Grindle Ridge and Pritts Distillery Road

There's a nice view from the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail as it passes through the Seven Springs Resort.  This shot is taken from the trail about half a mile north of Pritts Distillery Road, which has the most wonderful name of any road, and which is little more than a trail itself--narrow, muddy, a little treacherous.

Of course, in the Laurel Highlands, the woodlands are so dense that you almost need a pipeline swath or electrical easement to get any kind of view out over the lovely hills beyond.  Here's a view from Pritts Distillery Road as it ascends the mountainside and approaches the summit where, unbeknownst to me, the famous resort sat perched in all its great glory.

I did find a nice little acre for sale right on Pritts Distillery Road, and I told myself I'd pay almost any sum to own a piece of property with an address like that: "Pritts Distillery Road."  The owner had put up a sign with her phone number and, frankly, it looked like the sign had been there quite a good long while.  I gave her a call when I got back to Pittsburgh, but she wanted too much for such a steeply sloped property with water and electric but no sewer.

I looked on a map to see where the Laurel Highlands Trail crosses the terrifically named road.  The trail does not announce itself except for the yellow bands of paint that mark the trees just where it crosses over the unpaved track.  This is standard form for the LHHT--it only announces itself at designated parking areas.  Otherwise, you have to look for the yellow bands around the trees where it crosses a road.  If you follow the trail half a mile north from its crossing, you'll travel entirely on Seven Springs property and come to this monstrosity--a ski lift.

There's something strangely Scooby Doo about a ski resort in the off-season.  But it did open up some impressive views out over the Laurel Highlands.

I know people who love this place as a skiing destination.  It's apparently got many trails down the mountainsides; this is only one of dozens.

Which is not to say that Seven Springs sleeps until the snow flies.  It's an active place year-round, with condos and restaurants and I don't know what else.  They kindly allow the LHHT to pass on their property, and they even offer potable drinking water right along the trail.

But!! But...they also have an extremely NOISY shooting range, which is active year-round, and the southbound trail passes uncomfortably close to it.  Before you discover that it's a clay-pigeon shooting area, you hear the endless gunshots from afar and wonder if it's just a whole lot of really trigger-happy hunters in the woods.  Truly, it sounds like a Gettysburg reenactment, and it can be a little intimidating.

I went both directions on the LHHT at Pritts Distillery Road: north to see the view and south to visit the Grindle Ridge shelter area--where my friend and I were supposed to stay for our second night on the trail.  And I gotta say, Grindle Ridge was nice.  It's actually on a ridge with a visual sense of the land falling away through the trees.

Click on this photo to enlarge it; that's ICE on a log at Grindle Ridge.  Ice....

I did the most childish thing.  I saw pretty leaves on the ground and I told myself, "I'll just take one to use as a bookmark."  Of course, when you decide to choose ONE solitary leaf from the autumnal forest floor, it really slows you down because you're forever finding one you like better than the one you already chose.  It was an exercise in stupidity.

Ah, but the leafage was lovely.  

And here is the shelter we reserved but did not use.  It's got its back to the world and sits facing the steep drop out into the valley below.  This would have been a very nice place to spend a night, but it will still be there in the future, I hope.  We did enjoy the spot we had, especially with its excess of firewood.  The spot where we ended up staying two nights was noisy with traffic sounds; this spot sounded like it was in the path of an invading army--with the shooting range so nearby.  But both become quiet at night, I'm sure.  

I do wish I could find an affordable plot of land down here!  It's only an hour and a half away from town.  It's so very beautiful and so much cooler than down in the city.  This is not a lofty elevation, just about 2,700 feet, but it does make a noticeable difference.  And what could be the story behind that name, "Pritts Distillery Road"?  It's got to be a vestige of Prohibition and mountain life.