Along the trail
Annual sojourn along the Juniata River introduces participants to rails-to-trailsBy Ashley Gurbal, agurbal@altoonamirror.co
Article Photos
Fact Box
Getting there
To access the Lower Trail:
From Huntingdon: Take Route 22 West past Alexandria. After crossing the bridge, turn right on to Main Street, .2 mile toward Alexandria.
From Altoona: Take the Frankstown Road exit from Interstate 99. At the light, turn left and drive over Frankstown Mountain to Route 22. Turn left onto Route 22. The first trailhead, Flowing Springs, will be 4.8 miles ahead, a half mile past the Canoe Creek State Park sign at Turkey Valley Road. It is a right turn from Route 22 east.
From Hollidaysburg: Take Route 22 East. The first trailhead, Flowing Springs, is a right turn about 6.5 miles ahead, half a mile past the Canoe Creek State Park sign.
Become a member
To support the Lower Trail, different memberships to Rails to Trails of Central Pennsylvania are available, from individual to corporate memberships. For more information, visit www.rttcpa.org
Go paddling
Plans are under way for Juniata Clean Water Partnership's 2010 Juniata River Sojourn, which is tentatively set for the main branch of the Juniata, from Huntingdon to Newport. For more information, call JCWP at 506-1190.
WILLIAMSBURG - More than 80 paddlers traveled the Juniata River last week, taking in the sights and sounds of the Frankstown and Little Juniata branches.
The annual Juniata River Sojourn ended at Smithfield Riverside Park in Huntingdon today, after four days on the water and nights camping along the Lower Trail. The paddlers left Thursday from the Flowing Springs entry point in Canoe Creek and set up camp that night at Mount Etna, near Williamsburg.
The Huntingdon-based Juniata Clean Water Partnership coordinates the sojourn, to promote water stewardship and river recreation.
"It's for the people," said Thomas Komir, JCWP education and outreach coordinator and sojourn coordinator. "To make sure they have the best time - that's what it's there for."
On Thursday, the paddlers were treated to teenagers swinging from a rope swing, a gaggle of geese crossing the water and a white-tail doe sipping from the banks of the Juniata.
It was the first time on the river for Randy Emch of Erie, who was one of 14 members of the Erie Outing Club to participate.
"I like it - it's beautiful," Emch said over lunch.
Brothers Jack and Sam Treichler of Three Springs hit the river Thursday and Friday. Jack Treichler, 23, was showing Sam Treichler, 17, the ins and outs of kayaking.
"It's awesome," Jack Treichler said. "I've done a good bit of kayaking on the Susquehanna, and this is a good place to start off."
With 82 people signed up, it was the largest of the nine sojourns JCWP has coordinated, Komir said, with participants from throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C.
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The Lower Trail (which rhymes with flower) had a starring role in this year's sojourn, as paddlers ate lunch along the trail and set up camp nearby.
The trail is a 16.5-mile recreational trail runs from Flowing Springs in Canoe Creek to Alfarata in Huntingdon County, on the abandoned Petersburg Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
It's maintained by Rails to Trails of Central Pennsylvania and used for walking, biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, bird-watching and other non-motorized recreation.
"We have a pretty good relationship with Rails to Trails," Komir said. "We couldn't have done this year's sojourn without them."
It was one of six segments of the Pittsburgh to Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway that was recently recognized as a National Recreation Trail. The Main Line Canal Greenway consists of 320 miles of land and water trails from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg.
Karl King, Main Line Canal Greenway coordinator for Allegheny Ridge Corporation, said there are 1,050 trails that are National Recreation Trails; 22 were added this year. The Juniata River Water Trail also received the recognition.
An NRT designation, which is coordinated by the National Parks Service and U.S. Department of the Interior, recognizes existing trails and trail systems that connect people to local resources and improve their quality of life.
"We really feel honored by the designation," King said. "It does make those trails eligible for a small pot of federal funding, but there's less than a million dollars available nationwide. There's not a lot of financial advantage to it in the scheme of things, when you spread the money around."
About 130,000 people use the Lower Trail each year, King said, which is funded entirely by donations and maintained by a group of volunteers.
"There is no paid staff at all, no operational funding from any government entity," King said. "It all comes from member dues and donations and community effort - people have really taken ownership of the trail themselves."
Besides adding to the quality of life, the trail's also an economic resource, King said, bringing people to the small towns alongside it.
"It definitely draws people from outside the immediate area," King said. "It's a really great resource for people in the community."
Mirror Staff Writer Ashley Gurbal is at 946-7435.
