It's a picnic and more!
Picnic: It will be the traditional pot-luck picnic. Bring
food. Bring non-alcoholic drink. Bring snacks. Bring desert. Bring
something and share. The pavilion has emplaced charcoal grills.
I'll bee bringing ham barbecue for sandwiches and some pop. I'll
also have charcoal for the grill should anyone want to fire that
up.
Kayaking: I will be making arrangements with Saltsburg
River and Trail for a kayaking or canoeing trip. Participants will
park in Saltsburg at 9am, sign waivers, pay their fee ($21 a person
if we can get the group rate for more than 10 participants) and be
driven to the Conemaugh Dam put-in. From there it's several hours
of paddling back to Saltsburg including a boat-accessible cache
along the way
(
GC12PT7 Doobie Cache). Once back in Saltsburg, pick up your car
and drive to the dam for the rest of the picnic. Of course, people
who have their own kayaks and canoes are welcome to bring them.
Saltsburg River and Trail will shuttle them for a small fee and
there is also, of course, the Conemaugh Reservoir nearby.
Dam Tour: I have made arrangements with the Army Corps of
Engineers to have a tour of the Conemaugh Dam. This will take place
in the afternoon at a time yet to be determined (after the kayakers
have returned, about 2pm). There is no fee for the dam tour but
there are some important requirements: Attendees must be US
citizens. They must be over 18 and able to provide government
issued photo ID. I'll need to have a list of names a week in
advance. The dam is not handicap accessible. Photography is not
permitted inside the dam itself (take all you like of the outside).
This is really cool and I highly recommend it.
Hiking and Biking:
The West Penn Trail runs right through the recreation area and
there are three Geocaches within a short walk. If you want to
travel further, it's 6 miles by bicycle to Saltsburg through State
Game Lands 328 and along the former Pennsylvania Mainline Canal and
it's 5 miles in the other direction across 4 bridges and the scenic
Conemaugh Reservoir. There are at least 10 caches accessible from
the trail.
West Penn Trail Flickr Photoset
General Play: The Conemaugh Recreation Area has a
children's playground and lots of grassy open area. You could walk
down to the Conemaugh and play in the river (use all due caution,
it is a river, after all). You could go fishing with the
appropriate license.
GPS Games: I have made no plans for temporary caches or
other GPS games. If anyone would be interested in organizing such
things, contact me.
Watch this space for updates!