We’ll be on the Quehanna Trail in the Moshannon Strate Forest in three days. Described in Backpacking Pennsylvania (Mitchell) thusly – “This region epitomizes expansive isolation with deep forests, wetlands, beautiful streams, open meadows, and scenic glens…This is a backpacking wonderland.” BUT…
Fran checks Google Earth to get an idea of conditions, and notices little white marks in vicinity of trail. She zooms in and….FRACKING! FRACKING? Located in the vicinity of where we were thinking to make our first night’s camp. Next Fran finds the following news item for this same area: “FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010. Marcellus Well Blows out in Moshannon State Forest. DEP secretary John Hanger told the press that his agency intends to investigate aggressively the circumstances surrounding this blowout. ‘The event at the well site could have been a catastrophic incident that endangered life and property; said Hanger, adding that ‘it was not a minor accident, but a serious incident.’”
We’re now thinking that this backpacking trip may be an unexpected two-pronged affair: 1) Getting away from the world and into the wilderness; 2) Seeing how the world seems determined to destroy the wilderness, and perhaps inspiring us to find new ways to work to stop this desecration, particularly with respect to our opposition to fracking (something that can endanger us all).
We backpacked for a few days in Moshannon State Forest and then returned for our reward — a week in a remote log cabin at Elliot State Park. Fran hiked with her right hand in a cast, after breaking two bones hiking to Pittsburgh. Weather was generally good. We did not encounter any fracking on the trail, I am pleased to report. At one point the first day, we could hear it in the distance from private land to the south. For more information about the great time we had on this trip, go to http://www.sheldontimes.com/
Comment by admin — June 30, 2012 @ 11:46 am