canoe creek state park- hiking through history

Just outside of Altoona, PA off of Rt. 22 is a beautiful little park, canoe creek.  There no tenting or trailer camping sites at this park, however there are modern cabins for those who wish to go that route.  Being fairly close to Altoona, though, allows for many people to take advantage of the day use areas, which include many hiking trails and a beautiful lake.

The park is built near the site of old limestone kilns and limestone quarries, which lend for some interesting sites along the multiple trails in the park.  The easiest of which leads right to the remains of the kilns and is flat and well maintained.
The kilns themselves are just a fraction of what they were, but are still impressive.  A sign tells hikers about what happened over 100 years ago at the site.  It explains how the miners would extract the limestone and bring it down the steep hillside to where the kilns were located.  The sign goes onto show what the kilns looked like when they were in operation.  It was quite the operation.  For those interested in learning more about the limestone mines and kilns, a beautiful model is on display in the visitor center.

Across a small stream from the kilns is the remains of a quarry where limestone was mined.  While it is getting a bit overgrown now, it is easy to imagine how it may have looked 100 years ago.

Getting away from the historical aspect of the park, there is abundant opportunity to enjoy wildlife or just the wooded area.  The Marsh Trail takes hikers along the lake shore on a wooden boardwalk.  There is a wildlife viewing blind where quiet observers and spot various birds and waterfowl.  A small stream is nearby, and on our hike, we spotted some fish in the crystal clear water.
 For those looking for a longer hike, Moore's Hill Trail will take hikers to all the way around the mountain.  A second quarry is near the Hartman Trail.
Swimmers will enjoy the beach, and picnickers will enjoy the sunny grassy areas and many tables that are available.  There is a boat rental that rents canoes and kayaks.  There are also boat launch areas that can be used if you choose to bring your own boat.

All in all, this is a great place to take a hike through history, enjoy a picnic lunch, and soak up some summer sunshine.   It only takes a little imagination and creativity to envision what this beautiful area would have been like when it was a booming limestone production area.  canoe creek is well worth your time and attention.

As a side note, when I visited here years ago, there was a small church that had been turned into a bat sanctuary.  On warm summer nights, visitors would attend a program at the sanctuary, learn about bats, and then watch the ladies (as it is only female bats who live in such colonies) emerge.  Sadly, White Nose Syndrome has decimated the bat population, and the nightly program is no more.  White Nose is a terrible thing for our bats and our environment, and I strongly encourage you to learn more about it.  As any good outdoors person knows, bats eat bugs and mosquitoes, which is good for all of us.  Maybe one day the bats will make a comeback and the Sanctuary will be full of bats again.

I am terrible at keeping up with this blog....

Yes, I know.  I don't update at frequently as I should.  It seems like I get busy doing other things and when I think of blogging, something pops up and the time just isn't there.
However, I have been to some awesome places sine the last update and I promise, promise, promise that I am working on a full update.
In the meantime, here is an adorable chipmunk sitting on a rock. I spotted him yesterday at clear creek State Park near Sigel PA.

Another adventure coming soon!

We will be headed to Trough creek State Park this weekend for a weekend of camping and hiking.  I expect to do a blog about it shortly after....
This place is supposed to be awesome, with some really neat geologic features, like a rock balancing on the edge of a cliff.
 can't wait for a great weekend in the woods.  Pictures and blog to follow!

Cherry Springs Dark Sky Preserve

The moon, and the planet Venus make beautiful highlights to the setting sun and the silhouetted forest at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, PA.
Free of the light pollution that plagues the suburban and inner city areas, this park is the only "dark sky preserve" in Pennsylvania. Situated on the top of a mountain in the middle of an undeveloped state forest, this area is one of the darkest places on the East Coast of the US.  It is used by amateur astronomers for study and observation, as well as people like my husband and I, who are always up for some outdoor adventure.
We decided to take a trip to Cherry Springs to see the Perseid Meteor Shower on a mid August weekend.  Arriving around 7 at night, we had the pleasure of taking part in a "solar viewing" program, in which we were able to see the sun through telescopes outfitted with special filters.  We could see sun spots and solar flares...pretty incredible.  The sun began to sink behind the mountains and the western sky was ablaze with reds, oranges and yellows.   As it grew darker, the moon became more visible, as did the planet Venus.  It got darker, and darker and the stars became visible, one by one.  The brightest stars first, called the Summer Triangle, were the first ones we could pick out.
Soon, stars...millions of stars... dot the night sky as the Milky Way looks like a silvery cloud lazily crossing the sky.  Stars, like many people have never seen in their lives, or haven't seen since they were children were perfectly visible.  The stars, the way my grandparents saw them, when there was less light, when the sky was dark and the stars were truly the stars of the nighttime show, made the night a perfect one.
The Perseid Meteors were raining down, with the "oohs" and "ahhs" and "I saw ones" of the crowd interrupting  the brilliant program of the naturalist.  These meteors were the highlight of a wonderful nighttime show.  We were treated to the Perseids as we learned the stories behind the names of the constellations, learned the brightest stars in the summer sky, along with their names and what constellations they are in, and viewed the planet Saturn through a telescope.
We packed up at an early 10:30, wanting to get back to our campsite at neighboring Ole Bull State Park, but the party, as it were, was just beginning at Cherry Springs.  There were numerous people, with their own telescopes, positioned along the open viewing field waiting to spend the night watching the heavens. 
In the future we will be camping here, at the primitive campground, and spending a whole evening with these lovely stars.  I honestly can't wait.

Along the Trail

Just a quick post to show off one of the most scenic views from Saturday's hike...it's a little inspiration to get me to this weekend, and hopefully, good enough weather to get out and hike again. 

Enjoy the rest of your week  :)

Forest Cathedral Hike 3.17.12

     Cook Forest State Park is beautiful, one of the crown jewels in Pennsylvania's State Park System.  It is great for camping, hiking, picnicking, canoeing, and enjoying nature.  There are multiple areas in the park that contain virgin forest, and the hike that husband and I did on Saturday is probably the most popular of these areas.
     The Forest Cathedral contains trees that are well over 300 years old.  It is crisscrossed by hiking trails that take hikers past old growth forest, up a mountain side, and past massive boulders.
     The hike started at the park office on River Road.  We hiked up the fairly difficult Indian Trail.  The steepest part of this trail is the very beginning, but there are some stairs build onto the hillside to help on the way up.  Following a switch back, the trail continues to rise up the side of the mountain.  At times, you notice only a slight incline.   Other times, the climb is much steeper.  This would not be a good trail to hike with younger children, as it was steep enough to be a challenge for adults.  About half way up, you begin to notice large boulders along the trail.  They are huge, some moss covered, some with trees growing out of solid rock.  This particular boulder was directly beside the trail, others are farther off into the woods.

     There are plenty of big old trees along the Indian Trail.  Most noticeably were two large Beech trees that stand like guards on either side of the trail.  Beech Trees have a smoother bark than some other trees in the forest and thus are the trees that people are most likely to carve their names into.  I really don't like to see it, as it damages the trees and takes away from their natural beauty.  This huge beech tree is so big around that I can't fit my arms around it. 

     At the top of the Indian Trail is the intersection with Longfellow Trail.  Longfellow is probably one of the most popular trails in the park.  It is one of very first trails that I ever hiked on as a child.  I can remember hiking it to the Forest Cathedral with my grandma, my mom, my grandpa...it is a good hike for all ages.  The intersection with Indian trail is the top of the mountain on this hike.  Turning on to Longfellow begins the downward portion of the hike, through the old growth section of the Forest Cathedral.  A plaque on a tree near the intersection of the two trails marks the Forest Cathedral as a Natural Landmark.  A sign near the end of Longfellow trail tells of the old growth trees, and teaches of the signs of old growth forest.
     Longfellow winds downhill past towering white pine and hemlock.  This is true old growth forest.  Even though there are no leaves on the trees, the sun still does not reach all parts of the forest floor, as there are many evergreen trees here.  Moss covers downed trees in the area creating a carpet of green.  Where the sun peeks through, the greens almost seem to glow.  This part of the forest is truly magical.
     We turn off of Longfellow Trail and onto the Ancient Forest Trail, which continues through the oldest parts of the forest.  You can't help but look up at the huge old trees all around you.  There is a slight downward slope here, as you are continuing down the mountain.

     The trails are all well marked, and it is easy to find your way through the Forest Cathedral area.   You shouldn't have to worry about getting lost in this area so long as you keep on the trails and carry a park map with you.  Parts of the Longfellow trail are blazed, as they are part of the North Country Trail, but the other trails are not blazed through this area.   
     That said, there is one section of the Ancient Forest trail where you will come to a T.  You could go right and up the hill, or left and continue down.  The section of trail to the right really doesn't look much like trail, even though it is marked on the park map as part of Woodland Trail.  Go left and stay on the Ancient Forest trail.  Again, a short while later the trail comes to a T.  We chose to go left.  I think we should have went to the right.  While there was a trail to the left, it more or less dead ended at some downed trees.  You could see where there had been some foot traffic, looking back it was likely a deer trail though the forest.  We followed the deer trail down the hill and connected with the Red Eft trail at the bottom.  We turned right on Red Eft trail and headed toward a picnic area, where we picked up the Tom's Run trail.

      This trail is flat, running along side, and at times crosses over, Tom's Run.  This is an excellent trail for people of all ages.  The stream and its surroundings make for amazing scenery.  During fishing season, it is not uncommon for fishermen to be spotted fly fishing in the stream.  This trail is worth discovering, even if you don't want to complete the entire hike up and down the mountain.  It can be accessed at a few different points in the park, one of which involves crossing a fun swinging bridge across the stream.
    When we reached the swinging bridge, we did not cross it, but headed toward the Rhododendron Trail and went to the right, continuing along Tom's Run.  Eventually, we ended up in the Indian Cabins area of the park.  Walking back toward the park office we passed the trail head to the Indian Trail, where our adventure started.
   All in all, the hike took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  We did manage to take a wrong turn though, and never did find the portion of Woodland Trail that would have taken us down the hill the correct way.  I imagine that had we went right on the Ancient Forest trail, instead of the left that we made, we would have found the portion of Woodland Trail that we needed to find.  The park map was a bit confusing in that particular area.
   I would call the hike moderate in difficulty.  The beginning section, up the Indian Trail is difficult, as sections are steep and there are portions where there are some exposed roots.  Once you intersect with the Longfellow Trail, the hike becomes easy, as it is downhill.   The Tom's Run section is good for anyone.
   The Forest Cathedral can also be accessed by hiking the entirety of the Longfellow trail, which is easier than the Indian Trail.  The climb up the mountain is more gradual, but could still be a challenge if you are out of shape.  This trail head for the Longfellow Trail can be found near the Log Cabin visitor center near one of the Picnic Areas.  A park map will make it easy to find. 
   If you love the outdoors, this is a hike that you won't want to miss.  It is beautiful and the scenery is unique and varied, from old growth forest to stream side wetlands.  Both my husband and I were extremely happy with this hike and will do it again in the near future.  It is well worth your time.
   There are other wonderful hikes in Cook Forest State Park, as well as a top notch campground.  The Clarion River makes for a great place to canoe, kayak, or swim.  There are a lot of picnic areas scattered through out the park.  The Fire Tower and Seneca Point are worth seeing as well.  This is a place that I have been visiting literally all my life, and I have always loved it.
     If you are visiting Pennsylvania or if you have lived here all your life, make it a priority to visit Cook Forest State Park and stay for a while.  There is a lot to do and a lot to explore.
     Take only pictures~Leave only footprints.

Rabbit Behavior

This is simply too amusing to not share...

We have a 6 month old rabbit named Otis.  He lives in our house and has free range as long as we are home to keep an eye on him.  Otis does all sorts of entertaining things that make us laugh.  His newest thing is running, or should I say hopping, circles around our feet.
Every time I sit on the floor Otis will hop circles around me.  According to The San Diego Chapter of the House Rabbit Society circling is part of a rabbit's courting behavior.  So, I guess this is more or less a rabbit's version of "Hey baby, I seem to have lost my number, can I have yours?".  The only exception is that in nature this actually works for the bunny.  I thought it was sweet that my bunny would love me so much.  I didn't think anything else of it.
Last night, the rabbit started to hop circles around my husband's feet as husband was in the kitchen...Now, to preface this bit of information...I have been telling my husband for months that the rabbit was trying to establish himself as the Alpha Male in our home.  There have been times when Otis was hiding under the couch and husband was trying to flush him out, that Otis would start grunting (a sign of disapproval) and then literally charge at my husband.  The rabbit has never charged at me.  Ever.  I laughingly told husband that the rabbit was just trying to show his dominance and show that he was the Alpha.  Since then, from time to time, husband will look at Otis, thump his chest, and say "Alpha male.  Right here."  We always thought it was a bit of a joke.
Last night, I think the rabbit got the best of my husband.  Another rabbit owner said that sometimes her male will circle the females and lower ranking males as a sign of dominance.  Apparently, a 5 pound lop eared rabbit named Otis is currently the dominant male in our household.

But not to worry...I still love my husband more.  :)

and...before anyone can say anything...Yes, we will be getting the rabbit neutered as soon as we can find a vet in our area who is familiar enough with rabbits to safely perform the surgery.