Larry A. Smail's Blog

The spring gobbler season is rapidly approaching the Pennsylvania hills and hollows. My friend, Frank Maus, and I know how we are once that season is in place… we are hunting! With the though in mind we decided we needed to get a hike in prior to the gobbler season. Today was te day!

We have had a lot of rainy weather this spring and finding time to get together for a hike was scarce. I watched the weather and this week was looking like another time with rain potential so I made contact and we met to beat the coming water.

   The morning was beautiful, but clouds were on the way. We traveled along Chechak Road and circled through the woods and fields back through the Ford City Sportsman’s Club grounds. We were looking for gobblers in the fields. The birds were absent this morning. However, we did hear an angry hen cutting. Although the bird was fairly close the thick vegetation forbade our view. Frank saw a turkey briefly flying in the woods. I was yapping too much to hear the flush.

We did see one deer; a couple of rabbits (one was the Easter bunny) and a few squirrels. We, also, saw grackles, bluebirds, flickers, geese, wood duck and many other specie of bird life.

   The hike was several miles in total and the conversation was good. The area will traveled consisted of some rolling hills of forest land and fields allowing for some high altitude views. These combinations made for some spectacular views . We stood at several locations just searching the distances in wonderment as to how far we were actually observing.

A great day indeed!

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Laurie turning away

   After church services, Laurie and I dressed for a winter hike and headed for the “Buttermilk Falls Trail”. This trail parallels Cowanshannock Creek in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. This section I am guessing to be about 3 miles both ways.  The creek is fast water pushed through very huge boulders. The waters hold bass; suckers; trout; carp….anything willing to swim up from the Allegheny River.

    The trail is encompassed with hemlocks and rhododendron plus big oak and wild cherry; beech and birch. Old coal mines from long, long ago are present higher along the hill. An old brick building, maybe I should say the remains of an old brick building, is set above the trail. A couple of bridges can be crossed to witness the creek or a rock-laden spring flow.                              

The deer were actively using the trail in search of fallen acorns. A lot of blood was present along one set of tracks. I wonder what may have happened to this deer to allow this much flow to occur. Coyotes? Fall over rocks? Regardless I hope the deer survives.

Buttermilk Falls in Ice

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    I told Laurie I had an urge to walk in the snow. I looked out the window and the landscape around the home looked beautiful from the freshly falling snow. We watched CSI and at 10:00 P.M. I bundled up and headed out the door for a walk of unknown destination. accompanying me on this trek was my wide-brimmed hat; a camera and my Tost Stick. Never heard of a Tost Stick? In simple terms it is a sassafras walking stick given to me by my friend Randy Tost. The handle has a section of leather that fits my hand well and I planned to, also, use it for stability for my camera.

  The night-time walk began the way I wanted it to… traffic was non-existent! I walked the entire length of Pine Hill Road in West Kittanning, Pennsylvania before crossing the Citizen’s Bridge over the Allegheny River. The walk continued into Kittanning before once again reversing the walk.

Citizen's Bridge at Kittanning

  I have mentioned in previous blogs about the beauty of a windless, snowy environment. I stopped more than once to listen and take in the solitude…the peacefulness.. and the quiet. These are seldom experienced in this area and I was “absorbing it all in” and totally enjoying the evening!

I returned home at midnight completely white from the snow. The only disadvantage of the hike was the fact that I had difficulty falling asleep. I felt invigorated from the 4 mile travel. I recommend this kind of walk to all. If you are fortunate to live in a rural area  the time out in the snow will be even more enjoyable. I used to do these walks  often in my younger days living in a more rural area of the county.

  As for photos, I had some success despite not using a tripod. The colors are beautiful. The amount of snow falling somewhat softened the images. 

Middle of the bridge

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Frank (The Muskie) Maus

   My good friend, Frank Maus and I planned for this winter hike despite the cold temperatures. The trek’s beginning was at Rosston, Pa at the site where Crooked Creek enpties into the mighty Allegheny River. The hike would takes us south past the site of the old community of Logansport. The small village is now gone and all that is present is coal mining operations.

The temperature in the morning was single digit number around 7 degrees. Being the hardy (some may say stupid) individuals  we just bundled appropriately and headed off for the approximately 5 mile hike. The river was about 99% frozen over. We pointed out the number of tracks on the ice and snow as deer, fox and coyote cross from one side to the other.

1902 Railroad Bridge

   The walk began with the crossing on the rails to trail bridge built on the old 1902 railroad bridge. The first thing of interest were the number of deer tracks utilizing this bridge. Frank told me of a hunt of chasing deer and when he was following them was uncertain as to where they went. Their tracks told the tale!

    We continued south on the trail forcing our boots through the eight inches of snow. We discussed the various sights as we walked. At one point we stopped to gaze upon the rocky outcrops and some fox tracks when the red fox suddenly ran out along the high side. We saw it go back and forth three times. Later on I could see movement high in a tree. We shortly decided we were seeing a balloon.

    The walk proved to be a “gab” session as well as a walk! We talked hunting and fishing. Frankie and I fish occasionally together for muskies on the river. As usual our topics end up with laughs over the place we worked those 30 plus years and the fellows we worked with. Always a howl!!

Crows on the ice.

   Other critter observations  of the morning were some geese circling an open area of water; cardinals; and some crows.

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