19 August 2012 - Ohiopyle State Park

Earlier this summer, we had gone with Grandma Fails to Ohiopyle State Park.  We had planned at that time to do some rock climbing and rappelling, but conditions were not conducive at that time so we looked at waterfalls and went to Fallingwater instead.

With summer waning to a close, I had a strong desire for one last 'hurrah'.  We've had so much fun this summer, I just didn't want it to end.  So we decided that we would do an overnight trip back to Ohiopyle.  We headed down (about an hour southeast of us near the Maryland border) on Monday morning and started by rappelling at Meadow Run.  These are the best nearby cliffs in Pennsylvania, but even at that, they're only about 40 foot drops.  Joanne took a couple turns (please don't judge me for lack of helmets -- I totally forgot them at home, so we had to be extra careful).

This is Emily on the rope.  The girls each took several turns.  The girls have really taken to climbing and rappelling since our outings earlier this summer in Utah with Grandpa Phil.

There is a nice crack climb at Meadow Run -- I would rate it at about a 5.6.  This is Madeline on the route with top-rope protection.

This is Jessica, also top-roped, on a bumpier route to the right of the crack route.  I'd put this one at about 5.7 or 5.8.

After a full day on the rocks, we went out for a nice dinner at a Revolutionary War era tavern call the Stone House Inn.  It is located along the old National Road, which passes just to the south of Ohiopyle.  Then we spent the night nearby at the Chalk Hill Lodge.  We should have spent the night at Stone House Inn, it was nicer.  But it worked out OK.

The next morning, we did what is called the Pedal-Paddle.  The Youghigheny River flows through Ohiopyle State Park, and is the source of some pretty extensive whitewater rafting options.  From the town of Ohiopyle, there is a trail that is part of the Rails-to-Trails project.  It is an old railroad bed that follows the river upstream to the small town of Confluence, about 13 miles away.  There is an outfitter that rents you a mountain bike so that you can ride the well-established and easy trail for 10 miles to a stopping point just before Confluence.  They meet you there, take your bike and trade you for....

A raft or kayak, so that you can ride the river for 10 miles back to Ohiopyle, were you began on the bike.  It was easy enough that Madeline handled it with no problem.  Well, she did crash her bike one time when she hit a little muddy patch on the trail, but it was not a bad crash and she was fine.   On the rafting part, Emily got thrown into the river twice (I almost did once), and Madeline would have, but Joanne and I caught her legs just before she went overboard.

It was hot, and on the middle section of the Yough, the rapids only reach a pretty mild class II, so it wasn't too scary, and we all jumped in on purpose to cool off from time to time, so getting thrown in wasn't the end of the world.  We had a blast, and still don't want summer to end!