The Duncannon Outdoor Club sponsored a hike on Saturday, August 17th on the mountain land belonging to the Takach family. It was a great hike with lots to see. We found many animal signs: scats, galls, feathers, tracks, rubs, food litter, trails, bones, and dens. Seeing a doe and her fawn on the way to the hiking sight provided an exciting beginning.

Once on the property we started looking for signs. The most startling find was the 4 foot black snake the hike leader, Debra Takach, almost stepped on. It was sunning itself in a field. We found lots of scats, but the most interesting looked like the bear scats illustrated in the field guides. It would not be far fetched if it was truly bear scats, because the Takach family has had 3 visits from a mother bear and her yearling on their deck. The turkey scratchings we found were littered with scats and down turkey feathers. The turkeys were no doubt molting. An interesting set of deer tracks provided us with a mystery. It was obvious from the front tracks that the deer had stomped its front feet followed by right front foot scratching or pawing. Our guess was a buck was standing its ground and giving a warning to someone or something. All in all it was a wonderful day hike.

Come out to our next hike which has been moved to the 2nd Saturday in September (Sept. 14th) instead of our usual 3rd Saturday of the month. More information regarding this hike is forthcoming.