Thanksgiving Day Hike at French Creek

It has long been a tradition in my family to hike on Thanksgiving morning. I can remember being dragged out to various state and local parks in Central Pennsylvania in rainy, cold, dreary weather by my grandmother during much of my childhood. This year my mother and I both thought it was time to revive that tradition. So my brother's family, my mother and stepfather, and my children and I all met at French Creek State Park for a short hike before visiting the very same aforementioned grandmother (and grandfather) at their assisted living facility.

As tradition would have it, it was a wet, cold, dreary morning. My brother who frequents French Creek on his mountain bike and for hikes chose the trail. Despite the weather we all had a wonderful time especially Z and his cousin, C, who spent the whole hike playing with Papou. A is holding her own on many of our hikes now and complains if I try to put her in the backpack. We've been choosing simpler hikes for her so that she can join in the fun.

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and spent some time outdoors!

French Creek State Park

We had a lovely hike at French Creek State Park and enjoyed the lovely wood path that took us uphill quite a bit. This was by far the most challenging hike we have pursued since the group started and it seemed that everyone faired well and enjoyed themselves. Those of us who stuck around to camp also had a wonderful time, even if our neighbors weren’t so considerate. Sorry there aren't many pictures but someone forgot to change the camera battery before we left.
The hike at French Creek started out with a very steep and rocky uphill section. We lost two of our younger members who eventually caught up with us and managed the rest of the trail very well. Fall was definitely in the air but it wasn’t really noticeable until we reached the area that I remember from a previous hike that was waist high with beautiful, full ferns. The ferns were thin and browned during this hike but still lovely. And with most of our hikes this year we encountered an increased number of mushrooms.

The children did find some salamanders that they kept for the hike and tried, unsuccessfully, to take home with them. The boys on the hike found some dinosaur bones which were carried for much of the final part of the hike including the ascent down the long hill. Thanks to the daddy who helped them manage the longest of the bones down the steep hill.
All in all a beautiful day and probably the last of our afternoon hikes until next spring when the sunlight will be more in our favor. Our next hike will be at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton on Saturday, October 24, 2009. We will meet at the mountain at 10 a.m. This should be a wonderful experience for all who plan to attend as the mountain will be alive with activity during the fall migration.