Sinnemahoning WITO - Day 2 - PM

The afternoon started off with the Wildlife Conservation Officer Wayne Hunt driving up with the trapped bear. This was also as lunch was being delivered and our photography session wrapping up with a group shot. As we returned to the pavilion Jackie asked the photographer if she could move his matted prints out of the way so that she could set up the lunch for everyone. His reply was, "No, you better let me do that." Jackie had to set up lunch bunched up on another table, his prints were there until well after lunch.

Before and after we ate our lunch, Wayne gave us information about bear trapping and documenting them after their release. This was not a nuisance bear but a random sample he trapped not too far up the mountain. He shot it with a tranquilizer and we ate our lunch. After about 15 minutes, he told us that sometimes one shot is not enough and when he goes to check on the bear they are not totally out and will get up and get out. He told us to stay back as he opened the trap and if the bear came out not to worry it was drugged and just let it walk away. He asked for another larger fellow to come in case he needed help (lifting it I assumed) and opened the trap. It was Mark who had gone to assist and he stood nearby as Wayne tugged the bear's ear. I saw him quickly step back and close the trap as fast as he could. The bear needed another shot. We all went back to eating and I went to ask Mark what he saw that made him decide to close the trap. Mark said, "The bear raised it's head, looked up and and was getting ready to come out."

The second shot was all it took and Wayne went about tagging both ears and extracting one of the bear's teeth. The tooth would be sent off and cut to determine how old the bear is. It then took three people, Wayne, Mark and Janet, to lift what turned out to be a 350 lb mature black bear. He was a good size but not a huge fellow. They rolled him onto his brisket and monitored his respiration. By this point about 60 people total had gathered to hear what Wayne had to share and he graciously answered ever question. He then said people could come up and have their photos taken one at a time. I took DaBraLady's and balked at going myself. The tooth extraction had gotten to me and when Jackie prompted me to go up I told her so. She assured me it was a minor tooth and she really wanted to take a photo of each of her women with the bear. I went up and touched a live warm black bear. As Wayne and Jackie said to everyone, it was a usually once in a lifetime opportunity. This was only the first of many unique and special moments WITO at Sinnemahoning provided.

The activity that followed lunch was the first one where DaBraLady and I parted ways. She went fly fishing I went on a 6 mile mountain bike ride led by Liz Fronheiser. The ride was pure joy for me. We rode along at a pace that was a bit slow because of the tow other riders but we still had a lot of fun. It was just right in length and the slower pace allowed for chatting and getting to know one another. We were on a gravel trail, did some paved road to get to a grass track. It was a figure 8 that was well paced. Liz coached us on how to navigate short "water bars" as well as best body placement of long and rough descents.

Kayaking was next and DaBraLady and I both were going. Neither of us took cameras so I will not have photos to add until someone else shares some with me. We got into a shuttle that drove us the the boat launch at the lake. The instructor, Rich Henrich, was kind and made sure we were all outfitted with PFDs and then taught us the proper way to get in and out of a kayak. We dabbled with just a little technique and then we enjoyed ourselves on the lake. We looked for the eagle's nest and eventually Rich showed us where one of the eagles was perched in the distance. I have little upper body strength so this was a bit of work for me. I also came to a clear conclusion that, although I was enjoying myself, I really preferred land activities. I was getting quite tired and a little hungry by the time we returned.

The next class was taught to everyone together instead of us breaking into groups. It was focused on cordage and primitive fire making. The instructor was just a little quirky and someone I would call a fire making geek. He was just too enthusiastic about the hundreds of different fire making techniques he had tried. I don't think he was a pyromaniac really just way too crazy about everything you could use to make cords to make bows to make a fire.

With the warm sun on my back combined with fatigue and hunger I just could not focus and the guy's enthusiasm struck me as hilarious. The knife he had around his neck in the black duct tape sheath was odd but his demeanor of giving a nervous little laugh of victory after he proved a point started to distract me into finding humor in everything he did. I was exhausted and wrongly snorted in laughter at some random thing he said but I held my composure when no one else laughed or even looked at me. Missy though I had started to snore. Liz was falling asleep in the sun because her group had just had a huge snack at the outdoor cooking class. The class was running long and the pizza guys showed up just as the instructor's pile of tinder burst into flames. We all applauded with enthusiasm. Personally, I was applauding the arrival of the pizza.

After the meal I biked back to camp for a break but found myself wanting to try to find a letterbox. It had been one that RGBisMe and I had not been able to determine it's starting location for sure. On the bird walk, someone mentioned that the one structure was a huge bat enclosure so I knew that was the starting point. I biked the 1 1/2 miles to it and started to try to make the clue come together. I had just as much luck as the first time we tried and came up empty. The trip wasn't a total waste because I checked on another local letterbox that was still in great shape. Crayola Posse are still the only finders and it has been out for almost 3 years.

As I biked back, I realized I probably had biked a total of 15 miles that day over many areas and terrains in the park. I made it back in time to shower before the final astronomy program that evening. The sky was patchy with clouds and we were not sure if we would be able to see anything but Pat Garrigan's talk was enthusiastic. He had many nice handouts and interesting information. As we waited for skies to clear, DaBraLady pointed out the amazing display the fire flies were giving over the edge of the dam. Soon the telescope was trained on a star and finally on Saturn. We all stood single file to quickly get a glimpse of this unique planet. DaBraLady was in front of me and I was last in line I think. I heard her say, "Oh my god! That is amazing!" As she stepped back to give me a turn I remembered what it was like the first time I saw Saturn through a scope, about 15 years before. It was something that really stayed with me. I said to her, "Look again, this is a moment you won't forget." It was a peak moment for everyone there a a stellar way to end the day.