R&R found during annual trip to the mountains
R&R found during annual trip to the mountains
By Tyler Frantz
Bears, rattlesnakes and water seemed to be the highlights of our recent family getaway to “hunting camp.” Quietly situated in the heart of Lycoming County’s sprawling Pine Creek Valley, our cabin has served as a home away from home for annual summer vacations as long as I can remember.
The cold, clear mountain stream my son and nieces enjoyed splashing in last week is a familiar friend, for it’s the same old “crick” my brother, sisters, cousins and I, as well as my father, his siblings and cousins all grew up playing in until we either wore ourselves out or our lips turned blue. Mill Run, as it’s officially called, flows mere feet from our back porch and gives our camp its namesake. Though it has changed a bit since I was a boy, and even more so since my father’s generation, this timeless body of water has provided countless hours of fun building dams, catching crayfish, painting rocks, and it even imprinted a few bumps, scrapes and bruises along the way.
The run also serves as a natural travel hub for wildlife, as we often have resident black bears following the creek where it cuts through the steep mountains, sometimes seeking opportunistic meal opportunities.
Early in the week, old Blackie raided a garbage can the neighbors forgot to empty before they left, stringing crab legs, food wrappers and table scraps all through their yard, across the creek and up the mountainside. Bruins are no dummies, and they quickly learn to recognize summer cabins and campsites as easy places to score food. A few other bears came snooping as the week wore on, though they seemed a little disappointed by our lack of offerings. We’ve really had to become careful about trash disposal to avoid congregating bears, as mange has hit this region of the state particularly hard in recent years. However, it was a good sign that all bears we witnessed appeared healthy.
Other notable wildlife sightings throughout the week included a gray fox, skunk, kingfisher, bald eagle, multiple possums, deer and porcupines, two snapping turtles, a mink swimming with the largest bullfrog it could possibly fit in its mouth and a bobtailed raccoon. Yes, you read that correctly- a raccoon with no tail; imagine how goofy that poor guy must’ve looked.
We also saw more timber rattlesnakes than we could recall in all the summers vacationing upstate. Without really looking for them, we came across a half-dozen snakes in our travels- all of which were hanging around the roadways. Perhaps this high occurrence is due to rattlesnakes breeding in late July through early August, causing them to become more active, or maybe it was the dry weather.
Regardless, they were neat to see, and a few even offered some warning rattles as we observed them from a distance. It did make me watch my step more carefully, however, while walking through waist-high vegetation to fish the creeks. I wet-waded a mountain run one evening and nabbed a few native brook trout eager to gobble up a caddis dry fly. I believe I caught and released 5 or 6 in about half an hour, but I wasn’t really counting.
I do know I spooked more than I caught. But one hefty eight-incher didn’t see me approach his deep plunge pool hideout, and that one warranted a quick photo shoot. Satisfied, I placed him safely back into the water and quit for the night.
Dad and I, along with our good friends Jody and Mush, also hit up Pine Creek one afternoon to see if we could pull anything from the big water, despite the thermometer registering a scorching 94-degrees. With a fresh new senior license, this was my father’s first time fishing in years, so it was great to see him out wetting a line again. 
Though the fishing was slow at first, Mush caught a few smallmouth bass on a spinner, and I hooked two with a Wooly Bugger fly. But as the sun dipped behind the mountain casting shade upon the creek, the deep water yielded two incredible fish. Just as we were ready to pack things up and head for dinner, Mush brought in an impressive 25-inch trophy channel catfish, which amazingly hit a Rooster Tail of all things. Inspired by this good fortune, all four lines went directly back into the water.
Minutes later, Dad was hooked up, and the water’s wake soon revealed a beautiful 15-and-a-half inch walleye. It was only the second walleye he ever caught in Pine Creek, with his first occurring over thirty years ago. Needless to say, he was smiling from ear to ear. If you happen to be in the area, particularly on a rainy or oppressively hot day, I highly recommend visiting Tiadaghton State Forest’s DCNR office in Waterville. The place is part museum with really fascinating models, displays and artifacts relating to the area’s rich logging history. They also have a trout aquarium and birds of prey mounts hanging from the ceiling- pretty cool stuff.
As many times as we travel upstate, it never gets old. There’s always something new to see, old favorites with which to be reacquainted, and lots of rest and relaxation that naturally comes with the territory. Mill Run Camp does more than host and entertain us; it heals and rejuvenates too.
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