I have not run this reach yet, but it sounds like a lot of fun. I am hoping to run Pithole with a couple guys this Spring. It is not far from Franklin and if you get there and there is not enough water, it should not be a wasted trip as the East Sandy will be running. For right now, I shall forward the information I do know from the 1989 edition of the _Canoeing Guide to Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia_...
"Description: This small stream drains an area that once boasted a major oil community that is now a ghost town. A mostly wilderness hemlock valley is all that remains with a stream that paddlers are slowly discovering. The run is roughly split by a stone bridge on a secondary road east of Plumer. The run starting at Pithole offers a very small, meandering headwater stream with gradient increasing towards the stone bridge. Active oil and gas wells can be found along the otherwise deserted valley. About a mile below the stone bridge, a blind left turn leads to a 2 - 3 foot ledge. This is the first in a series of half a dozen that punctuate the next 1.5 miles of almost continuous Class III rock-dodging. At medium levels all offer straight passage, but this is not always obvious, so it is worth scouting them. The stream gradually flattens out again for the junction with the Allegheny, offering good whitewater to within sight of the mouth.
Difficulties: Potential for tree problems. First mile below the stone bridge is very continuous. Several narrow drops have potential for pins."
Stephen Zerefos and Rand McFarland or others: If you have any more information you can add to this, please let me know and I will add it. My email address is
jj14231999@yahoo.com