Mt. Tuscarora

Yesterday I left to spend the day hiking on the FLT starting at the start of the trail in Pennsylvania.  I checked the weather forecast and it said said cloudy with showers in the late afternoon.  I planned on hiking 5 miles in and then turning around and hiking back to my car.  I'd also take a detour from the FLT to the fire tower on Mt. Tuscarora.  However, plans quickly changed.  It rained the minute I got in the car to leave Attica and all the way to the trail head.  There was no service at the trail head so I couldn't check the weather to see if and how long the rain would last.  So I figured I'd just go into the woods and maybe the rain wouldn't be so bad.

Standing in the Rain

It was bad.  I was soaked within 5 minutes I didn't even make it to the Pennsylvania-New York line.  I gave up and turned around and went back to the car.

The Trail in the Rain

I tried to think of what to do next.  I was soaked but I also drive two hours to get there.  So much for the weatherman saying it wouldn't be a wash out.  I decided I'd go into Allegany State Park.  I figured I could walk up to the Stone Tower because there was a parking lot close to it and the day wouldn't be a total loss.  The minute I got to the park entrance it stopped raining.  The lady at the booth said I brought the sunshine.  So I entered the park and found the trail head to the Mt. Tuscarora Fire Tower.

Sign at Trail Head

Based on the map I had on my phone, I thought it was straight up the trail and then the fire tower would be there.  I was wrong and it was 2.5 miles with a good portion of it being straight uphill.  According to the internet the first 0.9 of a mile rises over 640 feet in elevation.  It was a rough climb for me because I was getting the start of head cold.  I was so winded and had to stop several times.

Looking Down the Trail

Blue Trail Blazes

While I was resting at one point, a 4-point buck passed the trail ahead of me.  I tried to get a picture, but he noticed me before I could get a picture.  I kept thinking I missed the fire tower because I knew it wasn't it an open area.  I also thought it should be straight up the mountain.  Well I finally realized that I was not in the spot I thought I was and that I had to go quite a distance before I got to the fire tower.  It finally leveled out and made hiking a little easier.

Mt. Tuscarora Fire Tower

Me with the Fire Tower

View from Below

The tower is now in disrepair.  The bottom set of stairs has been removed (I saw half of it laying below the tower).  They also removed all the platforms between stairs and at the top of the tower.  The structure was really rusty and I don't know if I would have climbed it if I could. 

I decided I didn't want to hike back the same way I came.  There was an unmarked trail that went straight down.  It was the one I thought I was going up to begin with.  However, there were a lot of fallen trees and I quickly lost it.  So I back tracked and continued down the trail.  It eventually met up with the NCT/FLT but then continued back to the road.

NCT to Pennsylvania

Mt. Tuscarora Trail

It was a nice trip back to the road.  I passed some creeks and just nice scenery in the woods.

White and Blue Blazes

At the end of the trail was one of the camp general stores.  I was able to get an ice cold Snapple and a candy bar which was delicious.  Since I didn't want to hike back up and down the mountain, I took the road back to my car.  It was hot and muggy by then.  I took several breaks on my way to rest because my feet were blistering and my back pack was feeling heavy.

Quaker Lake

Shortly after I took the above picture I started walking again.  I figured I had a mile to go to my car.  One of park maintenance guys asked if I wanted a ride back to the Tuscarora trail head.  I told him I only had a mile left and I went this far I could continue.  He said usually people are exhausted at that point.  If it was raining again, I would have totally taken the ride.

Since I paid the $6 admission into the park I wanted to see more before I left.  I drove through the park and went to the stone tower.  I thought this was the second fire tower that the park had, but they actually have a second metal structure.  I was to tired to walk to the second one, though.

Selfie from the Top of the Stone Tower

Panoramic from the Stone Tower

Stone Tower

The Stone Tower was built as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal.  It was completed in November 1933 and used to observe nature from the top.  There's an arrow carved in the top that points north.  It was recently restored, removing the graffiti, however people still don't care and have been leaving their mark on the tower.

It was a long day and it was nice to get home and shower.  I was sweaty and still damp from the early morning drenching.  I still had fun and want to go back to explore more of Allegany State Park.