Tag Rachel Carson Trail

RCT Challenge Training Hike #2

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Creighton, PA

Another training hike for the RCT challenge! Let me tell you, my legs were WRECKED after this one. This was officially the longest hike I’ve never done and by far the biggest elevation gain. And I’ve hiked National Parks people! Thank god I’ve had ToryTalksTrails keeping me on task for this training! We’re slowly building miles, gaining elevation, and snacking hard. Has anyone else started their training for the challenge??

THE HIKE: Rachel Carson Trail – Saxonburg Rd to Agan Park

Length: 11.7 miles
Elevation Gain: 2800 ft
Difficulty: Challenging
Time: 4.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking, leashed pets
Parking: Small pull off for 3-4 cars. No bathrooms
H&H: 4/5

Once again, Tory and I did a point to point trail, leaving one car at Agan Park and driving the other to our starting point at Saxonburg road. If you’re looking to do this section hike, here are the coordinates: 

Saxonburg Road: 40.65513180064524, -79.72686400487738
Agan Park: 40.56013506403363, -79.78197053025322

Having done about 9 miles on our last training hike, we decided to up it to around 11 this time! Now this section of the hike is actually part of the full RCT Challenge, so I won’t actually be hiking this section in June. BUT I still think it’s super helpful to hike as much of the trail as possible to get a good feel for the hills and how much stamina you have!

What this section lacked in stream crossing, it really made up for in elevation. Our feet stayed (mostly) dry but, man were my legs throbbing towards the end! I cannot believe how much hiking with a friend for these long training ones has helped me get through! If I was on my own, I don’t know that I would have kept with it. Like most of the RCT, this section of the trail varies a lot in landscape. There were road sections, wide open fields, heavily wooded areas and lots of steep inclines. I was very grateful not to have a heavy pack on and at times I would have liked a trekking pole to help with balance. Undignified butt scooting definitely was happening! Also plenty of snacks is an absolutely must for this trail! I’m still a newbie with planning hikes so I probably didn’t bring enough to fuel me. I stuck with an apple, peanut butter pretzels, and a granola bar. I will definitely need to add in some electrolytes, especially as it gets hotter! 

Have you ever trained for a long hike? What are your go-to trail snacks?

Thanks to my friend Tory for planning out these training hikes! Check out her awesome blog that is full of hiking resources: https://mytrailsaremany.com/. You can also follow her adventures on instagram: @torytalkstrails

RCT: Springdale to Emmerling Park & Leaning Cask Brewing

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Springdale, PA

Big News and Big Hills! I’ll be tackling the Homestead Challenge aka the Half Rachel Carson Trail Challenge. That means in June, I’ll be hiking 19 miles in one day. Am I crazy? Maybe! Thankfully, the weather is getting nicer and I’m able to get out for some training hikes! The first section I tackled was the starting point of the half challenge at Springdale High School, close to the Rachel Carson Homestead. A big shout out to Tory from MyTrailsAreMany for getting me out on the trail to start training! This hike is a point to point (one way) hike which is best done with two cars. You’ll trek just under 9 miles and gain 1,365ft in elevation! This hike isn’t for the faint of heart but is a great way to get a taste of the RCT

THE HIKE: RCT – Springdale to Emmerling

Length: 8.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,365 ft
Difficulty: Challenging
Time: 3.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking, leashed pets
Parking: Large lots at either endpoint. Bring two cars to do Point-to-Point
H&H: 4/5

Training for the RCT Challenge is best done by tackling large sections of the trail. It’s best to do it with a partner or group so that you can carpool to the trailhead and leave another car at the endpoint. If going solo, just be aware that you’ll have to double back on yourself a lot! 

My friend Tory from MyTrailsAreMany, reached out about wanting to start training together. She did the Homestead Challenge last year and is going for the Full Challenge this year. Talk about hiking goals! Tory suggested this section of the RCT from Springdale to Emmerling Park because it had some big hills and was the first section of the Homestead Challenge. This was the perfect intro to the Challenge for me because it was the longest hike I’d done so far this year and the hills were NO JOKE. It definitely helped me set a baseline of where I need to improve! J and I were so grateful to have Tory as our guide and time keeper too. 

So, as I mentioned, this trail section starts at Springdale High School parking lot, right next to the baseball field. From there, head down Marion Ave where you’ll pass the original home of Rachel Carson. It’s undergoing some renovations right now, but hopefully will be back open soon. Continue to the end of Marion Ave where you’ll see a tree line and finally head into the woods. Always keep your eyes peeled for the yellow RCT blaze. You should almost always be able to see the next blaze from where you are. Be aware that at many spots along the trail there are intersecting paths and it can be easy to get off course. Let the yellow blazes guide you! 

This section will lead you through woods, along some streets, through a couple streams, and up and down several big hills. Expect to have some wet feet along the way and remember that undignified butt scooting is always an option on those hills! Lots of water and plenty of snacks are a must for these hikes. 

If you’re interested in doing the Homestead Challenge (19 miles) or the Full Challenge (36 miles), there’s still time to enter! You can find the registration page here. If you’re already signed up for the challenge and are looking to start training, the RCT Conservancy has a number of orientation hikes and training hikes coming up or find a friend (like me!) to hike with! 

How do you prepare for long hikes? Got any leg strengthening exercises to share with me?

THE BEER: The Leaning Cask Brewing Co.

Address: 850 Pittsburgh St, Springdale, PA 15144
Distance from Trail Head: 0.5 miles, 2 mins
Website: https://www.leaningcaskbrewing.com/
Food?: BYOF, Food Trucks
Details: Outdoor seating, dog friendly

The best thing about leaving our car at Springdale for this hike? Leaning Cask Brewery is only 0.2 miles away! I’ve had my eye on Leaning Cask for ages but it always seemed so far out of the way. Thankfully this hike was the perfect reason to stop. Although I still feel bad for the amount of mud (and probable stank) that we left at the bar. Anyone else ever feel bad for going somewhere after a particularly muddy hike? I really need to start bringing a change of shoes! 

Anyway, Leaning Cask is a great post-hike spot because they’ve got a large outdoor seating area as well as frequent food trucks on the weekend. They’ve also got an awesome taplist with so many different beer types, as well as some local wine. Also, true to their name, they’ve got some beer on cask! 

Cask ale – Also known as Real Ale, Cask Beer goes through a final fermentation in a cask or barrel. It features a slight carbonation and is served unfiltered at “cask temperature” (around 55F).

The Leaning Cask has been bringing an English pub flair to Springdale since 2016. The owners found themselves heavily influenced by English pub culture and wanted to bring that warmth to their brewpub in PA. You’ll also notice that the two are big dog lovers, as evidenced by many of their beer names. Hence, the pub is friendly to well-behaved and leashed doggos. 

Our Beer:

  • Goldendoodle – Golden Ale – 4.2%
  • Um…That’s On Fire – American IPA – 5.6%
  • Celestial Canine – NEIPA – 6%
  • Pedigree: Blood Orange & Cranberry – Fruited Sour – 6.8%
Photo cred: MyTrailsAreMany
Photo cred: MyTrailsAreMany

Also be sure to check out https://mytrailsaremany.com/ for hiking planning guides, tips and gear, and more!

Rachel Carson Trail & Necromancer Brewery

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North Park, PA

*As of February 2024, Necromancer Brewing has permanently closed*

Earlier this month, J and I did our first group outing with the Rachel Carson trail Conservancy! We joined their annual Sock Drive and Hike in North Park area. Everyone donated socks and then carpooled to the Harmony Trail parking lot on Wexford-Bayne road. From there we all set off along the Rachel Carson trail back to the North Park Cabin. This trek ended up being 6.6 miles! I will say, this wasn’t my favorite hike, due to the number of times we went out of the woods, but it was still a nice change to hike with a big group! This will probably be our only “snowy” hike of the year since we’d had a very mild winter. We ended the day by visiting Necromancer Brewing off of McKnight Road in North Hills. I’ve been wanting to go here for a while and it did not disappoint! I love dark beer and I love that so much of their taplist was dedicated to the dark side. Keeping this post short but check out my Instagram for a fun video of the hike!

THE HIKE: Rachel Carson: Harmony to North Park Cabin

Length: 6.6 miles (point to point)
Elevation Gain: 706 ft 
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking, trail running, leashed pets, biking
Parking: Large lot at either end
H&H: 3/5

THE BEER: Necromancer brewery

Address: 2257 Babcock Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Distance from Trail Head: 7.4 miles, 16 mins 
Website: https://necromancer.beer/
Food?: BYOF, Food Trucks
Details: Dog friendly

Rachel Carson Trail & Acrospire Brewing Co

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Glenshaw, PA

Last weekend it was finally time for us to tackle the (in)famous Rachel Carson trail. This trail spans 45 miles so it’s great for tackling in sections. Many sections. For our first trek, we did a 3 mile (6 mile out-and-back) section of the trail starting in North Park and turning around at Route 8. This trail is not for the faint of heart and you WILL get your feet wet! If you’re ready for a more challenging hike without going too far outside of the city, this hike is perfect for you! Afterward, grab a beer from Acrospire Brewing’s to-go only production facility. If the weather’s nice, enjoy your beverage in their outdoor biergarten!

THE HIKE: Rachel Carson Trail (North Park to Rt. 8)

Length: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 660ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2.5-3 hours
Trail use: Hiking, Running, Leashed Pets
Parking: Large gravel lots throughout North Park
H&H: 4/5

Okay, so like I said, the Rachel Carson Trail spans just over 45 miles in northern Allegheny County, meandering between North Park and Harrison Hills Park. The trail is named, of course, for the renowned conservationist Rachel Carson, who was born in Springdale, PA. An offshoot trail actually leads to her childhood home! I can’t wait to check that out on a future hike. There are no shelters along this trail so it’s intended for day use. However, if you’re feeling up for a challenge, once a year the Rachel Carson Trail Conservancy hosts an endurance hike where hikers have 15 hours to do 34 miles of the trail. Definitely something I’d love to work up to! 

One thing I really love about this time of year is that there’s enough daylight after work to squeeze in a hike! J and I are really lucky to work close to each other, so we made sure to pack our hiking clothes and some dinner and head out right after work! The Rachel Carson Trail runs through a large part of North Park, but we choose to start at the Beveridge shelter. There’s a large gravel lot in this area by the baseball fields. The first part of this trail is quite wide and downhill. There’s a quick road crossing and then you’ll hit your first stream crossing. And yes I said first because you’ll be crossing a lot of streams on this hike! Some have some stepping stones but I guarantee that you will get your feet wet. Nothing up to the knee though, unless you make a big mistake! 

For the most part, I LOVED this trail. It was woodsy and I loved the challenges of crossing streams and climbing up ridges. However, there was a glaring part that kept this from being a 5 star hike. At the 1 mile point, you leave the woods and have to walk along the railroad tracks and then follow along the guardrail of a road to reach the next section of the wooded trail. I totally get that this trail runs through urban areas so it can’t be woods the whole time. But walking along the train tracks and the road felt a little dicey to me. Thankfully it was only for a short time and the fantastic woods really made up for it! 

As always with hiking, it’s important to remember that, as hikers, we’re just visitors in nature’s home. Always keep your eyes peeled for wildlife like this little snake we saw! He’s just a common garter snake, but it’s important to know that we do have venomous snakes in this area and it’s best to give all wildlife the space they need! 

This will definitely be just the first of many trips on the Rachel Carson Trail for Hikes & Hops! Do you have a favorite section of this trail??

THE BEER: Acrospire Brewery Company

Address: 1650 Butler Plank Rd, Glenshaw, PA 15116
Distance from Trail Head: 6.4 miles, 16 mins 
Website: http://acrospirebrewingco.com/
Food?: BYOF
Details: Outdoor seating only & dog friendly
H&H Rating: 4/5

I really need to start venturing north of the city more often because there are so many breweries! Acrospire grabbed my attention since it’s so close to North Park! It was the perfect place for us to stop by in the evening. At first, I was worried because I didn’t realize they only did to-go sales. However, they have a nice outdoor space where you can sit and enjoy draft pours. Just be aware that there’s no covered/heated seating for those not so nice days! Acrospire seems to be quite the popular place with the locals, as we saw so many people coming to get growlers and 4-packs for the weekend. I love seeing a community really embrace their local brewery. 

On our visit, we stuck with mostly pale ales since we were craving something refreshing after our sweaty hike. My favorite of the night was the Kaleidoscope which balances a deliciously fruity flavor with some solid NEIPA hoppiness. J really liked the West Coast IPA which had a very strong pine-y flavor. I’m so glad we made it out to Acrospire and I’m looking forward to what the future brings for them. They just announced future plans to open a new production facility and taproom!

Our Beer:

  • Swamp Thing – West Coast IPA – 7.2%
  • Serendipity – IPA – 7.2%
  • Kaleidoscope – New Zealand IPA – 6%
  • Hear no Evil – Ginger Wheat Beer – 5.4%

SUM UP: The Rachel Carson Trail is a 45 mile point to point trail that runs across northern Allegheny County. It’s well known for its challenging terrain and many stream crossings. This hike tackled a small portion of the trail starting in North Park and turning around at Route 8. There’s plenty of parking at the trail head and leashed pets are welcome! After your trek, head over to Glenshaw to sample the brews at Acrospire! They’ve got a surprising variety of taps for a small operation and everything is expertly made. They don’t have a taproom, but you can get drafts to-go and sit outside on their patio! Keep an eye out for their upcoming expansion and taproom!