Clarion River and Allegheny National Forest river camp (Worst Camp EVER, don't come here 😜)

Clarion River near Sigel, PA (ANF)

We had to travel to Pittsburgh for work and came to a few critical conclusions:

Flying to Pittsburgh is not necessarily faster than driving and might take longer when considering security, flight delays, and general pain that airports are
Driving on the day and driving a few days in advance are the same, just need to know where to stay if you arrive early
The Allegheny National Forest is beautiful and the weather report is favorable
Camping in the National Forrest is cheap or free if you look around

So we rounded up the tent, sleeping bags, thermarests, and canoe and filled one half the car. Put computer demo hardware, business apropos clothes, and other professional accoutrement in the other half of the car and hit the road. The concept initially was that could drive straight to Pittsburgh, drop off the work things then head into the forest and find a spot to sleep. But as the day slid past, I had to drive straight into the woods and find a place before I lost all light.

A nice bend in the river

We took the turnpike until I-80 and I-76 diverge and had to keep north and a bit further east to reach the Clarion River near Sigel, PA where research online had hinted at free or cheap camping was available for dispersed sites and along the river. So we took a chance to find something. After driving up and down the river after already 5 hours on the road we happened upon a site seemingly inhabited only by 3 dogs, 1 vandwelling, and a tent for the dogs. Missing seemed to be an additional vehicle, some boats, and the people. Hoping that the incumbent campers would accept me joining their site we parked, unloaded the boat, and started exploring the river.

Sharing is Caring: A troop of wild northern Pennsylvanians willingly accepted us into their group

Coda, Zoar, and Tucker (and their human pets Jody, Nate, and Justine) shared the camp with us peacefully and even shared their bountiful meals. Best fur babies ever, their humans were similarly hospitable.

Warm nights and no rain? No fly on me!

The campsite was right on a bend in the Clarion, there were plenty of pads to set the tent upon. But those remaining were a bit deeper in the woods, closer to the road, and not what we wanted. But across the river there were nice flat spots that seemed ideal to set up on. So once we had a nice dinner and a few drinks by the campfire with our new friends it was time for StringGirl and Eric to load their gear into the canoe and paddle across to the "Worst River Camp Flatrock Annex".