Pine Creek Rail Trail: Darling Run to Tiadaghon

On Saturday, September 5th, Bob and I went for a bicycle ride on the Pine Creek Rail Trail. 

We began our ride around 11:40 am at Darling Run and rode 7.5 miles to Tiadaghon.  We arrived at Tiadaghon approximately 1 1/2 hours later.  We began our ride back to Darling Run around 1:45 pm.  It took almost 3 hours for us to make the return trip.  Why so long?  I will explain at the end of this post.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

Parking lot at Darling Run; my bicycle in the foreground.

Darling Run Train Station

Pine Creek. Note the two trails. The raised, stone upper trail is for bicycles and hikers. The lower dirt trail is for horse-drawn wagons.

This is one of a few camps that sit alongside Pine Creek.

Suspension Bridge and a Camp

the Suspension Bridge

the picturesque Pine Creek

I am facing in the direction that we had ridden. The Turkey Path trail, which can be hiked up to Leonard Harrison State Park, is located to the right of this bridge.

A highlight of the Turkey Path trail is a waterfall. Very little water was falling the day we visited.

We must bicycle back to this location, when it is more likely that a noticeable amount of water will be falling here!

Sign Welcoming us to Tiadaghton

We ate a picnic lunch at Tiadaghton.

This was our picnic location.

This was our picnic view.

The Tiadaghton campground and picnic area is located in a very pretty place!

We are on our way back to Darling Run.

The lower dirt pathway, by the way, extends from Darling Run to Tiadaghton.

Gorge wall

Picturesque Pine Creek

Hooray! We saw two horse-drawn wagons on the trail!

I will now explain what happened on our way back to Darling Run from Tiadaghton.

The first couple miles back were without incident.  During the last 5-6 miles, I made frequent stops.  Bob says that some of my stops were as frequent as 1/10th of a mile.  My legs hurt and were shaky.  My arms were shaky too.  My shoulder blades ached.  A couple of my stops were made because I felt dazed and dizzy.   I stopped and lied down on the grass two or three times.  The first time this happened two women stopped to ask if I was OK.  One woman gave me a few gummy bears (quick sugar).  I don’t know what happened to me.  Low sugar? Needed more water? Out of shape?  The last is something I can attest to.  I really am out of shape. 

I am happy that I completed this segment of the Pine Creek Rail Trail.  I wish I had been in better shape, though,  to make the trip.  An unexpected bonus from taking so long to make the return trip was the opportunity to see the horse-drawn wagons!  I actually felt well enough to enjoy seeing the wagons too.

The Pine Creek Rail Trail is 62 miles in length, from Butler Road just south of Lower Marsh Creek Road (Wellsboro Junction) and Seminary St. between McClintock Alley and Fountain St. (Jersey Shore).  We plan to ride the entire trail, in segments.  This plan will most likely take a few years to complete!