First Day Out by Liam Baldrige

It was near the end of our day on the river when dark clouds started rolling in.  We weren't sure how long they'd hold up. Luckily, we were notto far from our take out so, we hurried up and finished the last half-mile or so. We got to the shore and met Nancy Taras, a volunteer at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Seconds later it started to downpour.  We all loaded into the cars and went to the Nature Center.  Nancy treated us with chocolate and snacks while giving us a tour and a little history.

The Lehigh Gap Nature Center was created in 2002 with the purpose to rejuvenate the land because zinc mines had destroyed most of the natural habitat.  The Lehigh Gap Nature Center is relatively new but has made a substantial difference to the land. Within ten years, this area has changed from a barren rocky area into a developing grassland.  All sorts of new life has sprung up, including many animals and hardwood trees.  This hardwood trees consist of species in the Red and White Oak groups, the Chestnut, birch, and maple.  This forest is called The Appalachian oak forest.  The Chestnut tree was once a dominant species in the Appalachian forest. However, in the early 1900s, the Chestnut Blight, which was a fungus called Cryphonectria parasitica, almost caused the Chestnut tree to become extinct.  At this time new shoots from old stumps develop but the thriving Chestnut forests of earlier times no longer exist.  One new sign of animal life that we spotted was a luna moth caterpillar.  It had a vivid green color to it, it appeared to be basking on a hot rock in the sun.

After our visit to the Nature Center, we had a delicious Mountain House di

nner and headed up the Appalachian Trail for a mile in search of a shelter.  Once reaching the shelter and seeing that it was full, we pulled out our tarps and made a canopy to sleep under.

Liam Baldrige