Montour Trail-Letter

Volume 12, Issue 6

November/December, 2001

The very active Collier Township group had long planned a big Trail Party for Saturday, September 15. It nearly got cancelled, as were so many other events that weekend, but Collier Township supervisor Doreen Ducsay persevered. "People need to come out and celebrate," she said. "We need to be together, and remember what a good community we have here." It turned out to be a welcome relief from the September 11 news stories, and an almost spiritual gathering of area residents, trail users, volunteers, and many others who attended the event.

Most of the festivities were held just off the Panhandle Trail near the two old quarries, which adjoin the trail about a half-mile west of the Walkers Mill trailhead. These have been the focus this year of an immense cleanup and landscaping effort on the part of Collier Township Panhandle folks, making the grounds now quite attractive. Needless to say, the eighty-foot-high rock faces are also spectacular, which gave volunteer rock climber, and cave expert Chuck Hilpert an idea. The terrorist attacks happened just days before, so he went out and borrowed a forty-foot American flag and hung it from the rocks, providing the perfect backdrop for the whole event. "We figured it (hanging the flag) would take a couple of us about two hours," he said, grinning. "It took four of us nearly four hours! But it's nice to see Old Glory up there."

The most popular of the afternoon's many activities were tours of a small trailside cave, led by Hilpert. He took nearly fifty groups of first-time explorers, clad in jeans and hardhats, out of the afternoon sunshine and into the eighty-foot-long cave. Despite the final ten-foot belly crawl, everyone coming back out was impressed. Other volunteers set up and supervised a 'rock climbing for kids' -- on a real rock cliff face. Many other community volunteers led various activities and served hot food, drinks, and treats. Of course, there were lots of people out for a cool-but-sunny walk or a bike ride on the Trail, of which 6.5 miles are finished, nearly to McDonald.

A concert capped the mid-afternoon. Food and beer were available all day, but after sunset, the hot cider tasted great. The evening was lit up -- literally -- by two huge bonfires, as the Celtic "Wild Geese Band" set just the right musical tone: a mix of Irish traditional and American, both mournful and strengthening. The spirits of the crowd were lifted by the soulful music, by being in a beautiful place under the stars, and by a tangible sense of connection with each other: a community of people on the trail.