On Friday afternoon, Jon Kasitz and Brendan Prestileo and I hopped in Jon’s truck and headed north. We hit some unexpected traffic, so we arrived at the head of the Loyalsock Trail in the dark. We finished loading our packs, strapped on our headlamps, and started hiking in. It’s not a long or hard hike, about a 1-1/2 or 2 miles to a camping spot on the Loyalsock Creek called the haystacks. We rummaged around in the dark and got some firewood. The wood was wet from the rain, so I built a good log-cabin base like my dad showed me many years ago with some newspaper and kindling at the bottom. We soon had a good blaze going. We sat around the fire, roasting hot dogs and chatting it up for a few hours before calling it a night.
The next day, we hiked farther downstream taking our time, sitting on rocks talking. Jon wanted to jump into the frigid spring-fed stream, but seemed to be the only one. But he announced that it was so invigorating, Brendan and I had to jump in too. It was brisk to say the least. We headed back to our campsite, packed up and hiked back out to our car.
We drove to another spot on the Loyalsock Trail that goes to a lookout called Kettle Creek Vista. This is a slightly longer and more grueling hike. I did not realize how out of shape I am until this hike. Wow! I was the guy calling for breaks partway up the mountain. We gathered more wood, and Jon, our resident mountain man, wanted to start a fire with no newspaper. Brendan helped. I looked on and cheered and scorned with equal enthusiasm. You be glad to know that they succeeded in their task. We soon had a good blaze going. We sat around the fire, eating soup from the can that we cooked in the embers, and chatting it up for a few hours before calling it a night.
That night, I slept on a rock outcropping overlooking the vista. In the morning, when I woke up, the waning moon was overhead and the valley was completely shrouded in mist. The sun gradually rose over the mountain behind me and started to burn the mist off slowly. It was amazing to watch the power of the sun drawing the moisture. With every passing second, it seemed, I could see more trees and more of the distant mountains. By the time we packed up and hiked out, the mist was still stubbornly clinging to the hillside.
We hiked out, taking the side trip to Angel Falls. We made it to the Forksville General Store before 11:00, so we were able to get some breakfast. We hung out at World’s End State Park for about an hour and headed home.
What an amazing weekend. I needed it more than I realized. Jon and Brendan are two amazing guys, very dear brothers. To be able to spend time with them in our Lord’s creation was an absolute delight.
Last night, Michelle and I caught up. We both were very busy this weekend, but both missed each other dearly. It is good to be home.
