Packsaddle Gap is very pretty, formed where the Conemaugh River cuts through Chestnut Ridge between Bolivar and Blairsville. This gorge is about 1,310 feet deep. This gap is the second deepest in Pennsylvania.
Packsaddle Gap also is publicly owned as State Game Lands No. 153. From Packsaddle Gap to Blairsville is a two-mile area with many remnants of the old Pennsylvania Canal. Below Packsaddle, the river enters Conemaugh River Lake, a large flood-control reservoir managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The gap's excellent game is the source of it's ghost. This valley is haunted by a hunter who accidentally shot his girlfriend when he was hunting for deer. Although this accident happened at the turn of the century, his guilt keeps him there, perhaps to warn others. Please heed the following warning if you go hiking there or looking for the ghost: During the peak deer season (November 15 - December 15, except Sundays), you must "wear a minimum of 250 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange-colored material on the head, chest and back combined or, in lieu thereof, a hat of the same colored material. The material shall be worn so it is visible in a 360° arc".