Somehow winter was still making a stand up in the Laurel Highlands, even though Pittsburgh has had one protracted November, with only one significant snowfall. This is the main road through Linn Run State Park and on into the Forbes State Forest.
On this trek, again, I had the place largely to myself, and so I found myself trekking past more of these little snowbound cottages and cabins within the bounds of the park. Too bad they're closed for the winter. I'd think winter would be the best time to come up here and hole up.
The Adam Run Trail passes practically through the backyards of some of these places...though I did sneak up to the edge of the bluff to look down onto the properties.
The trail also passes by a few ruins of old cabins, chimney stacks and foundations marking the spots.
I've wondered about this cabin before. It sits right off the road that passes through the park and up the mountainside to the summit, which is on state forest land. It seems derelict and a little spooky, but my guess is that somebody still uses it.
The Brant Trail, which is the second trail I took, winds up behind that selfsame cabin, and here it is as seen from above and behind. The ascents are pretty glorious.
This menacing little shack sits along the trail with "No Trespassing" signs in the doors and windows. With all respect to the rural poor, it looks like a scene from the movie Deliverance.
You have to stray off the Brant Trail to get to the summit of the hill that you're skirting. It comes up here to Old Rector Edie Road, which I've encountered in other hikes. I liked the silence and snowy fields with the steep, woody drop unseen to the left.
Returning to the Adam Run area, I walked along the creek and discovered this spectacular old ruined stone house. Just look at this place! I wonder why it was just allowed to rot away like this. It stands on a low bluff above the stream, surrounded by rhododendrons and hemlocks.
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