Day Trip to Hickory Creek Wilderness

What was meant to be a two-night backpacking trip in the Hickory Creek Wilderness turned out to be a day trip with lots of fishing--and not a single fish.  Hickory Creek is stocked with trout every spring, but we were hiking upstream from the bridge where they dump those farm-raised fish.  

We entered at the west end of the wilderness area and went as far as the Forks, where Middle Hickory Creek joins East Hickory Creek.  My friend and I debated the exact location of the Forks.  In fact, he insisted that we'd hiked as far as Coon Run, which I knew we had not.  See the footbridge that someone has built on this fallen hemlock?

When we got back to the world of Wi-Fi, I did a swipe on one of the photos that I took at the Forks, and of course I was right.  We were nowhere near Coon Run.  When it comes to the Allegheny National Forest, it's unwise to challenge the Blogger-Formerly-Known-as-the-Snowbelt Parson.

This trip saw its share of disagreements between my backpacking buddy and me...two old men who are set in their ways and cranky when inconvenienced.  We started the day off wrong by trying to tackle the wilderness area from the east end.  But he found the water there too shallow for fishing.  

Here's the mythical Forest Road 119--which forms the southern border of the wilderness.  It was along this road that I first discovered the Rainbow People at their annual gathering in July of 2010.  They're said to be coming back to the ANF again this July, but they might not return to the exact same spot.  Queen Creek doesn't have many deep pools for swimming and bathing.

The woods here has a brooding quality to it... Not quite creepy, but definitely not inviting.  It takes dedication to get anywhere here in the absence of blazed and established trails.

On the way to Hickory Creek from my house, we stopped by the Tidioute overlook, a common sight on this blog.  I'm trying to get my backpacking buddy to take more of an interest in the North Country so that we're not always going down to the crowded Dolly Sods in West Virginia.

While he vainly fished, I spread a waterproof map on the ground and lay down for a nap.  I found two ticks on myself, but I do love sleeping in the woods.  Should have brought my hammock.