Bucktail Path
{{Short description|Hiking trail in Elk State Forest, Pennsylvania, United States}}
{{Infobox hiking trail
|name=Bucktail Path
|photo=BucktailPathN.jpg
|caption=The northern trailhead for the Bucktail Path, near Sizerville State Park
|location= Cameron County and Potter County, Pennsylvania, US
|length_mi= 33.5
|trailheads= Sizerville State Park, Sinnemahoning
|use= Hiking
|elev_change=High
|highest=
|lowest=
|difficulty=Strenuous
|season=Year-round
|sights=
|hazards=Uneven and wet terrain, rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, ticks, black bears
}}
The Bucktail Path is a {{convert|33.5|mi|km|adj=on}} linear hiking trail in north-central Pennsylvania, United States, through portions of Elk State Forest. Most of the trail is in Cameron County, with its northern end in Potter County.{{Cite web |title=Bucktail Path |url=http://www.trails.dcnr.pa.gov/trails/trail/trailview?trailkey=296 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226043704/https://trails.dcnr.pa.gov/trails/trail/trailview?trailkey=296 |archive-date=2021-02-26 }} It should not be confused with the scenic highway in the same region known as Bucktail Trail; several features in the region were named after the Bucktail Regiment of local soldiers during the American Civil War.{{cite web|url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/bucktail/index.htm|archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20140422110014/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/bucktail/index.htm|url-status = dead|archive-date = April 22, 2014| title = Bucktail State Park|access-date = 2006-11-06| website = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources }}
The Bucktail Path is often described as one of the most isolated and least hiked backpacking trails in Pennsylvania, with a path that can be difficult to follow even for experienced hikers;{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Jeff |title=Backpacking Pennsylvania: 37 Great Hikes |date=2005 |publisher=Stackpole Books |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |isbn=0811731804 |page=162}} and it has experienced long periods of under-use with little maintenance.{{cite book|last1=Thwaites|first1=Tom|title=50 Hikes in Central Pennsylvania|date=2001|publisher=Backcountry Publications|isbn=088150372X|edition=Fourth|location=Woodstock, Vermont|page=165}} It is also known for several challenging climbs and bridgeless stream crossings.{{Cite book |title=Pennsylvania Hiking Trails |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2008 |isbn=9780811734776 |editor-last=Cramer |editor-first=Ben |edition=13th |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |page=153}}
Route
This description illustrates the Bucktail Path in the southbound direction. The trail begins at a parking lot on East Cowley Road just to the east of Sizerville State Park along the western edge of Potter County.{{cite book |last1=Owen |first1=Jim |title=Hikers' Guide to the Bucktail Path in North Central Pennsylvania |last2=Owen |first2=Ginny |date=1998 |publisher=Keystone Trails Association |isbn= |location=Cogan Station, PA |page=2-3}} The trail quickly climbs to the top of the Allegheny Plateau. After a partial descent, the trail walks along Crooked Run Road briefly then climbs to the top of the plateau again, utilizing a system of lengthy switchbacks remaining from old logging railroad grades.{{cite book |last1=Gantz |first1=Dave |title=Wild Footpaths: The Bucktail Path and Adjoining Trails in Elk State Forest |date=2018 |publisher=Scott Adams Enterprises |location=Spring Mills, PA |isbn=9780996439602 |page=21-24}}
The Bucktail Path enters Cameron County at 9.1 miles. It begins a lengthy walk alongside McNuff Branch at 9.7 miles,Gantz, p. 26 with several bridgeless crossings of that stream and its incoming tributaries for about the next four miles. The high valley formed by McNuff Branch has been noted for its scenery and isolation, with little evidence of human civilization but much evidence of centuries of beaver activity.Thwaites, p. 166 At 13.7 miles, the trail crosses Hunts Run Road, climbs to the top of the plateau again then descends steeply to a crossing of Whitehead Road at 18.5 miles. This is followed by yet another steep climb to the top of the plateau, after which the trail stays on high ground until near its southern end.Gantz, p. 26-33
The trail reaches Brooks Run Fire Tower at 23.9 miles; the tower is still used by forestry officials to spot fires, but it is fenced off to the public. At 25.8 miles, reach a junction with a trail that heads into Square Timber Wild Area. Starting at 26.8 miles, the Bucktail Path follows a wide pipeline swath for more than two miles. After leaving the pipeline, the trail continues southbound along the top of a narrow ridgeline with vistas over canyons to both the west and the east; those canyons are the routes of two upper branches of Sinnemahoning Creek. In this area, the trail traverses portions of Johnson Run Natural Area and a large parcel of private land.Gantz, p. 35-41 At 31.3 miles, the Bucktail Path joins a gravel road and descends off the plateau very steeply. At the bottom, the hiker must cross Grove Run without a bridge; the Bucktail Path then ends after 33.5 miles at Grove Street, just outside the village of Sinnemahoning.Gantz, p. 41-42 From the southern terminus, the hiker could follow local roads for less than two miles to reach both the Donut Hole Trail and the Old Sinnemahoning Trail, which leads to the Quehanna Trail.Cramer, p. 162
References
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{{PennsylvaniaTrails}}
{{coord|41.503324|-78.121046|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA|display=title}}