Spring/Summer 2017

The STC – More than Just a Club

By Wanda Shirk As the STC calls its first half-century a wrap and looks The STC, on the other hand, is a bigger deal than that. ahead to its second half century, I began to ponder the We are, in reality, a service organization. Some such question of who we are. My dictionary says that a club is “clubs,” like a Lions Club or Rotary, are ever on the look- “a group of people joined for a special purpose, such as a out for new and different ways to contribute to their tennis club.” My first thoughts about “club” were that it communities, and projects may range from improving a implied merely social association and friendship around a town park to putting on festivals or parades to decorating common interest, like my little four-member book club for holidays or providing scholarships for local students. composed of three of my fellow retired teachers and me, Some community organizations benefit one particular getting together once a month primarily to keep in touch community asset. The Potter County Fair Association, with each other, and secondarily, perhaps, to challenge the Friends of , library boards, fire each other in a mildly academic sense to read a good book companies and hospital auxiliaries, and PALMA – the every month. The demise of this club would be a loss to Lumber Museum Association – come to us, but not to the community at large. mind locally. The STC falls into this category -- a group centered around a very particular purpose: maintaining If a group's purpose is merely the pleasure of its members, and promoting our beautiful Susquehannock System. whether a book club or a club, then the longevity of the club is inconsequential. To clarify a distinction: just as Our club's middle name is “Trail,” as Bill Boyd has point- a book club doesn't matter in the long run, but the library ed out in one of our discussions. While we sponsor hikes, board does matter for the community, so a hiking club both to enjoy ourselves and to generate the interest doesn't matter in the long run, but a real trail club – like of other people in the trails in our area, our primary focus the Susquehannock Trail Club – does matter. Our pur- is on maintaining and improving the STS. Pondering this pose involves maintaining something wonderful for the led me to look at the list of member organizations for the community now and preserving something wonderful for Keystone Trails Association, our statewide “umbrella or- posterity. ganization,” the federation of similar groups around the state. The STC: It's more than just a club. Thanks for being part of our mission. I found seven “Trail Clubs” besides ours. Interestingly, only a couple of them, like the Club and the now-defunct Quehanna Area Trail Club, actually centered on a particular trail. Others, such as the Asaph, 50th Anniversary Patch Chester County, Philadelphia, and Wilmington Trail Club(s), are really hiking clubs in their areas. Three Clubs are part of KTA – the Cumberland Valley ATC, the Potomac ATC, and the Sus- quehanna ATC. They are specifically focused on main- taining sections of the AT. Seven KTA member organizations are named “Hiking Clubs”: The Allentown, Batona, Berks County, Lancaster, Lebanon Valley, Susquehanna Trailers, and York Hiking Club(s). There are three “Outdoor Clubs”: the Allegheny, Butler, and Pocono Outdoor Club(s). In addition, there's the Sierra Club, with several regional chapters in Pennsylvania. In commemoration of the half-century mark of the Sus- quehannock Trail Club, we have ordered a limited number Then there are “Associations”: The Mid State Trail Asso- of 50th Anniversary Patches. About a fifth of them have ciation (with four regions), Associa- already been sold as this newsletter goes to print. The tion (with four chapters in Pa.), and the Warrior Trail As- price is $8.00 for one patch or $15.00 for two. sociation. Six “Conservancies” are KTA members: The Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, and the Horse-Shoe, Rachel Welcome New Members Carson Trail, Schuylkill County, Western Pennsylvania, By Lois Morey, STC Secretary and Wildlands Conservancies. Allen Berfield David Luthi Other than that, names include the Alpine Club (they Coudersport, PA Nescopeck, PA maintain the ), two “mountain” clubs, a John Dzemyan Pammy Luthi “climbing club,” a “Friends” group, an “outings club,” and Smethport, PA Nescopeck place-centered groups such as a camp, a heritage associa- Larry Hirst Kelly Stemcosky tion, and a forest and wildlife preserve. Cross Fork, PA Elkland, PA Mary Hirst George Stover Whatever their names, most of these groups have mem- Cross Fork, PA Woodward, PA bers who are avid hikers and often trail maintainers, and Linda Knowlton Vivian Stover who have a wide variety of other outdoor interests ranging Coudersport, PA Woodward, PA from canoeing and kayaking to birding and camping. Michael Knowlton

Coudersport, PA

This newsletter is written with 100% recycled words 2 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 2017 Trail Maintenance Projects Crooks Trail Dynamite House New Door By Bill Boyd By Jasper Reamerstraff

Photo submitted by Tom Fitzgerald Photo submitted by Bob Bernhardy Priority Number One this year is alleviation of the wet The dynamite house was originally built by the Cherry muddy segments of the Susquehannock Trail System in the Springs Civilian Conservation Corps Camp #S-136 in the Hogback Valley. This stretch of the STS has been plagued early 1930’s for explosives storage. During the Depression with excessive water problems ever since the trail was laid years, earth-moving equipment was in short supply, and out fifty years ago. We want to keep the trail in this valley many camps used dynamite to break up rock formations because of its scenic nature. Corduroy logs have been and loosen tree stumps from the ground enough to com- used in the past, but they eventually rot away. We are con- plete the work by hand with non-power tools. For security sidering the use of stepping stones and possibly catwalks and safety, the dynamite house was of sturdy brick con- to cross some the worst problem areas. Stay tuned. struction and located about 200 yards up the Crooks Trail from the Sunken Branch Road. Camp #S-136 was about a Another long-standing unsatisfactory condition that we third of a mile away, around the brow of a hill. hope to be able to address this year is the trail in the cen- tral portion of the Hammersley Wild Area. The problem After the CCC was disbanded, the building stood empty here is eight decades of slow hillside erosion that has al- and unused for three decades. When the STS was first laid most filled in about 6/10 of a mile of CCC trail that paral- out in 1967, the STC stored a small number of black locust lels the steep hillside north of the famous Hammersley sign posts in the dynamite house. However, it turned out Pool. This stretch is almost five miles down the trail from to be inconvenient to go to the building whenever a new the nearest road. Simply walking in and out takes most of post was needed so we transferred the remaining posts to the work day. Very little is likely to be accomplished here the home of Trail Maintenance Supervisor Bill Boyd for until we can get a crew to camp out on-site for a weekend. more convenient access. We are also considering a second Adirondack-style shelter, And then the hinges of the heavy steel-plated door began and are debating whether to build it from scratch as we did to pull loose from the wall of the building. For safety, the the first shelter, or construct it from a prefabricated kit. Susquehannock Forest District removed the door, and Susquehannock Trail Club member Joe Allis, a master And of course, there is the usual annual maintenance— craftsman, built and installed a new lightweight door on mowing, cutting back encroaching brush, refurbishing the building. This summer, club member Vincent Rose, a paint blazes, maintaining signs at trail intersections, and retired mason, will touch up some of the cracks in the removing the occasional tree limbs and whole trees that brick walls of the structure. fall into the trail from time to time. Now that the building has been fitted with a safe light- One of the biggest difficulties in carrying out these plans is weight door, the forest district will allow it to be used as an old age. Most of our active trail maintainers are in their emergency shelter by hikers. 60s and 70s, and don’t have the energy they had when they and the STS were young!

This newsletter is written with 100% recycled words 3 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 Old Geezer Hiking Memories decay beech tree trunk, I watched four adult deer in dark Early Spring Lone Hike winter coats walk into my view and stare at me. I tried to By Bob Knowles make a slow half turn. Four tails flare out, four deer run uphill. Four white bouncing tails disappear among the Spring has arrived according to the calendar. Strange feel- distant woodland trees. The hiking was easy on a generally ings stirred in my winter-weary body. Spring is a promise level unblazed trail covered with last year’s brown dried of change and renewal. Animals, birds and plant life must leaves in the leafless woodland. No understory grew feel the same body surges at this time of the year. Out- among the mountainside trees. doors, songbirds sang with more vigor, neighborhood red squirrels scolded more vehemently, and a small flock of Past three spring seeps across the trail, I came upon a grackles who were perched atop a bare-branched maple, baker’s dozen old decaying apple trees on a streamside flat watched silently. area of a wider section of the bottomland. The small apple orchard, I thought, was a yesteryear sign of the late Spring fever nudged me to hike. The bright sunshine pro- 1800’s—early 1900’s logging in Potter County. Daydream- vided welcomed warmth within the capsule-like interior of ing, I imagined I heard the sound of axes cutting tall trees, my moving vehicle. Crows foraged for waste grain among the whine of two-man crosscut saws, and the loud crash of the corn stubbles in a roadside field. Nearby, several mi- a falling giant tree. grating Canada geese rested on a partly ice-free farm pond. The various sightings were Nature’s clues that the timeless The sound of chirping, foraging chickadees and the faint cycles of seasonal changes would not fail. Spring is within “fee-fee” birdsong stirred me into regularly spaced binocu- sight—finally. lar scans of the area with no animal or bird sightings. Each hike has been a rich spirit-rejuvenating experience; A one-car parking area on a Susquehannock State Forest another deposit in my memory bank for withdrawal when dirt road invited me to hike an inviting woodland trail. hiking becomes a bygone dream. On the trail, Nature will Open field trails are not for me. Last year’s fallen brown only impart small morsels of woodland life during March. leaves were crunchy underfoot. Overhead a wildflower Hiking onward, a woodland presence relieved my frustra- aster-blue sky held sparse fluffy clouds as I enjoyed a warm tions of modern-day plastic money, canned questions, and March day. At a resting, thinking, watching stop, seated electronic programmed life. on a fallen tree trunk, swollen leaf buds on nearby tree saplings patiently awaited warmer months to provide a The easy return hike to my parked auto was uneventful bright green color to the drab woodland. A tiny spot of until within sight of the trailhead. The cheerful chirping of green among the brown leaves beside my boot attracted foraging black-capped chickadees and the “fee-bee, fee- my attention. Hidden by a dead leaf, three inverted heart- bee” song of a lone phoebe songbird stopped me in my shaped small green leaves were attached to a thin stalk: the tracks. In a few minutes I located four different chicka- beginning of life for the wood sorrel wildflower. In June dees. One on a trailside hemlock branch at eye-level, eight or July, the five-petaled dainty white flower with length- feet to my right, pecked several times to remove a piece of wise deep pink veins will bloom in large groups. At night, bark to eat—probably insect eggs—before flying away. the three leaves will fold, reopening in morning’s daylight. I failed to locate the drab olive-green phoebe. The phoebe The bubbling musical sound of a small mountain stream is one of the earliest songbird migrants to return in the drew me off trail downhill a short distance. The slightly spring, and the last to leave in the fall. Phoebe songbirds downhill coursing waters rushed over rocks, slowing in raised their young in mud-and-weed nests built in our car- wide shallow areas with small green aquatic plants adding a port every year of the 16 years we lived in our woodland touch of color to the leafless drab March woodland. Wa- edge home at the base of an unnamed mountain. ter striders, gregarious aquatic insects, skated on the sur- On the drive homeward, I slowed as a large dark-coated face film of the placid water of several shallow backwater deer crossed the road. Three large and two smaller deer pools off the main stream. waited in a clearing to cross the road after I passed. In an Hiking deeper in the woodland on the hillside trail, I found open area, a buteo hawk with typical broad-width wings a deer spine with one hind quarter and leg bone attached, and short broad tail, flew low overhead across the road. hair and skin still covering the lower hind leg. A small Closer to home, passing a camp, I startled a small deer into round patch of skin and hair lay nearby. At another rest- flight from its hiding place beneath a row of roadside pine ing-watching stop while seated on a fallen beginning-to- trees.

This newsletter is written with 100% recycled words 4 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 The Second STC Animal Tracking Event than the front hooves due to a doe’s wider hips to ac- By Penny Weinhold commodate pregnancy and fawn birth. Brooke Batson points out a track After a 20-minute lecture on animal track basics, which included a set of flash cards and a sandbox demonstration of how a deer steps down and raises its foot, the group split into two subgroups. Glenn and his young daughter Brooke, led one group across Route 6 and headed down Nine Mile Creek at the lower edge of Denton Hill State Park. The other group headed up Commissioner Run on the Sustainable Forestry Trail to look for prints of animals who had come down to drink in the stream. Deer tracks, of course, were the most obvious and easiest to see, especially in the patches of snow. But closer look- ing revealed tracks in the soft bare ground of raccoons, voles, mice, and chipmunks. The Commissioner Run group saw a large print in one of the snow patches that

Photo submitted by Curt Wienhold was almost certainly made by a bear awakened from its hibernation by the warm temperatures. Several STC Seven years ago, local STC member Glenn Batson, who is members carried cell phones and pocket cameras which an expert in identifying animal tracks, taught several mem- they used to capture the tracks for Glenn’s positive identi- bers of the Susquehannock Trail Club the basics in wildlife fication. One bit of advice that Glenn gave the group was track identification on a very old day behind the Susque- to photograph some small object such as a pencil or ruler hannock State Forest District Office on top of Denton along with the track to aid in showing its size. hill. While members of the group occasionally jumped up and down to keep warm, Glenn gradually keyed out the At the finish, all felt gratitude to Mr. Batson and his family track of a gray fox. The activity was so popular that the members for their explanation and expertise. It was an club wanted to do it again. afternoon well spent. The weather this year was a very different story. A brief Also thanks to Bill Boyd’s tailgate surprise of coffee and January thaw arrived with a vengeance, and Sunday, Janu- bakery doughnuts in the parking lot at the end of the day. ary 22nd found itself right in the middle of it. When 15 He’s quite a thoughtful guy! members of the Susquehannock Trail Club gathered at the parking lot of the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, the 1:00 PM temperature was already 50 degrees Fahrenheit. But Newest Circuit Hiker Award Recipients Mother Nature had wisely foreseen that possibility, and By Lois Morey, STC Secretary had previously dropped enough snow in Commissioner 1134 Nathaniel Huff 1140 Josh Zook Run that the sunshine and south wind didn’t melt it all. Harrisburg, PA Summerfield, OH There were large patches several inches deep in the valley 1135 Garrett Rhodes 1141 Wesley Dulaney bottom and on the north-facing slopes. Carnegie, PA Summerfield, OH Glenn began his instruction in an outdoor pavilion uphill 1136 Wendall Miller 1142 Braze Bilins from the lumber museum parking lot by distributing Summerfield, OH Summerfield, OH printouts of tracks of mammals native to the area. He ex- 1137 Justin Miller 1143 Shyler plained the difference in appearance between walking, Summerfield, OH Summerfield, OH running, and ”gait” tracks, and pointed out the basic dif- 1138 Mason Shields 1144 Andrew Miller ference in shape between canine and feline paws. He also Summerfield, OH Summerfield, OH stated that experts can sometimes accurately estimate the 1139 Lydell Martin sex of a passing deer by the relative distance between the Summerfield, OH front and rear right and left hoofprints. The rear hooves of a buck are about the same distance apart as the front hooves. The rear hooves of a doe are slightly farther apart

This newsletter is written with 100% recycled words 5 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 The WAG Hike ties were already sprouting, and a couple of hooded mer- By Penny Weinhold gansers were seen on one pond. L-R: Ralph Stockman, Art Huber, Clair Al- meter, Wayne Baumann Upcoming July 2017 STC Meeting By Wanda Shirk The July 2017 meeting of the Susquehannock Trail Club will be held in conjunction with the Galeton, PA Inde- pendence Day parade. Those interested in hiking along the Galeton parade route behind the STC trailer should meet at Lois Morey’s house in West Pike at 9:00 AM on Saturday, July 1, 2017 to car- pool to the Galeton School parking lot. The parade will leave from the parking lot at 11:00 AM, but participants should be there by 10:00 AM. After the parade, members will return to Lois’ house for a Photo submitted by Pat Childs backyard picnic cookout about 1:00 PM. Bring a dish to The afternoon of Sunday April 2, 2017 saw the first orga- share. Tim Morey will lead a hike in the early afternoon. nized Susquehannock Trail Club hike of the clubs 50th At 4:00 PM we will gather at Lois’s place for the STC anniversary year. The weather cooperated with warm sun- monthly meeting. All are welcome to stay for an evening shine. It was a perfect day—and location—to limber up campfire, roasting hot dogs and toasting marshmallows. If the old leg muscles with some gentle level walking to start you want to see the fireworks display in Galeton, be sure the year’s hiking season. The location was a portion of the to leave in time to get a parking spot. Wellsville, Addison, & Galeton (WAG) railroad grade be- tween Wellsville, NY and the Pennsylvania state line. If anyone wishes to camp overnight on the Morey proper- ty, please reserve a spot by contacting Lois before June 16, This railroad built in the late 1800’s, was originally the Buf- 2017, either by email at [email protected] or by falo and Susquehanna Railway. Most of the line was aban- phone at (814) 435-8270. There is room for a few camp- doned after the disastrous flood of July 1942, but this por- ers. Water is available but there are no electric hookups. tion of the B&S survived and passed into the hands of the Baltimore and Ohio, who eventually sold it to a company that operated it under the WAG name. The line fell into hard times with the decline of the leather tanning industry, 50th Anniversary Meeting in October 2017 but continued to hang on until it suffered another destruc- The official founding date of the Susquehannock Trail tive flood. The damage wrought by Hurricane Agnes in Club was October 18, 1967. That date in 2017 will be the 1972 was too costly for repairs to be worthwhile. The club’s fiftieth birthday. The club will become a quinque- WAG was “totaled,” and the final segment of the old B&S genarian organization on October 18th! was abandoned at last. To observe that special milestone, the club’s October 2017 Hike leader Pat Childs was accompanied by Wayne Bau- meeting will be held on October 18th, which falls on mann, Bill Boyd, Art & Robin Huber, Curt & Penny Wednesday this year. It will be a catered dinner meeting at Weinhold, Larry & Violeta Holtzapple, Ralph Stockman, Susquehannock Lodge where the club was founded. Res- and Pat’s father, 96-year-old Clair Almeter. ervations are required and the maximum number of spaces Clair, Ralph, Robin, and Wayne hiked the 3-mile stretch. is approximately 40. Pat, Bill, Art, Curt & Penny, and Larry and Violeta did the As the club has voted to reduce the number of newsletters 5 mile section. Both groups ended at Shongo, NY where from four to two per year starting with this issue, the fall they finished the day with a hot dog roast. edition of the Susquehannock Hiker will be published after It was a perfect start for the hiking season. Beaver ponds the anniversary dinner. If you plan to attend, keep check- were seen along the way. Skunk cabbage and spring beau- ing the club’s website, www.stc-hike.org, for details, prices, and the reservation deadline as they are announced.

This newsletter is written with 100% recycled words 6 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944 Lois Morey Receives Top STC Award chairman of the Circuit Hiker Award Committee for the By Tom Fitzgerald past 36 years since 1981 L-R: Bill Morey, Tim Morey, Lois Morey The award was presented at the Susquehannock Trail Club’s annual Winter Frolic, held for the second year in a row at the Pine Creek Inn in West Pike. The Winter Frolic is the only regular annual club event with a catered dinner. The Winter Frolic began shortly after the Susquehannock Trail Club came into existence and was intended as a weekend of fun to provide a break from the more serious business of maintaining the trail. Originally held in early March, after a few years the Frolic was backed up into February due to a series of late winter thaws that brought

Photo submitted by Curt Weinhold an end to the cross-country skiing earlier than expected. Forty-eight-year member of the Susquehannock Trail Club This year 49 people attended, mostly club members. Club Lois Morey of West Pike, Galeton, PA was honored by the President Wanda Shirk held a brief “remembrance cere- club with its eighth annual Wil & Betty Ahn Big Shoes mony” for club members who had died during the past Award. Named for the long-time president and secretary year, and Bill Boyd recognized the top trail maintainers of the club who retired in 2010, the award honors lifetime based on the number of volunteer work hours reported. achievement in service to the club and to Potter County Most years, the Winter Frolic Dinner features an outside trails. The Big Shoes concept signifies that recipients will speaker. This year’s speaker was David Castano of Cou- someday leave "mighty big shoes to fill." Lois’ contribu- dersport who spoke on the early trails and roads in Potter tions to the club go back to its earliest days, nearly five County, originally used by American Indians. Most of the decades ago, when she was employed as a clerk- evidence of American Indian habitation and travel in Pot- stenographer at the Susquehannock State Forest District ter county has been found in the valleys in the northern Office in Coudersport. part of the county where the topography is slightly less Two of the founders of the trail club were foresters em- rugged. Of special interest is the mysterious “Boon Road” ployed in that district, and their stories about the adven- which roughly parallels Route 44 from Shinglehouse to the tures they had in scouting out possible routes for the Sus- Lycoming County line. Early settlers in Potter County quehannock Trail System so intrigued Lois that she wanted who arrived shortly after 1800 found numerous recogniza- to become a part of the action. Unmarried at the time, ble—and usable—fragments of this road which provided Lois transferred the inspiration to her parents, Lewis and them a “boon,” or a bit of good fortune in their efforts to Janette Baker, and the three of them joined in the scouting travel. The road has no connection to the American fron- and clearing of the old CCC trails, logging railroad grades, tiersman Daniel Boone who lived from 1734 to 1820. No and newer logging roads that were linked together to form record of who built the Boon Road has ever been found, the trail system. Lewis, Janette, and Lois became STS Cir- but growth ring counts of trees growing in the road sug- cuit Hikers # 1, 2, and 3. gest it was last used during the 1750s. The most plausible speculation is that the road was built by French Military During her 48 years with the club, Lois has served as forces during the French and Indian War to move troops treasurer, archivist, and most recently, secretary, to which and supplies south from Canada. It appears to have been position she was elected upon Betty Ahn’s retirement. used only briefly, and then abandoned. The subsequent years have increased the work load of the secretary considerably, and Lois has ably borne the heavy end of the job—correspondence and keeping track of the status of STC members, plus the processing of orders for Next Newsletter Deadline club merchandise such as trail maps and guidebooks. Due All articles must be received before October 14, 2017 to be to the work load, Lois has recently accepted assistance in included in the next edition of the Susquehannock Hiker. the lighter portion of the job—recording the minutes of Email your articles to [email protected], or mail them via the club’s business meetings. Lois has also served as the USPS to PO Box B, Robinson, PA 15949 no later than Saturday October 7, 2017.

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2017 Upcoming Event Schedule

Date 6/10/2017 Date TBD Date 9/9/2017 Event Monthly Meeting Event Laurel Blossom Hike Event Monthly Meeting Place Layman Run Place Cherry Springs Fire Tower Place Saulters’ Preserve Time 4:00 PM Time TBD Time 5:00 PM

Date 7/1/2017 Date 7/1/2017 Date 10/18/2017 Event Galeton Parade Event Monthly Meeting Event Monthly Meeting Place Lois Morey’s Residence Place Lois Morey’s Residence Place Susquehannock Lodge Time 9:00 AM Time 4:00 PM Time 5:00 PM

Date 7/1/2017 Date 8/10-13/2017 Date 11/11/2017 Event Afternoon Hike Event Camporee Event Monthly Meeting Place Lois Morey’s Residence Place Place PA Lumber Museum Time TBD Time Thursday Afternoon Time 5:00 PM

Date 6/3/2017 Date 8/12/2017 Date 12/9/2017 Event God’s Country Marathon Event Monthly Meeting Event Monthly Meeting Place Galeton PA Place Ole Bull State Park Place Lois Morey’s Residence Time 7:00 AM Time 5:00 PM Time 5:00 PM

This newsletter is written with 100% recycled words 8 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944