Sports-Outdoors

MOSHANNON — Kurt Smithgall of State College paddled to a time of 41 minutes, 36 seconds in the wildwater class to earn the Top Dog Award at the 2011 Red Moshannon Downriver Race recently.

The wonder of falling water, water in motion over and around boulders, water through chutes, water in cascades, and water scouring potholes in plunge pools at the foot of precipitous drops are the magic of The Glens Natural Area, which is in Ricketts Glen State Park. The sound of moving water fills the gorge. Stone steps and wooden bridges bring you to the edge of waterfalls. You can feel the sound of water. And you can move through this landscape for hours!

Penn State’s 7,000-acre Stone Valley Forest, between Tussey Mountain and Stone Mountain, includes more than 25 miles of hiking trails. This article will focus on a four-mile loop of three trails in that area — Spearmint, Woods Route, and Mountain View, all of which are denoted by blue blazes.

When the subject of Wildlife Management Units comes up, almost every hunter seems to have likes or dislikes. Many of those opinions center on where unit boundaries are drawn and the size of WMUs when compared to the former management by county.

I attended the Pennsylvania Game Commission meeting in Harrisburg last week and there is always a lot going on at their winter meeting, but the biologist’s report and proposed changes surrounding black bears topped the list this year.

STATE COLLEGE — Flyfisher’s Paradise, located at 2603 East College Avenue, State College, is offering many free fly tying seminars during the upcoming weeks. Seminars begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings at the store. Seminars marked with an asterisk are limited to six people, so preregistration is required at 237-4189.

Preliminary findings are in from the first six months of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Urban Bear Study, and they show some surprising results. If anyone within the commission had been worried that these bears’ citified environment might protect them from harvest, they need not worry any

Organized predator hunts — particularly for coyotes — are a large part of Pennsylvania’s winter hunting scene. Several new hunts are being offered this winter, and at least one hunt has been suspended. However, over 25 clubs and organizations still have hunts scheduled.

Two hawks glide along the forested mountain top — on their way south through Pennsylvania to their winter grounds. Trained watchers follow the raptors with binoculars and identify them as adult redtailed hawks. Their passing is noted in the researchers’ log.

Where do you go when you want “to find peace and solitude?” As great as our Pennsylvania natural heritage is — over 4.5 million acres of public land — this forest is increasingly becoming industrialized.

It is that wonderful time of year again.

An estimated 17,000 to 18,000 black bears will await hunters this fall. Archery hunters will have the first crack at our bear population beginning in just eight days. New this year — the five-day statewide archery season runs from Nov. 15-19. Also new this year is a Saturday opener for rifle bear season, which begins Nov. 20. According to Mark Ternent, Pennsylvania Game Commission bear biologist, this is the highest bear population that this state has seen since his agency started to keep records. A record harvest is also a real possibility.

Penn State University’s 7,000-acre Experimental Forest in Stone Valley includes more than 25 miles of hiking trails. This article will focus on the Homestead Trail (blue blazes) and include shorter segments of the Lake Trail (yellow blazes), Sawmill Trail (blue blazes), and Ironstone Trail (blue blazes), for a loop of 51/ 2 miles.

For ultramarathoner David James, it was a chance to compete on the highest level, while Penn State faculty member Andrew Webb chose to run in honor of his recently deceased wife.

Fall is a great time to observe wildlife and there are few places that offer better opportunities to do that than the Lower Trail, a 17-mile Rails-to-Trails route along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River between Flowing Springs in Blair County and the village of Alfarata, Huntingdon County.