It was a cold start to a great day. We had 9 brave hikers who weathered the 19 degree temperatures, including one hiker who lives in California! We began our hike on the East Loop Trail. Once on the steep power line connector trail we followed Janie Trail where we ran into problems. It was too icy for those without Yak Traks or Micro Spikes, so we had to go off trail to reach the top of the mountain. While we broke a “Leave No Trace” policy, the priority was the safety of the hikers. We had planned on hooking up with the Coach Trail, Creek Trail and return on the Pond Trail, but icy conditions required we cut the hike short. We ended staying on Janie Trail, intersecting Lower Springs Trail and following it back to the parking lot.

Prior to starting the hike we had a brief presentation on Black Bears in the education pavilion. It started with the “true – false” test below. Try taking it yourself and see how well you do before reading on for the answers.

QUESTIONS:

1. Two species of black bears live in the wild in PA – the grizzly bear and the black bear.
2. The main food of the black bear is meat.
3. The best way to keep away from black bears is to climb a tree.
4. Scientist determine the age of a black bear by counting the rings on a bear’s tooth.
5. Black bears can be black, brown, and even cinnamon color.
6. In PA bear cubs are born in April.
7. Black bear cubs usually weigh around 5 lbs. when they are born,
8. Black bears are true hibernators.
9. Black bears return to the same den year after year.
10. Black bears will not den near people.
11. Black bears can go almost six months without eating, drinking, or excreting.
12. Black bears will climb trees to take a rest during the day.
13. Because of their large size black bears are slow.
14. Feeding black bears in the wild is unlawful.
15. Black bear populations in PA are low because of lack of habitat.

Whew! Did you make it through all those questions? Let’s see how well you did. Now for the answers…. Continue reading →

The weather for our November hike was a little cold. When we got there the thermometer registered 29 degrees, but once we got started things began to warm up. Our first stop was at the lookout on Lookout Trail. We spent a little time there looking for the raptors listed as migrating November 15th, which included: the Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Goshawk, and Vulture. Continue reading →

The Duncannon Outdoor Club at Ricketts Glen

Our hike to Ricketts Glen State Park was a little wet, but we still had a great time.  Mother Nature rained on us off and on, but we did not let that dampen our spirits.  The falls were beautiful since it had rained a few days before and water levels were high.  You could hear the roar of the falls all along the trail.

We had the privilege to hear Judy Adamac, the park naturalist, as she spoke about the history of Ricketts Glen, past logging practices, trail safety, and the best way to hike the Falls Trail.  She recommended we change our plan and go down the less steep side and go up the steeper side since trails were so wet and slippery.  We followed her recommendation on the Falls Trail, but chose to hike Highland Trail back to the beach parking lot where we started instead of taking Bear Trail back.

We learned a lot about Colonel Robert Bruce Ricketts, who fought in the a Civil War.  At one time he  owned or had control over 80,000 acres of land Continue reading →