Year in Review: Top 10 PA Wilds blogs of 2020

Raindrops fall to earth on “headwaters mountain” near the northern Potter County village of Gold in the Pennsylvania Wilds Dark Skies landscape. At an elevation of nearly 2,500 feet, it’s amazing the direction those raindrops go, how far they travel and where they end up.

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If you’re into cryptozoology, the study of unknown mystery creatures, the Pennsylvania Wilds is a good place to visit. The forests are packed with Bigfoot sightings, and there are water monsters, too, such as the Susquehanna Seal said to inhabit the West Branch Susquehanna. And if you happen to be looking for this sort of thing, make sure you also look up.

There have been sightings of Thunderbirds, too.

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There isn’t much else on my mind this time of year other than cool, crisp, spring mornings with the sun rising over the opposing mountainside with the sounds of gobbles echoing down the valley. Turkeys live in some amazing places throughout the country, but it’s tough to beat the experience of hunting them in the big woods and steep mountainous terrain that the Pennsylvania Wilds has to offer. We have over two million acres of public lands available to roam and create whatever type of adventure that you can dream of. Turkey hunting in big timber can be extremely difficult at times, but very rewarding to say the least.

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There’s something special about the Cook Forest and the Ancients landscape of The Pennsylvania Wilds. It’s one of the few places left in the state where you can really tune into your surroundings and nature. That makes it one of the perfect places to disconnect. 

The concept of “disconnecting” is one that’s really important to me. As a social media agency owner, I spend a lot of time online. Being able to turn off my cell phone and connect with nature in a meaningful way is my idea of the perfect vacation — and luckily, the PA Wilds is filled with places to do that. 

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In his lifetime, Potter County farmer and landowner John Dodd had heard umpteen stories about a Native American seen carrying silver ore out of a mysterious cave on a mountainside in Sweden Valley, just east of Coudersport.

Dozens of prospectors had thoroughly searched the mountain and came away empty handed.

So, in the summer of 1894, with curiosity finally getting the best of him, Dodd set out to give it a try.

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As a know-it-all teenager, I was highly skeptical of the legend of Slim Croyle, but Aunt Dorothy said it was for real.

Aunt Dorothy never lied. A larger-than-life, jolly lady, quick with a laugh and a participant in many spirited practical jokes, you never knew what to expect. Her sentences always began with, “Say,” and usually ended with, “well isn’t that swell!”

When she suggested we go down to Cross Fork in the PA Wilds Dark Skies landscape to watch this guy “Slim” feed bread to a herd of wild deer, my rebellious teenage side told me I was way “too hip” for this sort of thing. On this warm August evening, I was perfectly content to hang out at Grandpa’s camp in Sweden Valley.

Aunt Dorothy would hear nothing of it and insisted I go. She guaranteed we would have a “swell time” watching Slim do his thing.

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We’ve all seen it in the movies. It’s an iconic scene. The explorer, played by Harrison Ford or maybe Nicholas Cage, finally discovers the lost city. He approaches through the vegetation, finally, dramatically, looking at an area nobody has inhabited for hundreds of years.

We’ve all paid to watch it, plus popcorn. But were you aware that you could actually experience that moment for yourself? Pennsylvania is full of ruins to explore. There are old communities that thrived when an industry was important, and then went out of business when it failed. Foundations, partial buildings, roads, and cemeteries are left behind in the forest.

The Pennsylvania Wilds are full of these, if you know where to look.

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Hiking a state forest trail this time of year brings a higher probability of a snake encounter, and the timber rattlesnake is the species that people generally fear the most.  One of three venomous snakes that occur in PA, the timber rattler embodies the wild appeal of Penn’s Woods.

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Nestled in the rural northern section of the state of Pennsylvania rests the lovely Pennsylvania Wilds. And within the Pennsylvania Wilds is the vast and stunning Allegheny National Forest. It is the only National Forest in the state and covers 513,175 acres of land. Known for its natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and welcoming communities, the Allegheny National Forest is bursting with opportunity, as are the communities that surround it!

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It’s one of the most prominent paranormal legends in America. He’s Bigfoot. And he’s a bipedal, humanoid land mammal, with shaggy hair and huge feet, known for leaving tracks wherever he goes. He’s popular because he’s so often sighted, and probably because he’s a distinctly American legend; Bigfoot is spotted all over the country.

And of course that includes the PA Wilds.

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