On day 4, Dan and I start the day long before dawn to knock out the final 21 miles of the STS. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise and the best weather of the entire trip with a cool morning in the upper forties and sunshine and low humidity in the afternoon. We passed three more shelters which we used as brief rest stops. Passing through Patterson State Park offered bathrooms, picnic pavilions, and a water pump which was appreciated after the hike up to the park. The final stretch back to the Northern Gateway offered several nice campsites with water.
Overall the STS was a nice trip however it did not have many vistas and the trail was overgrown in many areas due to it's remoteness so plan accordingly if you attempt this hike in the summer months. If I did this hike again, I'd probably do it in the early spring to limit the overgrowth. If you're looking for a remote area to hike with limited other hikers, the STS is definitely a great trail as we didn't see any other hikers during the four day trip. A huge perk of this trail are the many shelters that are spaced about every 8-10 miles. They are well constructed and many had water caches if there wasn't water nearby. The shelters make great spots to both camp and offers hikers somewhere to get out of the weather during the day.
6 окт 2024
