Allegany 18 Challenge - Flagg Trail - Attempt #1 - A Teachable Moment

So for my final trek before heading home from vacation I decided to do Flagg trail which is another trail that is not a loop.

You can enter at either the trail head by Quaker Beach or from the trail head by Cain Hollow.

Before attempting Flagg trail there are a few things you should know.

1.  The Allegany 18 Challenge packet lists the trail as 1.3 miles but both trail heads list the distance as 3 miles.   Believe the trail head signage and not the packet.

2.  Flagg trail is notorious as the muddiest trail in the park even in the best of conditions.   Be prepared for the mud.

3.  Have a plan for how to get from one end of the trail to the other.

Let me start off by saying that you should always plan and prepare for any trek you do.  This includes taking the proper equipment, checking weather and letting someone know where you are, what your itinerary is and when you plan to return.

For today's hike I want to show you what can happen when you fail to do the above.

Flagg Trail Head Kiosk

Trail Name: Flagg

Trail Length: 3 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Time Needed: ???

Do not try this on your own and if you find yourself in a similar situation plan for it in advance.

Before heading out on today's hike I talked with my wife and let her know what trail I was hiking and How long I would take a on my trip (I gave myself 4 hours to complete the trail).

I then proceeded to take extra water and food and set out on my journey.  I left my vehicle parked at Quaker Beach and had my wife drop me off at the Cain Hollow trail head.

That's when the rain started. 

Mistake #1 - I knew based on the radar and forecast that the rain would last for at least another hour (until 3:00 PM) but it didn't look that bad.   I decided to proceed with the hike anyway and thought that the rain might just cool me down.

What I Should Have Done....

1. Cancel my hike and return to my car and back to camp to hike another day.

2. Brought proper rain gear for my hike.

3. Ask my wife to wait at the trail head for a period of time to ensure this was a good idea and I was still proceeding with the hike.

Mistake #2 - I told my wife I was going to hike on as planned and she should return to camp.  I would meet back up with her when done. I then proceeded to check out the trail maps on the trail head sign and off into the woods I went.

Remember, this is the muddiest of all trails even in good conditions.  This day was just the opposite. It had been a rainy week and it was now raining.   I started my ascent uphill and immediately ran into the mud.

My first thought, this is going to be a miserable day....

That's when the torrential downpour started. 

At this point I was about 0.5 miles into the hike and still have another 2.5 miles to go.

I intentionally started at the Cain Hollow side for a few reasons. 

1. If I had to abandon the hike early the Cain Hollow trail head is right next to the registration and check-in office for the Cain Hollow area of the park.  If needed I could return here for assistance.

2. There are are a couple of animal trails and social trails that come off from the Cain Hollow end of the trail.

3. There is a powerline trail the runs down the hill less than halfway into the hike from the Cain Hollow trail head.

4. If I had started from the Quaker Beach area I have the beach house close by and the Quaker Beach parking lot which gets a lot of traffic but no quick exits from the trail without turning around.

5. On the day I did this hike Quaker Beach was closed so traffic was very light.

I decided to abandon the hike at this time and used one of the social trails to return to the Cain Hollow end of the trail.

Mistake #3 - Instead of returning to the Cain Hollow registration office, I decided that I had gotten myself into this mess and I would get myself out.

What I should have done...

1. Return to the Cain Hollow registration office and ask for assistance or at least a ride to my vehicle at Quaker Beach.

2. Use one of the courtesy phones to contact my wife or someone else to come get me.

3. Gone inside at the registration building or somewhere similar to wait out the storm.

What I did...

I proceeded to walk along the road from Cain Hollow to Quaker Beach.    I'm already drenched so it can't get much worse....

The walk along the road was miserable.   Each step felt heavier and heavier and my clothes felt like they were adding another 100lbs of weight.

I made it about halfway to the beach before giving in and realizing I had taken the lesson far enough.

Self reflection of a valuable lesson learned.

NOTE:  The shirt in the picture above started out as a light grey at the beginning of the day and this picture was taken after I had a chance to dry out some...

I want to say thank you to the Quaker Beach Snack Shop employee that stopped on his way out of work to ask if I needed a ride.

I gladly accepted and was given a ride back to my vehicle.  I returned to camp and quickly changed into dry clothes.

Disclaimer: I started today's hike planning to use it as a teachable moment and kept a number of safegaurds in place where I could stop the lesson if things became to dangerous. 

None of us are immune to not planning and preparing for every potential outcome.    Always take the extra time to prepare and ensure that you have thought of as many possibilities as you can and be prepared for each of those outcomes.

I will be back to try Flagg again but next time it will be in idea conditions and with a plan for success and not failure.

Trails completed 4, 14 more to go.