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Keichhorn

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Hey all! 

Other than fossil hunting backpacking is my biggest hobby. I want to combine the two but am having a hard time finding a good hike with at least 2 locations to stop and dig around. I was looking at some trails in north carolina but I know most places within walking distance of the trails are a no go on collecting. Im looking for something between 20-30 miles, not a big deal if it's smaller. Anywhere within the eastern United States would be ideal. 

Here's some photos from my favorite hikes last year. Not big ones just a couple 3-5 miles in michigan and Ohio and one 22 miler in michigan. 

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6 hours ago, Keichhorn said:

Other than fossil hunting backpacking is my biggest hobby. I want to combine the two but am having a hard time finding a good hike with at least 2 locations to stop and dig around.

Some decades ago, I was something like a hiker myself, walking to the tops of some of the not so complicated mountains in my area, just to be there. Now I have given up this behaviour completely. No mountain tops any longer. Just hiking along various kinds of forest roads, creek beds and ridges all day long to search for new fossil sites.

Good luck!

Franz Bernhard

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I understand your plight completely. I just stalk geologic maps and google maps until I find what seems to be a super isolated exposure, and I bushwhack or creek stomp for ages to get there. I'm never covering backpacking distances when doing so though, but the adventure of doing something like this off trail will compensate for you I think.

 

The only con about exploring unknown spots like that (besides miscellaneous scrapes or bruises) is that you'll often realize you've pursued a dud - but when you do find your own, isolated exposure this way, it feels like you've earned it. Best of luck

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“Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think” -Werner Heisenberg 

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When I was laid off in 2019, I thought this was something I'd do in the Pennsylvania "Grand Canyon". Yes, that is apparently a thing in north central PA. There are trails, I believe are old railway tracks that must have exposures. Not entirely sure about the legality of collecting there but I had and still have a bunch of sites and now Red Hill again to keep me busy on highways so I never did but still in the back of my mind. How cool would that be!

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10 hours ago, Paul1719 said:

When I was laid off in 2019, I thought this was something I'd do in the Pennsylvania "Grand Canyon". Yes, that is apparently a thing in north central PA. There are trails, I believe are old railway tracks that must have exposures. Not entirely sure about the legality of collecting there but I had and still have a bunch of sites and now Red Hill again to keep me busy on highways so I never did but still in the back of my mind. How cool would that be!

I know what your talking about in Pennsylvania. I think its apart of the Alleghany watershed. I went once with my gf family and have been itching to go on the trails out there. There are a couple places where you can collect out there but it's not near the trails. I havent done a bunch of research on it though so I will get back to you if I find anything worth noting! 

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Yes, Little Pine Creek runs through it emptying into the west branch of the Susquehanna. Little Pine Creek starts somewhere up on Rt 6. Me and my son found a site along Rt 6 in Galeton, PA. Mostly Bothriolepis fauna but found a pretty cool lungfish tooth plate too. 

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