6 hrs, 14 kms

Actual date: May 27, 2015

In Pennsylvania you mostly find one of two extremes: either the sprawling, overdeveloped areas in the plains and wide river valleys, like Pittsburgh area, Scranton-Wilkes Barre and the Harrisburg-Philadephia-Allentown triangle ... or you have the mountainous areas with just scattered random towns an small cities.

Logan Valley it seems is a bit in between. A fairly narrow strip of valley with mountains on all sides, it still seems to have developed into a fairly significant industrial hub of its own--so I'm looking forward to discovering it and adding it to my hike. It's also the first significant Pennsyvania "civilization" that I'm discovering for the first time in a long while.

One minute I'm walking through the narrow, isolated Little Juniata Gorge... the next minute I find myself in downtown Tyrone, my first town in Logan Valley. And I like this town right away. It's got a nice little Main Street which ends with an old paper factory right next to the mountain. On the west side the houses are also pressed right against the wooded slopes, giving it a cozy, old school industrial mountain town feel. Many of these houses are quite beautiful as well--giant homes each with their unique flair--turrets, vine covered walls... some showing their age a bit, but still beautiful. Somehow with the rain and the lush scenery this reminds me of Western Oregon somehow.

But beneath the surface things are not all perfect. Turns out Tyrone has been steadily losing population since the 1920s. I notice at Burger King that out of 7 employees, 6 of them (men and women) look like they're in their 30s or 40s. I'm guessing that that tells something about the shortage of decent job opportunities in this area.

Still, I'd say Tyrone has managed to keep its dignity through nearly a century of decline. So, thumbs up for this town.