I recently "discovered" about 4,000 acres of quasi-public land on
the northern part of Chestnut Ridge in Westmoreland County that
didn't have a cache. I had to fix that! This vast area of rugged
natural beauty is being called the "Trout Run Woods Preserve". It
has been closed to the general public for more than a decade but it
has changed ownership recently and the new owners welcome
responsible visitors for as long as they will tread lightly on the
landscape.
You will probably see some of these signs on your way to the cache.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the rules of the
property. You are a guest of the landowners and you should conduct
yourself accordingly. Please obey all posted rules and do a little
CITO to show your appreciation to our gracious hosts. If you see
any illegal dumps, please waypoint them and send the information to
me. If you observe any rules violations, please report them.
It ain't easy to get to this cache. The key to getting there is
a little-used byway that runs over the ridge from Route 217 to
Route 259. The western half of this road from Millwood to the crest
of the ridge is called Millwood Hollow Road (T-849). This is the
most direct route to the cache if you are approaching from the
west. You can get to the start of Millwood Hollow Road by turning
from Route 217 between Blairsville and Derry at 40° 21.159', -79°
16.873'. It's about 3 miles from here to the trailhead on the crest
of the ridge at 40° 19.957', -79° 14.227'. This road is pretty
rough and narrow but you should be able to drive right up it IF you
have a rugged, high-clearance vehicle. You probably won't make it
in an ordinary passenger car unless you are very, very lucky and
I'm here to tell you that you should not try. If your vehicle
doesn't have the right stuff, you can sneak up the back way because
the eastern half of the road is in much better shape. It's called
Fire Tower Road (T-980) on the Fairfield Township side of the
mountain and you can get to the start of it from Derry Ridge Road
or Route 259. It begins at 40° 19.530', -79° 12.840' and ends where
it meets Millwood Hollow Road at the crest of the ridge. It's about
two miles up this road to the trailhead. The Mighty Colt made it up
without difficulty but I wouldn't want to try it again in anything
less than ideal weather conditions. The final approach to the cache
is a side road that leads from the crest of the ridge to a
communications tower complex at the summit. This road is usually
closed to unauthorized motor vehicles which means that you'll
probably have to hike the last ½ mile or so to the cache. There is
a terrific view from the top if you do this cache on a clear day.
Use your GPS to locate the USX Tower on the horizon at 40° 26.395',
-79° 59.720'.
Warning: Unlicensed motor vehicles, ATVs and dirt bikes are not
permitted on the property. There are numerous side roads that you
could explore with your Jeep or SUV but virtually all of them are
clearly posted "No Motorized Vehicles". Please stick with the main
road to avoid possible trespass and offending the landowner. If
that isn't enough, you should know that the game commission patrols
the area regularly and they will cite you if you are caught. You
could lose your drivers license in the bargain.
