What crazy weather! I started this year’s hike in 80-degree weather (26.7 C) and today woke up to snow. Yes, snow. It didn’t stick, of course, but was wet.
Trail angel Sandy shuttled me from the Emlenton bike trail to JM Beatty Furniture, and I began to hike toward Emlenton. It snowed for the first two hours, so I used my hiking umbrella to stay dry. The first few hours were a road walk, so it worked out fine.
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Making My Way to Emlenton
Once I got on the trail, what a treat! It followed the North Branch of Bear Creek and was just beautiful. I’ll have to admit that, thanks to the rain, there was a lot of scenic, rushing water. I passed a lot of small waterfalls, too.
After several miles of pretty trail, I had a road walk through Parker. The road walk eventually deposited me on a paved trail along the impressive Allegheny 
River. There were lots of benches where you could take a rest.
The paved trail led me to Foxburg and its tiny, chic business district. But right after that, it led me through a trucking area with lots of “No Trespassing” signs, and even one saying that this isn’t a trail for hikers and bikers. Except, um, it is. This path, which takes you to Emlenton, is dirt and not paved. But the plan is to pave it one day.
Snowshoe
Pennsylvania miles today: 18.1 (29.1 km)
Pennsylvania NCT miles to date: 102.9 (165.6 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 3,985.1 (6,413.4 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 614.9 (989.6 km)
My most useful gear today: My HotHands hand warmers, which kept my hands and fingers warm through the cold day.
