The Allegheny 100 Backpacking Challenge
Click here to register for the 2012 Challenge!
The Allegheny 100 Backpacking Challenge is an attempt to hike 100 miles in 50 hours in the Allegheny National Forest in Northwest Pennsylvania. This is NOT a race but rather an endurance event to challenge yourself on the 100 mile section of the North Country National Scenic Trail in the Allegheny National Forest. The trail is not difficult in terms of climbing and descending, but a 100 miles is a 100 miles.
Event Details: This year, we’ll be going Northbound! The event will be held starting on Friday, June 8th at 6 PM through Sunday, June 10th at 8 PM. The welcome table will be located at the PA 66 Trailhead, five miles South of Marienville and 1.2 miles North of Vowinkel.
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Just returned home from a 11 or 12 mile hike on the NCT in ANF (Sugar Bay to Chapel Bay) and most of what I thought about along the way is how the heck are those seekinf to hike all 100 miles going to navigate this in the dark as I slipped and stumbled in the bright sunshine.
Good Luck to all the participants. We’ll be watching for the results.
Al H ,,, At the time of year that the A-100 is conducted, we have approx. 18 hours of sunlight. So the amount of time spent in the dark is minimal. It does get tricky, especially when your in a Hemlock grove. This is all part of the challenge. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be fun.
Looks like fun and the NCT is one of my favorite trails. wish I was just five years younger and I would give you a run for your money.
not now though. Have fun.
Paul,,, There is always the 25 mile section of the A-100. This way you can hike with people that are yet to be your friends.
I live in the area and have hike this entire section a few times. Don’t let this section fool you…it is tough, rocky, humid, and the weather changes on a dime. The trail, although well marked is very rocky and dead fall and over growth is everywhere. If you plan on doing this, you better get lots of practice hiking in the dark, cuz this ain’t no slouch!!!
Al,,, this is definitely not a “walk in the park.” We have 100 miles of trail to upkeep and mother nature always throws us curves. Such as the most recent snowfall on April 23rd. Many trees have broken and fallen on the trail. Now comes the task of finding them and clearing the trail. Also, the multi-flora keeps growing. ( haven’[t found a way to stop this,, yet.)
Are their any cut off times? What gear do you recommend to hike with? What was the finish time last year for the 100, 50, 25 mile
The A-100 Challenge is to do your section in 50 hours. But, this is a personal challenge. Some hikers have decided it would take them longer to do the full 100 miles, so they take an extra day. Last year, we had one hiker do the full 100 miles in 45 hours. I was at the beginning and the end when he walked in. Good job. The 25 and 50 milers usually complete their sections in the allotted time.
I am hiking with 4 other people – We are doing the 50 mile challenge, and we plan on hiking it marathon style (We will take breaks, but not stop for extended periods)
This is our first time doing this event and none of us have been on this trail, so we are wondering what we should expect to find at the finish line – We obviously can’t predict when we will cross the finish line (Is there a distinct “line”? A point in which we know we’ve made it?), so it’s quite possible we could finish in the early AM hours of Sunday, or LATE Saturday night –
We could plan on driving home the moment we’re done, but if we only sleep for a few hours, and get to the finish at 3am, it is unwise/dangerous to drive the hour and a half home SO – Two questions to help us plan:
Question #1 – Assuming we will be sleeping overnight, on Saturday, after we’ve finished the hike, we will need some sort of sleeping accommodation, as we are only planning on taking an emergency shelter with us (so camping for 8 hours is not in the plans)
– Are there hotel rooms within walking distance of the finish line?
Question #2 – If we opt to decide to drive home immediately after finishing the hike, will there be shuttle service available back to our car (located at the beginning of the hike), and will it be available if we cross the line at 9pm/midnight/3am/6am etc, etc?
Also, there are five of us, and if we opt to spend the night somewhere before our return trip home, is there anyone living near the finish line that would be willing to board us for the night, and at whatever time we cross the finish line? Not sure what type of prices a hotel would be, so if this is an option, we would take it, but we won’t push for it unless someone is uber-willing to house smelly strangers for a few hours.
That poses our third question – if we spend the night sleeping somewhere, will there be shuttle options to get back to our car sometime Sunday morning? My guess is we will be anxious to get back to our homes as soon as possible, so what is the schedule of this shuttle?
Please reply via e-mail if you can, or just reply on this site – I will check back in a few days.
LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!
Aaron Crossman
Aaron C ,,,, Q. #1 The end point for the 50 milers is Henry’s Mills Trailhead. When your there, so is your car. The closest motel rooms are in Sheffield ( 6 miles away )which is actually a hostel-type campgrounds. Whispering Winds campgrounds have large common room with individual sleeping rooms. http://www.whisperingwindspa.com/ Aside from there, you must go to Warren Pa. or Kane, Pa. to get a motel room
Q #2,,, the shuttle service will be from the end of your hike to the beginning. So when you reach the end of your section, your car is waiting for you. If you finish at 3 AM, your car is ready to take you wherever you want to go. There will be no shuttle service from the end points to the beginning.
I’m doing the A-100 this year for the first time. Driving in from out of town the day before. Where is a decent hotel to stay at not far from the shuttle pick up point?
Erik, sent you an e-mail.
I can recommend Bradford Pa. as a good place for motels/ hotels. About 14 miles from the end point of the 100 milers. ( Willow Bay ) Just take Rt 346 north out of Bradford.
Thanks, I got the email. I will look into it. I am doing the full 100. Do I have to drive back to a hotel after, or is there a place at the end where you could pitch a tent if you wanted? I can’t wait for this hike! I’ve been looking forward to it since last June. Love the NCT, and I love endurance challenges.
Erik,,, the north end of the A-100 is right near a developed campgrounds, Willow Bay. Entrance is only about 1/4 mile from the trailhead. There are showers and small cottages, plus plenty of tent space. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/allegheny/recreation/camping-cabins/recarea/?recid=6119&actid=29
Good restuarants are just down the road, south on State Rt. 346. ( one at 2 miles and another at 4 miles )
OR, after you hit the your end point, just go in the woods and set up camp. The only restrictions in that area is that you are 1500 feet from the Allegheny Reservoir.
Cya June 8
Quick question about the shuttle service. So if we are doing the 50 mile, we would park at Henry’s Mills on Friday and a shuttle should take us to the start? If so, when should we aim to be at the 50 mile point on Friday? How frequent are the shuttles? We’d be driving from Toronto, Canada, so I gotta see how early I should escape work to go hiking!
The shuttle will leave Henry’s Mills at 4 PM. No other shuttle after that. Shuttle from Kelletville, 25 milers, will leave at 5 PM. And the 100 milers at 3 PM.
What is the earliest shuttle from A-100 finish to the start?
Any early shuttles if we start a day earlier? Or 2 days?
Are there decent campsites along the way if we stop to sleep? And water?
I’m just chipping away at the whole NCT, and it would be fun to be part of this on the trail, even if I don’t expect to do it in 50 hours!
Marilyn, we only offer shuttles on the start day of the A-100. The 100 milers will leave their end point at 3 PM on June 8th, the 50 milers at 4 PM, and the 25 milers at 5 PM.
The ANF promotes diversified camping. The campsites are anywhere you decide to pitch your tent. There are 2 shelters as of now, Amsler Springs, ( 6.7 miles from the start point) and Hunter’s Station, ( 41 miles ) Water is plentiful all along the trail, please filter all water.
The start of the A-100 is at 6 PM on June 8th. If you want to take more than 50 hours on the trail, your welcome to do this. Please inform everyone you plan on doing this so no one is worried that your not out of the woods by 8 PM on the 10th.
Keith,
I am planning on doing the 100 miler with a friend and have a questions:
1. I am a little confused with your response to Marilyn-When we finish the 100 miles on Sunday, will there be a shuttle to bring us back to the starting point or will we need to arrange alternative transportation to get back to our cars? Or do we drive to the end point, park and are shuttled to the beginning?
2. Are there any rules (e.g. having a support team, etc.)
3. What is to be expected at the end of the 100 miles (e.g. NCT team to great finishers, etc.) More questions to follow-Thanks!
I can answer these ones for you. Keith is probably really busy getting the trail ready.
1. You will leave YOUR vehicle at the end of the section of trail you are hiking. The shuttle takes you back to the beginning of the hike. You are hiking back to YOUR car.
2. This is a self-supported challenge. No support teams. It is a backpacking challenge.
3. There may be a few people at the end. Keith may need to chime in here. Year 1, there was no one at the end. Year 2, there were a cadre of supporters at the finish.
I wondered about the “finish” too – just walk out of the woods ‘yay, you’re done!’ and there is no one there to see you, or verify that you actually made it
I’ll be so happy if I actually make it back to my car that I probably wouldn’t care anyhow!
Can anyone hit me with the address/ crossroads/ coordinates (you get the picture) of where to park at the 100 mile finish? DO we just park at Willow Bay campground?
Shelly,,, there is a parking area on Rt 346 just south of Willow Bay campgrounds about 1/2 mile. Right click on the map above at Willow Bay and it will give you the GPS co-ords.
Do we get a trail map? When is the last day for enrollment and how many people are currently signed up for it?
Kurt, I will have maps for the 25 and the 50 milers to show water, camping, etc. Nothing for the full 100 because you guys will be on the move too much. But, you can purchase a map from the NCTA store, map PA-01. This has the whole trail in the ANF.
Keith, some of the trail has to be on PA-02, right? I bought PA-01, and added the distances between points and only came up with 81 miles from the end up to the NY border. I believe we start right off route 66, and for that the 100 milers might want PA-02 as well I think.
The first 10 miles (or so) is on PA-02.
The rest the A-100 is on PA-01.
Does anyone have any idea on a percentage rate for successful completion of the 100 miles in 50 hours ? from the comments i see one guy finished in 45 hours…. is he like the lone survivor here? I am guessing no one may know because it does sound like you walk out of woods pat yourself on the back and drive away but if we are talking 99.9% failure here i may modify my plans.
Adam, I was at the beginning when Mike Merry and all the rest started, took pictures. When I rode around on Sunday, I found a disabled hiker on a road and gave him a ride to the end point. I was there when Mike walked in, also took pictures. If your talking strickly 100 milers, then the percentage rate for completion is very low. If you add in the 25 and 50 milers, it’s the other way around. I would say all of the 25 and 50 milers made it. This is not a walk in the park. We make sure the trail is clear and well marked but, can’t do anything about the terrain. We do try to make the hills “seem” a little easier to summit.
100 miles is tough any place. But this is a true BACKPACKING challenge. This is not your back yard park walking path. This is challenging. I’m coming back and am absolutely not sure I will finish. A lot can happen in 100 miles. However, I can offer some advice if you want to give yourself the best shot you can to finish. Be brutal with your pack weight. Pare it down to as little as you need. I carried no tent, sleeping bag or rain gear. I carry a silk sleeping bag liner, a bivy sack and foam pad. When it rained at night, I hiked through it rather than try to sleep. You have to keep moving. Get your water on the go. Eat while you hike. This is a CHALLENGE hike and in keeping with challenging yourself, you simply cannot treat it like a regular backpacking trip. I want to see more finishers and am happy to offer any advice to that end.
I wish I could participate in the event. To bad my college graduation ceremony is taking place the morning of the 10th! I hope everyone has loads of fun. I am jealous!
Another tip for the 100 milers:
I made 85 miles in the first Allegheny 100 before I bailed. I attributed sore, tender and swollen feet to my inability to finish. I had the time as I quit at 1:00 on Sunday with 7 hours to spare to hike the final 15.
Last year, I wore a pair of trail runners a full size too big and swelled into them over the course of the hike. That made the difference for me. I also carried a couple pairs of socks (my great luxury) of different thicknesses and changed them accordingly. My feet were tender at the end, but I could have kept going if I’d had to.