Enjoyed the hike. Will be back
Decided to do this trail for a nice weekend out. Set up camp early with overcast. Started to rain around 11pm and didn't stop until 8 am. Needless to say the trail flooded and we waded through almost knee deep water at spots. Made it interesting to watch the trail and creek beds go from bone dry to raging currents over night.
I've hiked the north section twice, once around to the overlook, once coming back on the frank gantz connection trail. Also backpacked the entire trail starting at the trailhead in the middle and going north first, then down to the southern part for the second day. Overall the trail is easy to follow, well marked and relatively flat. Some rocky sections but there are two problems with the trail. First the blueberry bushes and scrub oak encroaches on the trail quite a bit so you're constantly walking through the brush. The second problem is that there are numerous swampy sections, mostly in the southern portion but the north has some as well. This is the reason for the 3 star rating. However, there are a lot of great camping spots and woods in different growth stages. I'd definitely come back again
Parking for the trailhead is at the intersection of Bear Lake Rd and Pittson Rd. I used this map (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20031478.pdf) which also shows the connecting Watres Trail (yellow blazes) that loops around and rejoins the Pinchot Trail. I branched off on the (much less used) Watres Trail which is quite rocky in places, and generally quite overgrown (definitely more challenging than the Pinchot Trail). However I found a great camping spot where the Watres Trail first meets Panther Creek.
Went on a solo backpacking trip 2/18/17 to 2/19/17. My first ever solo trip. I did the north loop following the orange blazes on the first day with a side trip to the observation tower then down the mountain following the yellow blazes. I camped about 2 miles from the parking lot among some tall pines. There were some beautiful views. I especially liked the boulder covered creek! The trails were snow covered on Saturday and a bit treacherous in spots due to the roots and rocks. The weather warmed up through the day and ended with a high of about 54 degrees and a low through the night of 42 which caused snow to melt on the trails and turned them into little swamps. All in all it was a great first experience. My total trip was just under 9 miles. Will visit this again.
I really enjoyed backpacking the whole thing. Pretty level. Lots of nice camping spots in the south loop but an awesome hemlock bedding place in the north. Great for beginning backpackers. We stayed two nights.
Solid trail. Only did south section. Great camp spots, great views