What is there to do for work up there?
>>2733790do you know how to repair a natural gas or oil well?also, tree-stealing
>>2733847Tree stealing?
>>2733850"logging"
>>2733852Sustainably I hope
>>2733861you have to find real steep patches of land if you want to see old growth it's kinda funny the state can't be bothered to regularly clear out the trees for all the overlooks they have, but if there's a privately owned patch often the trees will be bare. I guess, to their credit, PA hasn't been raped by strip mining as hard as WV/SW VA/KY have, but there's still lots of fracking and gas/oil extraction that pollutes the water. I'm not sure if the younger generations have ideas for what to do to make money that doesn't pollute.
>>2733865How about people working to protect the land? Legislation? Activist groups? Or does it look like it's only a matter of time until it's over?
>>2733869how do you protect it if its privately owned and the state is unwilling to step in? PA has a ton of public land, but mind you, except for the Wild Areas and a few other designations, oil/gas extraction is allowed on all of it and they use that and private-public partnerships with logging companies to make money
>>2732401>>2733869>How about people working to protect the land?https://pawilds.com/about/
>>2734111https://pawilds.com/about/
pa is cool, but there's lots of interesting stuff outside the wilds
>>2735956Lake Erie has good wreck diving and bluff climbing if you know where to look
>>2735980but that's sort of missing the point that you have miles and miles of beautiful rolling hills plateau ecosystem for every direction in western pa and north east and central parts too.
>>2735981How is it "missing the point" when I provided an example of an interesting location outside of the PA Wilds?
>>2735989>thread about PA wilds>talks about somewhere else>"whuddaya mean I'm missing the point"
>>2735992Reading comprehension is not your strong suit, is it? >>2735956 said "pa is cool, but there's lots of interesting stuff outside the wilds". What does "outside the wilds" mean you, retard?
>>2735994other forms of public land that are not wilds, wilderness areas are a tiny fraction of PA's public land and there's tons of cool stuff on state game lands and in state forests/state parks, that's all I mean
>>2735997SGL 314 has "a bunch of cool stuff" and also happens to be on Lake Erie
>>2736003ok and I'm sure that's nice I'm just trying to call /out/'s attention to the beauty of north central pa because its an unusual and beautiful geology
>>2736006Both of these things can be true you know. They're not mutually exclusive.
