Poe Paddy 2
With limited options, but the desire to get out of the house, on a recent Sunday afternoon we decided to trek 15 mile off US-322 into the Bald Eagle State Forest on a narrow gravel road (Sand Mountain Road) to hike through Poe Paddy Tunnel. I previously blogged about the tunnel (2/16/18), but my last visit was in 2011 with my brother, and Sue had not been there for a dozen years.
The Poe Patty tunnel and a sister tunnel a few miles away near Coburn, were built in the 1870s as part of the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad, which connected the isolated logging community of Poe Mills with lumber markets to the north and south. The tight horse shoe path of Penns Creek around West Paddy Mountain and between adjacent mountains created the need for the tunnel. The rail line was abandoned sixty years ago by the final owner, the Pennsylvania Rail Road. Over that period, the Poe Paddy Tunnel and about three miles of connecting rail bed became the Penns Creek Rail-Trail and part of the nearby Poe Paddy State Park (a 1930s CCC project), and the Mid-State Trail was directed through it (initially the hiking tail went around West Paddy Mountain along the edge of the creek).
The tunnel, which was not lined and home to a bat colony, was closed between 2013-15 to address some safety concerns, to protect an important bat colony, and make other improvements. A 12 ft diameter steel liner with a concrete floor and drainage system was added the entire 260 ft length of the tunnel. The liner separates bikers and hikers from the bats and their droppings, and the occasional rock that fell from the ceiling. Previously it could be quite disconcerting to be surprised by the sounds of bats taking off or thinking about bat droppings or a piece of rock possibly hitting you, especially if you did not have a light. Even then, because the tunnel is curved, you cannot see through it.
Additionally, a facing wall was added to the north end with a bat entrance above, and a wall just inside the south end (originally built to keep ATVs from using the tunnel) was restructure to accommodate the 12 ft liner. It includes a vent-like door above for the bats. Also, the decking and railings on the original rail road bridge across Penns Creek that is just to the north of the tunnel, were replaced.
In the following photo the last 50 ft of the liner is lit with a flash light. The echo effect inside is amazing.
South End: At the left is the older inner wall with a 5 ft diameter opening built to prevent ATVs from using the tunnel. At the right is the new inner wall with a separate, square bat entrance/exit above. From here, the Penns Creek Rail Trail continues south for about 2.5 miles at which point it turns into a township road, which is on the old rail bed.
North End: At the left is the original non-faced north entrance. At the right is a newly added facing wall with a bat entrance/exit above (not visible):
New bridge decking and railing have been added with pilings at both ends (not visible) to prevent ATVs from crossing. The north entrance to the tunnel is about 50 yards beyond the far end of the bridge as pictured below. The cabin shown in the top photo sits just off the bridge to the left on the tunnel side of Penns Creek.
A hand-full of the original buildings remain from the village of Poe Mills, and a number of other cabins and seasonal homes have been added. These three are located about 100 yards north of the bridge (and tunnel). What looks like a street in front of the three buildings is the original rail bed. It crosses Penns Creek again about 300 yards further north, but that bridge was removed, so hikers and bikers cannot easily continue onto Colburn and through the sister tunnel - the "Beaver Dam" tunnel.
