Muncy Valley, PA July 20, 2021
Most of this post, and those following, will cover the return journey of our trip to visit Deb and Rebecca in the Boston area. The journey to Boston was simply driving, three days, no places visited. The four days in Boston were family time where we were able to finally visit in person, rather than FaceTIme visits.
Monday the 19th, we had a leisurely breakfast with Deb and Rebecca and drove to Muncy Valley PA. Muncy Valley is a small community in north central Pennsylvania. We have an Airbnb here since hotels are few and far between. We chose Muncy Valley since it is centrally located between RIcketts Glen State Park and Worlds End State Park. Foolishly we thought we would hike in both parks on Tuesday, returning to our lodging Tuesday night before heading out on Wednesday morning.
For those of you who do not know, we lived for 28 years in Pennsylvania but never visited either of these parks, or much else in northern Pennsylvania. Our focus for those years was mainly visiting relatives in Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, or the D.C. area. Non-family trips were generally to the New Jersey shore or sites between Philly, Pittsburgh, New York, and D.C.
Ricketts Glen State Park was originally part of a large land holding whose owner tried to profit from a hotel and later lumbering. A railroad was finally built into the area around 1890 to ship lumber out of the area. There are no waterways large enough to float the thousands of acres of timber that existed in the area to outside sawmills. However, the waterways that do exist cut through the rock and formed waterfalls, 21 of which are along the Falls trail. The area, and several others in Pennsylvania, almost made it into the National Park System back in the 1930s. However the Depression ended any hopes of federal funding and eventually Ricketts Glen was made into a state park.
Today’s hike was a 3.5 mile hike along the Falls Trail System. The trail brought us to 18 of the 21 waterfalls in the park. The trail is basically a triangle, the first third on the north going through rocky and forested areas; the second third on the east side going down one creek until it meets a second creek. The final third returns up the west side alongside the second creek, to the beginning.
The first third was a pleasant hike. Heavily forested areas with sections of rocky cliffs. Frequently you are passing small rivulets of water, not large enough to be called a stream. Water would drip off cliffs and create other small waterways. Eventually enough of these drips , rivulets, and waterways would join together and create a creek. As the creek continued, it kept being joined by more water. Eventually, the creek had obtained enough water and downward momentum to create a nice stream with rapids. Then you came to the waterfalls.
The waterfalls ranged in height from 10 to 90 feet, in all sorts of styles. The trail on the east side, Glen Leigh, brings you past eight water falls. We came across many younger people zipping along. However, most people seemed like us. Taking short, careful steps for a longer, slower, and safer hike. The park has had rain lately and the falls were running strong. (We talked to a number of people that had been here several times and found the falls today were running the best they had seen. No drought here.) That rain also meant that the trail was usually either muddy or wet. Where it was wet, it was also slippery rocks.
At the end of the east side, the creek meets a second creek at “Waters Meet” where they form the named Kitchen Creek. This provided the panoramic view of the three waterways. Going down Kitchen Creek would bring you to three more waterfalls. We passed on this option. By this time, we were already feeling the muscle ache. We had descended 600 feet, not counting the areas where the trail went up before continuing its downward path. Walking on slippery rocks, avoiding boulders and tree roots had put a strong dent in our stamina and underused muscles.
The return journey up 600 feet along Ganoga Glen brought us to ten more waterfalls, including Ganoga Falls with a 94’ drop. Of course I have pictures of all 18, however I could not tell you which are which. I had thought of taking notes but thought that was too much effort. So, we just enjoyed the beauty of the water and the woods-trying to forget about the sore muscles. I have muscle aches where I never knew I had muscles.
A snack revived our lagging enthusiasm but the hike that began at 10:30 wrapped up at 3:30 after the snack. There was no suggestion whatsoever that we drive to park two and attempt a second hike. Besides, with only one hike there is nothing to compete with the grandeur of 18 waterfalls visited in one afternoon. The closest we can recollect would be Silver Falls State Park in Oregon or the multitude of waterfalls along the North Shore of Lake Superior in MN and also along the Columbia River east of Portland Oregon. But 18 beautiful falls on a sweet summer day is a fantastic memory.
We wrapped up the day with a dinner out. Not an easy thing to accomplish these days. Location number one in a town 8 miles up the road was closed in contrast to the hours posted on its website. Location two was another eight miles away and said we needed a reservation, which we did not have. Location three was a winner, finally and thankfully since I was not sure how far we would have to drive to find another restaurant. (There are no nearby Subways, fast food chains, or grocery stores with a deli section.) Dinner might have been canned soup which we had brought with us just in case but after a long hike, we felt we deserved more than minestrone soup.
Ed Heimel, Chris Klejbuk in Muncy Valley, PA July 21, 2021
Chris Klejbuk and Ed Heimel travel adventure 
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