The Great Gig in the Sky

 Pine Creek

The name Bob Webber should ring a familiar bell to most readers of this blog by now. Anyone who spends any appreciable time on the trails of the Tiadaghton State Forest, particularly those in the Pine Creek environs, owes Bob a debt of gratitude. The legendary Bob Webber, aka the Bard of Pine Creek, worked for the Bureau of Forestry for 27 years before retiring in 1988. He designed and built most of the hiking and skiing trails in the area including the Black Forest Trail and the Golden Eagle Trail. He lives in a remote cabin on a mountain top miles from any road or utilities and spends countless hours doing volunteer trail maintenance.

Members of the Ridge and Valley Outing Club once talked to Bob about a natural vista, Wolf Run Bald, that could be seen from the nearby Golden Eagle Trail. That was all Bob needed to hear and he set to work designing and building a trail to Wolf Run Bald. A herculean feat of sidehill digging up 1,300 vertical feat with 7 switchbacks, a few protracted grades and even a couple of wooden benches at the summit. The tread is so well designed that even children can use it. Bob wanted to name the trail the Wolf Run Bald Trail, the DCNR named it, rightfully so, the Bob Webber Trail.

The trail head is 2 miles north of  the village of Cammal on PA 414. Park in the Ross Run Access parking lot along side the Pine Creek Rail Trail. The start of Bob Webber trail is just across the road.

Behind every great man is a great woman. Bob's wife of 50 years, Dottie, was a direct descendant of Jacob and Philip Tomb, the original settlers of the village of Slate Run. Sadly, she recently passed away at the age of 89 this past 4 January. I can not imagine Bob's loss. The wind now blows a little more forlornly around that mountain ridge top cabin overlooking Little Slate Run.

 Bob Webber Trail

The view north from the Wolf Run Bald is one of the great vistas in all of Pennsylvania but you are going to have to earn it to get there. You will be climbing from the banks of Pine Creek all the way to the top of the Allegheny Plateau, 1,300 vertical feet protracted over 2 miles. You'll want your hiking boots for this hike because of the many rocks along the way.

The view across Wolf Run into Golden Eagle Trail country.

And up and up we go on one of the 7 switchbacks Bob built to ascend the final pitch on Big Mountain.

It was 45 years ago this month that I wrote my brother, Louis Tureikas, a letter while he was serving a tour of duty in some hell-hole of a landing zone in the steamy jungles of Vietnam. I was as naive as any 10 year old boy would be expected to be and I told him something to the effect of how I wished I could be there with him helping to fight the bad guys and share in the excitement and bravado and revel in the honors of victory. His reply letter a week or two later spoke of how he hated war and it's brutality, stupidity and futility. That only men who have never seen true combat would glorify war. It was the first lesson I ever remember him teaching me, but it was certainly not the last. Unlike so many other soldiers, my brother made it back from Vietnam with only a Purple Heart or two, but he passed away just a couple of days before Christmas, 1999. I admired him greatly and I miss him dearly.

That is what was on my mind as I ascended these switchbacks on a glorious bluebird sky spring day in Pennsylvania. I don't know why, maybe it was the endorphin rush from the cardiovascular workout, the quiet contemplation or the joys of hiking solo without the idle chit-chat. I'm just glad it was. Life is funny that way.

Cardiac climb. Nothing but earth, sun and sky. At this elevation, the swollen buds on the deciduous trees are just starting to leaf out.

The trail finally levels out on a bench and a nice protracted grade takes us to the top of Big Mountain.

Now it's just a short jog through and oak and laurel forest to our destination.

This is what we're here for! All of a sudden the ground just drops away in front of you. Three golden eagles (or were they Thunderbirds?) that were circling the sky on thermals greeted me as I arrived. Kind of makes all that climbing worthwhile, doesn't it?

Wolf Run Bald Vista. This is a 180 degree view looking north.

A mix of oak and white birch along side Wolf Bald Vista.

Pine Creek Country.

This view is of the Wolf Run Wild Area and the Golden Eagle Trail. Wolf Run cuts through the narrow defile in the center of the picture. Views like this are Bob's specialty.

There are a couple of log benches up here where you can relax and enjoy the view.

 S'more Pine Creek Country with Hemlock Mountain in the distance. Pine Creek is down there in the very bottom of that canyon. Trust me.

I guess this rocky outcropping across the valley is named Ravenshorn because of it's shape and because it's a roosting spot for ravens.

An extremely rare Thunderbird sighting?

 Bob Webber Trail

This hike and trip report are dedicated to the memory of Dottie Webber and my brother, Lou Tureikas.

After all, we're only ordinary men...