Day 38 of AT in PA NOBO

Clark's Valley Rd/
PA Rt 325 (1,167.9) to Swatara Gap (1,185.3)
Total Miles: 17.4

Pip dropped me off at 7:30am and immediately started uphill for @ 2 miles.
Broken clouds to start and temps in the low 50’s.
Around Noon, I started hearing supersonic jet type noises coming quickly from the horizon behind me. For the next 20-30 minutes, two fighter jets conducted exercises overhead, fairly close to the ground (see video). Turns out they were Maryland Air National Guard jets that routinely use the Second Mountain/Blue Mountain area of PA (between Harrisburg & Allentown) for their regular training as this wilderness area has limited residents in the area in which to bother.
I then hit the part of the Second Mountain area (Rausch Gap/Stony Valley) known historically for its extensive coal mining operations from the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s.
Most of the small stream and spring beds I saw over this next 10 mile stretch were distinctively orange (see pic) and had a sulphur-like smell. I learned that this was from decades of water seeping through the coal mines and a chemical reaction occurring when the water eventually flowed closer to the surface and mixed with oxygen. The water itself looks clear, but it leaves the bright orange residue. Environmentalists realized years ago that this chemical phenomenon was killing off all of the fish in the watershed area, as well as other animals that drank from the water. A resolution to this issue came in 1986, when the organization Trout Unlimited built the country’s first series of limestone diversion wells here at Rausch Gap (see pics attached). The process simply pushes untreated water (with force) through a bed of limestone. The highly alkaline limestone particles chemically react to neutralize the acidity of the untreated water. These diversion wells were strategically placed and now treated water from the entire watershed is released into the main river where fish are now in ample supply.
By 4pm, the first of two heavy rain squalls & 40mph winds blew through and soaked us all. There were 6 of us trying to get down to our end point for tonight, the Swatara Gap Hostel (right on trail) before it all started, but alas unsuccessfully.
I was the first one down and was able to quickly pitch my tent in the backyard of the hostel between the two squalls. There were 2 large covered picnic table areas where we were able to eat and stay dry. The nearby resupply shack was unlocked and 3 of the hikers were able to sleep on its floor overnight to stay dry.Läs mer