Larry A. Smail's Blog

I have  hiked the Fred Woods Trail before seeing elk and other wildlife.  Since Laurie and I would be staying close to this site, I planned on spending some time hiking the trail and showing her the huge rocks father back across the mountain top. We arrived to hike in the afternoon.

We had walked approximately half a mile when we noticed two others coming towards us. I asked if they had seen anything of interest. The response was they had seen a rattlesnake stretched across the trail closer to the rock formations we were heading to.  The man, also, reported the snake wasn’t very ambitious. the cooling temperatures of fall had made it lethargic. From that point on Laurie and I didn’t hold hands. My job was to search out that snake for photos before it moved  away if possible.  I was now the official “point man.”

I watched the trail and, apparently, the rattlesnake had slithered off among the ricks and ferns. We continued our hiking looking ahead for those big rocks. At one point, I heard something over the edge of the trail and looked to see very dark or black among the leaves. was it a bear? The color indicated a strong possibility, but  I can’t say with certainty.

Once we arrived at the rock area I showed Laurie the interesting crevices and tunnel-like exposures among the rocks.  The breaks in the rocks are interesting making for narrow trails between rocks with high rocky sides.

The Fred Woods Trail circles around the mountains top for close to five miles in total length. The Camp Quehanna Young Adult Conservation established this trail in 1980.  The trail was named in memory of Frederick Woods who was killed  while working on state forest lands.  This site is located within the Elk State Forest between Benezette and Driftwood, Pennsylvania. After we returned to the jeep we drove a short distance to an area opened from forests to show the beauty of the distant Pennsylvania slopes and hollows. It is called the Top of the Mountain and it is worth seeing.

Eerie glow from the other end opening.

Top of the Mountain view.