Survivor's Rock
Posted by: 
RedBat
N 41° 21.836 W 078° 04.164
17T E 745120 N 4583302
Site where several CCC boys fighting the Pepper Hill wildfire were able to survive while eight other boys nearby did not.
Waymark Code: WMHH8M
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/11/2013
Views: 19
At 11:10AM on the morning of October 19, 1938, the Hunts Run Civilian Conservation Camp (CCC) S-132 received a phone call from District Forester Charles Baer requesting that someone be dispatched to check a reported fire in the vicinity of Sinnamahoning. Truck driver George Poloski was immediately sent to investigate. What was about to unfold was a tragedy of errors that would cost the lives of seven boys and their adult supervisor. Read the complete story at www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/The_Pepper_Hill_Fire_of_1938.pdf.
NOTE: Follow the trail, not your GPSr. You may be tempted to simply follow your GPS unit, especially when the trail switches back and the waymark is so close, but don’t give in to temptation – stick to the trail until the end. Your safety depends upon it. The trail switchbacks a hill so steep that at some points it made me dizzy. Hard to imagine the CCC boys fighting a fire on this hill carrying water tanks, but they did.
Parking - N41 21.346 W78 03.974 From route 872 – a trail follows along Pepper Hill Run for 2.5 miles, climbing 1,000 feet to the rock. Parking involves pulling off the road at the widest spot you can find (just north of the guard rail end – west side of the road). Short hike south (other end of the guard rail) to the trail head – yellow blazes. At the top of Pepper Hill you will see the “Survivor’s Rock” sign - take the trail spur out to the “rock” (trail ends at a double blaze just above the rock) and realize what those boys must have faced all those years ago. The rock and the history are the reason for your trip to this spot.
A monument was erected a short time after the fire to those who did not survive. The Memorial Springs Monument is located along Route 120 at N 41 28.840 W 78 11.867.
Type of Structure: other
Other: Large boulder.
Fire Date: 10/19/1938
Structure status: Plaque
Cause of Fire:
Back fire jumped the fire line.
Documentation of the fire: [Web Link]
Construction Date: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Give a narrative of your experience. Did you learn anything after reading about the fire in the waymark? Photos are always welcome too. Please no virtual visits.