Rausch Gap, St. Anthony's Wilderness (difficult)

Here was the town of Rausch Gap. Once a thriving settlement of 1,000, now a ghost town lost to the wilderness.

The town of Rausch Gap stood at the very southwestern end of the anthracite fields whose exploitation fueled a surge of settlement in NEPA during the 19th century. The mines opened in the early 1820s on Sharp Mountain with the first houses built in the Stoney Valley below around the same time. In 1851 a railroad was built between Dauphin on the Susquehanna River and Auburn, and the town became a major stop along the line with the railroad becoming the main employer as the mines were gradually played out. In the 1870s the railroad shops were relocated east to Pine Grove and the town declined. By 1945 when the railroad was finally torn up, there was nobody left living in Rausch Gap, the last family generally being cited to have left around 1910. Today all that is left are crumbling stone walls and the gravestones of a long forgotten churchyard slowly being subsumed by the forest.

The Stoney Valley was home to several small towns all of which were abandoned around the same time as the coal deposits were exhausted. When the last humans left the valley the surrounding mountains became known only as St. Anthony's Wilderness: 50,000 acres of trackless forest, now the second largest contiguous forested tract in the state of Pennsylvania and the longest stretch along the Appalachian Trail in the state that hikers will cross without encountering a public road.

Our trip will only include a short segment of that trek: from the Swatara Gap north into Stoney Valley and then back out. A hike of around 9 miles including sections of the AT and Stoney Valley Rail Trail. This will be a more difficult hike with around 1300 feet of elevation gain including two climbs up and over the steep slopes of Second Mountain. The trail will be rough in places so proper footwear are required. Make sure to bring water and some extra calories.

Meet up at the Trout Run Trailhead parking area off PA Route 72 in Swatara Gap State Park (40.48307551480371, -76.54586376702582). We set off at 9AM. Make sure you are on time. Cell reception in the area is spotty. I will not be checking my phone for anyone arriving late.

Event will cancel for severe weather.