my gps's output of the hike

dilapidated bridge (this hike was only 6 months after the september 17 flood in pittsburgh, and i think a lot of these bridges are slightly washed out for that reason)

trail was often hard to find because it was under snow, not well marked, and there were not many other hikers

bridge

i used a dog's footprints and deer trails lots of times to make sure i was still on the trail

this bench looks like it'd be a great place to sit in the springtime... under the shade of the hemlocks

in the allegheny national forest region, there is supposed to be one of the world's largest woodpeckers. i believe this is one of their 'caves' (it's about 8 inches high)

bridge

a nifty part of the trail through baby hemlocks

this is a GORGEOUS valley, with a quiet stream, hemlocks, and total silence

neat ice melt

mmmm, hemlocks

the deepest i had to trek through was 6-8" of snow

had to hike through some mountain laurel

these diamonds marked the trail. the cave behind the tree you had to walk through to get up to the overlook

neat ice - swallowed a tree

the view

i was lost when i found this fellow lost hiker

remnants of an oil pump?