We arrived to Ansonia, PA on Friday night. Since it was already dark and we were tired after almost 6 hours of driving, we decided to camp right at the trailhead's parking lot. Luckily, there was plenty of space and the parking lot's surface was made of old gravel, so we had no issues setting up our tents. As a bonus, there was lots of firewood right at the lot, so we even put up a camp fire. 

The next morning, we drove our cars to the destination of our two-day hike - Bradley Wales - and left one of the cars there. The parking lot was much smaller and located literally in the middle of the forest. Nonetheless, there was a nice and clean washroom as well as free maps to take. We felt a little bit uncomfortable leaving the car there for almost two days, but we hoped for the best and it's North America after all.

On the way back, I accidentally took a wrong turn and got to an active well which uses a slick water hydraulic fracturing or just 'fracking' to extract the natural gas from a shale. What's interesting is that there was no gate, no fence, no guard at the site. The well was just working and pumping up the gas. Miracle. So I guess it was sort of safe to leave a car where we left it. 

Apparently, Pennsylvania is a hot spot for fracking, and there are numerous wells like this one in the area. The fracking is a very controversial topic. There are tons of information about it which I'm sure has lots of bias as well. But what's apparent is that there is a clear link between the fracking and ground water pollution. And the most recent studies show that it can even cause earthquakes. Out of a respect to a property owner, I didn't take any close-up pictures nor do I reveal the well's location. But this topic interests me, so I'd be glad to have an opportunity to do a separate article about how the fracking works and what the impact of using it is. 

It took us almost 2 hours to drive back and forth, and by around 10:30 am we were finally all set for the hike.

There is a relatively steep ascent at the beginning of the trail, but the rest of the trail is pretty even. The trail is well marked with orange blazes.

After this initial ascent, we were rewarded with some of the best views of the canyon.

Shortly after these lookouts, the trail took us inside the forest and we didn't see the canyon for the rest of the first day.

A beautiful meadow.

Very well-marked detour. 

There is never a shortage of streams to drink water from, but you need to purify it before drinking. I used a filter called Lifestraw to do so, and found it very safe and convenient. I've taken it to 3 different backpacking trips so far and haven't had any stomach problems.

There is a number of primitive free of charge campsites along the trail, but I didn't quite get if we were supposed to register before hitting the road or these campsite were first come, first served. I suggest you get a map from Pine Creek Outfitters (located on Hwy 6 near the northern trailhead; their address: 5142 Rt 6 Wellsboro, PA) as it shows all campsites. 

Although a primitive campsite means no facilities, we actually saw a toilet at one of the sites. So cute.

Anyway, after hiking 10 miles / 16 km, we picked a campsite which turned to be a very good one. It had a fire pit and a bench made of stones as well as a little stream of water. 

We set up tents, put up a fire and made one of the most delicious dinners I've ever tried. That night we had buckwheat with some polish stew and a squash paste which we call a caviar. I don't know why, but food always tastes so good while camping outdoors. We had a great time, but some of us were a bit scared because of the noise in the bushes not far from our campsite. We could not figure out what it was, but it could be a racoon, or maybe a turkey. 

On the second day, we only had to hike 6 miles / 10 km, and unlike the first day, we made it surprisingly fast and easy. 

So we managed to finish our journey around 1 pm at Bradley Wales. What a delight was to find both our cars where we left them!

Great hike, highly recommend it!