Duncannon Outdoor Club November Hike to Flat Rock

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The weather was beautiful for the Flat Rock Hike at Colonel Denning State Park. It was a tough climb but well worth it when we got to see the view. Unfortunately we did not see any Black Vultures since they had already migrated. We did see one Turkey Vulture in migration mode.
On the way back, Sean suggested we loop down the Tuscarora Trail to the Lehman Trail to the wheel where the trails intersect with the Flat Rock Trail down to the trail head. It proved a nice return trip. We also heard Santa’s sleigh bells in the woods which turned out to be a labrador with a bell for hunting season. The dog and its owner were both very friendly.

When at the top of Flat Rock we took a few minutes to discuss the differences between the Black Vulture and Turkey Vulture.  The Turkey Vulture being about 30 inches in length, with wingspans up to 6 feet while the Black Vulture is approximately 24  inches in length, with a wingspan less than 5 feet.  The Turkey Vulture has a long tail and the Black Vulture has a shorter tail.  These differences allow the Turkey Vulture to soar the thermals better than the Black Vulture.  A Turkey Vulture holds its wings in a “V” during flight, rarely flaps and wobbles while soaring.  The Black Vulture will flap its wings more, does not wobble and Continue reading →

DATC Newsletter – November 2013

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Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community LogoNEXT MEETING: The Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting Tuesday, December 17th at 6:30 PM in the Duncannon Christ Lutheran Church located at 115 Church Street.  RSVP is not required but it’s greatly appreciated.  Our agenda will focus on next year’s 2014 Duncannon A.T. Community Festival and we’ll discuss the progress we’ve made in the past month and further increasing meeting attendance.

OUR PREVIOUS MEETING: The November 19th DATC meeting was a great success with more than a dozen people arriving to show their support.  Charlie Johnson has received approval for the Susquehanna Rovers to organize a hike on June 21st to coincide with the day of our festival.  Our greatest accomplishment was finding volunteers to take on more than 30 different tasks related to making the DATC festival a success.  In fact, I’m so proud of all of the volunteers that I want to publish their names here along with the tasks they’re working on but since I’m not familiar with the etiquette of publishing volunteer names without their permission, I’ll just use their initials. Continue reading →

December 17th, 2013 DATC Meeting

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Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community LogoThe Duncannon Appalachian Trail Community Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting Tuesday, December 17th at 6:30 PM in the Duncannon Christ Lutheran Church located at 115 Church Street.  RSVP is not required but it’s greatly appreciated.  Our agenda will focus on next year’s 2014 Duncannon A.T. Community Festival, the progress that our volunteers have made, Appalachian Audubon Society participation, local car dealer participation, Sportsman’s Club participation, potential shuttle service during the festival, the progress we’ve made in the past month and further increasing meeting attendance among Duncannon residents.

THERE WILL BE FREE PIZZA AND SODA! Send in your RSVP to help us determine how much pizza we should buy.  Special thanks to Patrick Collins for paying for this month’s pizza!  In the past, the pizza was paid for by Trisha Sanders, Dennis Hurley, the DATC and Neal Brofee.  Contact datc@duncannonatc.org if you or your group would like to contribute to the DATC Meeting Pizza Fund.

The church where we’re holding our meeting accepts any unwanted used clothes that are still in good shape.  If you’ve been looking for a place to donate your old clothes that no longer fit after losing weight while hiking the trails, then this is a great opportunity to help the Duncannon community.  All clothes are first offered to Duncannon residents and what is not claimed goes to Community Aid which is a reputable non profit organization.

Anyone who would like to be involved with the DATC, offer guidance or influence its policies is welcome to attend our meetings. You might find a volunteer opportunity that suits you in any number of fields such as: planning our next 2014 DATC Festival, fundraising, supporting the Duncannon Outdoors Club, learning about Appalachian Trail maintenance and inspiring people to enjoy outdoor activities in the Duncannon area.