Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of winter. The trees look naked, the house gets harder to heat, the roads turn icy, there’s less sunlight, my hands and lips become chapped, the dogs still need to be walked, the ice cream shops close down for the season, everyone seems to get sick, “I can’t put my arms down” in my winter jacket… and it’s just downright COLD.
But I’m an optimist. For as much as I complain, it’s in my nature to find the sunnier side of things. And if you live in a place where it could snow anytime between late October and early May, you had better find the sunnier side.
Photo: Daisy (black and white) and Nellie (brown), our two dogs who love the snow much more than I do.
I joke, but there is a reason why people love living in the PA Wilds, even when the temperatures dip below zero.
One of our family friends, Wanda, says she would never want to live anywhere else. Her home is in Treasure Lake, a cute little cabin where icicles hang from the roof and red cardinals come to perch on her birdfeeder. “It’s like living in a snowglobe,” she always tells me. “Isn’t it magical? There’s something holy about Mother Nature in the winter.”
Another friend, John, puts his bicycle in storage for the season and takes out the cross country skis. He posts photos of himself on all the nearby rail trails, his cheeks red with the cold but his smile even wider than in the summertime. John tells me it’s easier to ski where someone has already made tracks, but he says it’s more rewarding to be the first one to lay down the trail in the snow.
A former colleague and friend of mine, Mel, could go anywhere in the world. He’s taken trips around the planet and explored countless landscapes. When it came time to retire, people thought he would become a snowbird and settle somewhere south. “Of course not!” I remember him shouting. “Why would I want to miss out on any of the four seasons? That’s what makes Pennsylvania so great. You get all of the seasons, and you really get to appreciate each one for what it is.”
So I keep those words in mind. Appreciate each season for what it is.
One winter day a couple of years ago, I was traveling from Clearfield to DuBois, traveling over Rockton Mountain. I remember my mind being occupied at first, maybe with unanswered emails or leftover household chores.
Then, as I crested the top of the mountain, something in my mind shifted.
Looking down over the hillsides with the ice glistening in the trees and the snow laying seemingly untouched, I could only think about how lucky I was to live somewhere where I got to experience a sight like this. I pulled my car off the road and got out, dumbfounded.
“People pay money to go on vacations to experience a view like this. Some people – a lot of people, actually – will never get to see what I’m seeing right now,” I remember thinking. “And I almost missed out on it.”
I walked on a little bit of a nearby trail for a while, admiring my fresh footprints in the snow and not even caring that my ill-prepared feet were getting cold without winter boots. I snapped a few photos, but I’m no professional photographer. Even if I was, a photo couldn’t capture the sound of tinkling glass as the sun slowly melted ice from the tree branches or the smell of pine trees and a wood furnace somewhere in the distance.
I eventually (and reluctantly) got back into the car, going about my day with a new perspective.
I know it sounds corny, but I always go back to that moment when I find myself hating winter.
Will I still complain about cold hands and wet gloves and chapped lips and ice on the windshield? Of course. Will I still grumble when the snow plow covers my driveway’s entrance and the ice cream shop closes down for the season? Obviously.
But when those complaints come, I now remind myself to appreciate the season for what it is. I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.
Author: Britt Madera
Britt joined the PA Wilds team as communications manager in 2022, helping to tell the stories that make our region so unique, whether that is covering our beautiful landscapes, the innovative businesses, or the spunky people that call it home. She had worked the last 10 years in radio and news broadcasting, and now she’s continuing to connect media outlets with positive news stories. Britt oversees external communications, media relations, and paid and volunteer content on the blog. As someone who grew up in Clearfield County and moved back shortly after college, Britt is eager to share her passion for the PA Wilds and help our area grow and shine.