Winter 2016

Announcing the 46th Annual STC Winter Frolic

When: Saturday February 13, 2016

Dinner: Beginning at 5:00 PM

Price: $15.00 per person

Where: Pine Creek Inn

1637 Route 6 West

Galeton, PA 16922

across Route 6 from the Loucks Mills Road Intersection

RSVP: Saturday February 6, 2015 If you mail your reservation after January 31, 2016, please

notify the club at info@stc-hike.org or (814) 435-8270 that

you will be attending.

Program: The Life of Maurice Goddard

The Susquehannock Trail Club‘s annual Winter Frolic will

be held Saturday February 13, 2016. Time to enjoy a day

of adventure in Northcentral Pennsylvania!

As usual; a short STC business meeting will follow the

dinner, and the “Big Shoe” award will be presented to

someone who has performed exceptional service to the

Susquehannnock Trail System.

The featured presentation will be a program called “The

Life of Maurice Goddard.” It is video presentation pro-

duced by WITF (a PBS station in serving South Central,

PA) and made available to us through the Pennsylvania

Parks and Forest Foundation. Mr. Goddard was Secretary

of the PA Department of Forest and Waters (before it be-

came known as DCNR), during which he oversaw the cre-

ation of 45 of Pennsylvania’s 120 State Parks.

As of publication time, we haven’t finalized any activities

for the Winter Frolic. As the date approaches, we will post

any scheduled activities on the club’s website and Face-

book page, as well as email the details to all members.

2 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944

2015 Trail Maintenance By Bill Boyd

Two thousand fifteen saw several much-needed improve-

ments to the Susquehannock Trail System—primarily four

more stream crossings.

It seems the trail care season never really ends anymore.

We no sooner wrap up whatever work we can do on the

trail in the late fall, than Joe Allis is out on Denton Hill

grooming the network of cross-country ski trails associated

with the STS. Some years he's already at it in December,

and some years you can ski into March.

Some maintainers are already out in March checking their

sections of the STS, although often the weather at that

time of year is not very good, and parts of the trail are usu-

ally still snowed-in. By April, a great many folks are check-

ing on conditions and clearing the winter debris. Last year,

at least nine sections were cleared during that month.

In May the weather is better and even more of the main-

tainers get out. About eight more sections were worked

on this past May, including the placement of a log foot-

bridge across the second stream in the Lyman Run valley.

June 2015 found the crew laying a log across the main

Hogback Hollow stream, another problem crossing for

hikers. During the month, even more sections were

checked out and cleared, including the two cross-over

trails. And some sections were mowed with the Swisher

mowers, as the grass had grown quite high by then.

From July through the rest of the year, the maintainers

were out doing whatever they could to keep the trail open

and in some cases make improvements. At Camporee

time in August last year, the Scoval Branch section got

some much needed clearing and footpath restoration.

December 2015 saw the crew placing logs across Cross

Fork Creek and Little Lyman Run (See separate article). The

Susquehannock Trail System has approximately 28 stream

crossings in its 85-mile length. We hope to build more

simple bridges in the future.

Replacement signs were erected at the intersection of the

B&S and Ewing trails, and signs were placed for the first

time at the junction of the Culver Woods Road and the

Green Timber Hollow Trail.

A problem location for trail signs is the intersection of the

Splash Dam and White Line trails. Two fairly new signs at

that intersection have been completely destroyed. The

evidence indicates bears were the culprits. The main-

tenance committee members are brainstorming ideas for

more bear-resistant signs.

The project of the year that generated the most enthusiasm

was the Adirondack-style lean-to shelter. The Susquehan-

nock State Forest District approved the erection of one

shelter at a remote location along the trail. Lois Morey

donated a number of Scotch pine trees from her old family

property near Galeton, PA. The trees were cut, and the

logs hauled to a small private sawmill near Coudersport

where mill owner and sawyer Karl Altenhein trimmed

them down into a uniform size for the shelter. Actual

erection of the structure on site is planned for 2016.

The total hours reported for the year are 1,267—six hours

more than 2014. However, about 246 of those hours were

spent on the shelter project. Actual trail work—brush cut-

ting, lopping, fallen branch and tree removal, mowing,

etc.—was down about 334 hours from 2014.

Joe Allis, Bill Boyd, Jerry Johnston, and Wanda Shirk were

leaders in hours spent on the trail. Other major volunteers

were Wayne Baumann, Chris Bell, Bob and Helen Bern-

hardy, Tom Fitzgerald, Larry Holtzapple, Mark Kelly,

Charles Kern, Lowell and Barbara Luft, Mary Lou Parker,

and John Zimmer. Approximately 16 others accounted

for another hundred or so volunteer hours.

A rather lengthy list of future maintenance projects is on

file. One of the largest and most important will also be the

most difficult—major footpath restoration in the Ham-

mersley Wild Area. There is no easy access by vehicle to

any point near that remote location. The walk in and out

is so time-consuming that camping in the area for two or

three nights will be the only practical way to get much

work done. The project had been scheduled for 2014, but

the discovery of an unauthorized group of horseback rid-

ers in the area has postponed it indefinitely. Horse manure

is never much of an issue with most hikers, but hoofprints

of a single horse walking across soft damp soil one time

will destroy many hours of trail grooming.

The STS heading south out of Ole Bull State Park climbs a

flight of steps up to PA Route 144. The steps are made of

used railroad ties which have decayed to the point that

they are no longer safe. They were installed years ago by

the park to stop the gully erosion that was washing mud

out onto the paved parking lot where hikers were climbing

up the hillside to cross the road. We hope that when the

Pennsylvania state budget impasse is resolved, Ole Bull

Park will have funds available to replace the steps.

L-R: Larry Holtzapple (partly hidden), Jerry Johnston, Bill Boyd, Mark Kelly, John Zimmer, Wanda Shirk

Photo by Violeta Holtzapple

Abbott Area Footbridges By Bill Boyd

Edited by: Tom Fitzgerald

Global warming may be over, but by last December 15th,

Potter County weather hadn’t gotten the message. The

trail maintenance crew took advantage of the unseasonably

mild temperatures that day to lay rustic single-log bridges

across two streams in the Abbott area. Both crossings are

on the Frazier Farm section of the STS

The first and longer crossing was across Cross Fork Creek

about a quarter mile upstream from Abbott. The second,

shorter span was laid across Little Lyman Run near the

junction of the Frazier Farm Trail and the long-abandoned

Cross Fork branch of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railway.

Trail Maintenance Committee Chairman Bill Boyd led the

seven-member volunteer team of Larry and Violeta

Holtzapple, Jerry Johnston, Mark Kelly, Wanda Shirk, and

John Zimmer in some pretty heavy-duty “grunt” work,

dragging a fallen log across each stream with the help of a

come-along, cable, and chain. After placing each log, one

side of it was slabbed off with a chainsaw to provide a

semi-flat surface to walk on.

Wanda seized the opportunity to lop brush out of the trail

along the quarter-mile stretch between the bridges.

“Hikers no longer have to choose between a challenging

(and scary) crossing on an old slippery deadfall, or wading

in bare feet or over their shoe-tops,” said Bill Boyd. “If

you haven't seen these crossings—or even if you have—I

know you're thinking, it can't be done. But there are eye-

witnesses who will tell you it WAS done!”

Late fall is a great time to be doing trail care,” he contin-

ued. “Cool weather, no bugs, no sweat (well, not much),

and hopefully no ticks. So join the team next time around

and experience the fun for yourself. You'll like it, and your

help will be much appreciated!”

Trail Guide Tidbits By Chuck Dillon

Mile 20.01 - 20.84. The railroad grade [at Abbott] was

part of a 13-mile stretch of the Buffalo & Susquehanna

Railway, constructed by the Goodyears for the Lacka-

wanna Lumber Company, joining its proposed mill in

Cross Fork with the B&S near Cherry Springs in 1893.

The surrounding land had been acquired by Fenwick Peck

from the Goodyears in 1893 and transferred by him to

Lackawanna. The Lackawanna made $1 million profit on

the deal. Despite his successes in lumbering, Peck died

penniless. (Note: Cross Fork Creek at this location is incorrectly

identified as East Fork Creek in the guidebook.)

4 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944

Old Geezer Hiking Memories By Bob Knowles

Cozy and warm, both hands wrapped around a hot cup of

dark chocolate, at age 95 I reminisce of past hikes and

companions. Hiking/walking has been a lifelong obsessive

vocation. Senior citizen years provide the opportunity and

time for frequent woodland hikes to increase knowledge of

woodland’s flora and fauna, and to appreciate nature’s

beauty and spiritually.

Three unforgettable Appalachian Trail hikes remain clear

in my aging memory. On a winter Saturday morning at the

AT junction with Pennsylvania Route 183, a passing mo-

torist makes a double-take as we put on backpacks and

snowshoes. Our nearest transportation was 15 miles east-

ward at Port Clinton. By noontime we began hiking on

snowshoes on the white-blazed State Game Land Road

through the ridgetop woodland. White-tailed deer tracks

crossed the road at intervals here and there. Weather was

ideal for hiking under sunny skies with a warm sun. We

reached Ney’s shelter, our home for the night. We put a

backpack tent across the shelter open doorway to keep out

any additional snow during the night.

Awakening Sunday morning, we made and ate breakfast

next to our beds as we lay in our warm sleeping bags. Up-

on arising, the piece of sheet metal atop the outdoor fire-

place held a large snow pile. Backpacks and snowshoes

on, we sank nearly to our knees on the ridgetop miles to

Port Clinton. We took turns breaking trail in the deep

snow. Each of us could go 20 or 30 steps before we were

exhausted. Lifting snowshoes piled with snow is exhaust-

ing work. At times it appeared doubtful that we would

reach my auto before nightfall with the possibility f a sec-

ond overnight campout. After dark, tired and happy, we

snowshoed into Port Clinton and my parked auto.

Two different five-mile AT day hikes are unforgettable for

different reasons. One was a strange face-to-face meeting;

the other gave me a peaceful feeling. The unexpected

strange meeting happened hiking from Delaware Water

Gap to Sunfish Pond, NJ. Sunfish Pond is a stream-fed

mountain-summit 44-acre woodland body of water, glacial-

ly excavated during the last Ice Age. Hiking eastward to-

ward Sunfish Pond, we watched two backpack hikers ap-

proach from the opposite direction. As the intervening

distance shortened, we began to recognize details of the

approaching hikers. Trying our best to appear nonchalant,

we casually said, “Hi,” to the bearded man and well-

endowed woman as we hiked past. The couple’s attire was

a bit unusual. Beside backpacks, they wore only headgear,

socks and hiking boots—backpacking in the nude!

The second AT five-mile hike happened on a family au-

to/camping vacation in Maine. Camping at Katahdin

Stream Campground in Baxter State Park during the sum-

mer of 1963, it was impossible not to day-hike the five

miles to the Baxter Peak, the northern terminus of the

2000-plus-mile-long Appalachian Trail. White clouds part-

ly obscured our first view of Katahdin. Mt. Katahdin at

5,267 feet above sea level, is Maine’s highest peak—the

first U.S. spot to be bathed by the morning sun. On a

bright sunny morning with fluffy white clouds floating in a

blue sky, an unlikely, duo, a 43-year-old and a teenager,

day-hiking the uphill trail paralleling Katahdin Stream in a

woodland to climb 4,156 vertical feet over five miles from

the campground to Baxter Peak.. We crossed the stream

on a sturdy footbridge, headed for the bare granite sum-

mit. The woodland trees thinned and became smaller.

Above timberline, we crossed the “Tableland,” an exten-

sive lengthy slanting rock area to the summit. We reached

the peak at two signs. With strange spiritual feelings, the

spectacular vista atop Katahdin revealed lakes and ponds

randomly scattered in the vast green woodland spread

outward to the distant horizon. The return downhill was

anticlimactic. An old treasured color photo of the teenag-

er leaning against the wooden sign atop Katahdin awakens

memories of a mini-adventure on a golden day shared with

my teenage son, Bob.

The 202,002-acre Baxter State Park was a gift of Portland

native Percival P. Baxter to the state of Maine. Baxter

served in the state legislature before becoming governor of

Maine from 1921 to 1924. Baxter failed to persuade Maine

to purchase the area during his political career. In 1930,

Baxter personally purchased the first 6, 600 acres including

Mt. Kathadin as his first gift. The Maine legislature named

the gift Baxter State Park and the summit, Baxter Peak in

1931. Baxter spent years of fund-raising and legislative ef-

fort to assemble the 202,000+ acres of today’s Baxter State

Park, and established a trust fund for operating income.

Next Newsletter Deadline All articles must be received before March 19, 2016 to be

included in the next edition of the Susquehannock Hiker.

Email your articles to info@stc-hike.org, or mail them

via the U.S. Postal Service no later than Saturday

March 12, 2016,to PO Box B, Robinson, PA 15949.

ALL STC NEWSLETTERS ARE WRITTEN USING 100% RECYCLED WORDS.

mailto:info@stc-hike.org

5 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944

Good News for Skiers and Showshoers By Tom Fitzgerald

Global warming is over, at least for the next few decades,

says John L. Casey, president of the Space and Science

Research Corporation headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Casey has written a slim book called Dark Winter which

showed up recently in my mailbox. I had never heard of

this author, but according to the biographical sketch on

the dust jacket, he is a space shuttle engineer and former

consultant to NASA. The book has endorsements from

prominent scientists in Norway, Italy, Bulgaria, India, and

Japan. That piqued my interest enough to read it.

The book’s subject is climate change—specifically cyclic

climate change. Casey has read hundreds of scientific arti-

cles on weather, climate, and solar observations from the

present back to the time when sunspots were first ob-

served. He has noted that more sunspots occur during

periods of global warming and fewer sunspots occur dur-

ing periods of global cooling. There are overlapping cycles

of sunspot activity of various lengths, but the cycle that

has the greatest direct influence on the climate of Earth

appears to be one of about 206 years.

A lot of sunspots were observed during the warming final

decades of the Twentieth Century, but beginning about

1999, the number of sunspots has declined significantly.

The papers of numerous contemporary scientists in vari-

ous disciplines that Casey has reviewed show that glaciers

are advancing again, the ice sheets in Antarctica and

Greenland are getting thicker, Arctic Ocean ice is extend-

ing farther south, the average temperatures on Earth are

creeping down, and the energy emanating from the Sun—

the solar wind—is weaker. All this is consistent, he says,

with the 206-year solar cycle which produced the “Dalton

Minimum,” of 1793 to 1830, named for the English scien-

tist John Dalton who lived through the period and kept

detailed weather records. The Dalton Minimum was a

time of cool summers and bitterly cold winters in the

Northern Hemisphere.

Casey flatly rejects the idea that human activity has more

than minor transient local effects on weather, and calls the

implication that mankind is responsible for global warm-

ing, “the greatest scientific fraud in the history of modern

science” (page 99). The activity of the Sun, he says, is sole-

ly responsible for climate change.

He predicts the climate of the coming decades will be simi-

lar to that of the Dalton Minimum. The next 30 years

should be a great time for winter sports but could bring

about crop failures and serious food shortages. Casey cites

33 reasons for making his prediction.

It’s a fascinating book published in 2014 by Humanix

Books of Boca Raton, FL. The ISBN is 978-1-63006-035-

0. I checked the Alibris website and found prices per copy

ranging from $13.81 to $19.98.

Welcome New Members By Lois Morey, STC Secretary

Karl Altenhein Roulette, PA

Eric Monger Coudersport, PA

Dustin Bateman Farrell, PA

Robert Muskloski Kinsman, OH

Ashleigh Caldera Williamsport, PA

Amber Riddle Bay City, TX

April Castano Coudersport, PA

George Roeschenthaler Pittsburgh, PA

Judy Daisley Coudersport, PA

Shelley Roeschenthaler Pittsburgh, PA

James Denny Catonsville, MD

Chad Rugh Coudersport, PA

Sally Estep York, PA

Gary Russell Emporium, PA

Sarah Johnson Coudersport, PA

John Snyder Coudersport, PA

Randy Jones Hermitage, PA

Olga Snyder Coudersport, PA

Tara Kemp Boerne, TX

Daniel Sorensen Bolivar, NY

Paul Knappenberger Sharon, PA

Sheila Sorensen Bolivar, NY

Jacquie Knappenberger Sharon, PA

Dan Tice Kirkwood, PA

Arnold Larson Whitefish, MT

STS Circuit Hiker Award Congratulations to the following who are the most recent

inductees into this distinguished group!

1113 Robert Ross Williamsport, PA

1114 Sarah Johnson Coudersport, PA

6 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944

Leaving a Legacy By Wanda Shirk, STC President

Most of us want to leave a legacy of some sort when our

time here is up. Part of the legacy is usually for children or

other family members, but beyond that, we usually want

our lives to have counted in some other way by contribu-

tions that we've made to things that have been important

to us and valuable in our lives. For me, and for most of

us, that means making a lasting contribution to the trails

we've loved, so that others can appreciate them in future

generations.

Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective

People and First Things First, suggests the principle of "Living

with the end in sight." He suggests that we imagine the me-

morial service or life celebration at the end of our lives.

Who is there? How are we remembered? What do people

have to say about us? What is our legacy?

Some people save everything they can for a final distribu-

tion after they are sure they won't need or can't spend any

more of their lifetime accumulation. In other words, they

plan to make all of their ultimate gifts in their last will and

testament. However, we can find a great deal of satisfac-

tion in life by giving as much as we can as we go along,

when it is possible.

My dad used to tell a story of a young man who wanted to

be a pastor at a small church. The board asked him what

salary he would require. He answered: "What you pay me

is up to you. Whatever I get, I will save 10%, and give

10% to the Lord's work, and my family and I will live on

the rest."

That basic principle of handling money was one of the

best and most important things I ever learned. Save 10%,

give 10%, and live on the rest.

Once you have learned the joy of giving, you have the

challenge of deciding where your giving will go. Perhaps

at some point you might consider giving back to trails with

either a portion of your annual giving, or a legacy gift you

plan for the end of your life. The Susquehannock Trail

Club is now set up to make your gift last "For Good—

Forever" to use the slogan of the Community Foundation.

Our endowment fund, or legacy fund, with the Communi-

ty Foundation, now has $4,800. We need to have $12,500

in the fund in order to begin to get annual dividend distri-

butions from the foundation. Contributions of any

amount can be made to the fund at any time, but we are

encouraging folks to make significant contributions, in

return for which we will grant life membership in the STC.

A gift of $500 (or $400

for senior citizens, over

age 65), or $800 for a

couple ($600 if either

partner is over 65) qual-

ifies for a life member-

ship.

Our hats are off this

month to Nancy and

Joe Nachtwey of

Schnecksville, PA, who

became our newest Life

Members with their gift

of $800 to the endow-

ment fund in Decem-

ber. AWESOME! Thank you so much, Joe and Nancy!

They join Wanda Shirk, Joy Olney, and Bill Boyd as our

first five major-donor life members. The club's endow-

ment fund also received $2500 this year from an anony-

mous donor who contributed significantly to 10 funds in

Potter County this year. Our endowment fund was set up

just in time to be a recipient of this major gift.

The beginning of a new year is a good time to give thought

to the legacy you want to leave. We look forward to add-

ing to our Life Member list. Any life membership can be

made in five installments, such as $100/year for a regular

life membership ($80 for senior citizens), or $160/year for

couples ($120/year for senior citizens). Thanks for think-

ing of hiking trails in your giving plans!

STC Outreach By Bill Boyd

The Susquehannock Trail Club participated in seven

events in 2015, beginning with the Kettle Creek Outdoor

Show in March. We set up a table at the Coudersport Ma-

ple festival, the Galeton Library Outdoor Festival, the

Coudersport Falling Leaves Festival, and the Wellsville,

NY Ridge walk. In the meantime, we manned a water sta-

tion at the God's Country Marathon, and sang The Happy

Wanderer as we marched behind our new trailer in the

Galeton 4th of July parade. Thanks to all who helped out

at these events.

And thanks to the entire crew for their help and support.

Twenty-sixteen will be a great year to really put the STS in

tip-top condition in celebration of our 50th anniversary in

2017. We're working on ways to celebrate this event, so

feel free to suggest your ideas and enjoy the good times.

“Here is your country. Cher-

ish these natural wonders,

cherish the natural resources,

cherish the history and ro-

mance as a sacred heritage,

for your children and your

children's children. Do not

let selfish men or greedy in-

terests skin your country of

its beauty, its riches or its

romance.”

~Theodore Roosevelt

7 Newsletter printed by the Welfare Hollow Publishing Group, New Florence, PA 15944