A group of hikers, illuminated by Saturday’s full moon, traversed the Countryside Conservancy’s trails in Lackawanna County.
The nighttime trek was a fundraiser to help restore the conservancy’s Trolley Trail that was destroyed by flash flooding in Sept.
"We're just really excited to be able to support this local nonprofit and help rebuild a really important part of our outdoor recreation here in Northeast PA," said Melissa Roberts, owner of the Ski Shack in Moosic.
Roberts organized the hike in North Abington Twp. She called it “Night of the Hiking Dead.” Bill Kern, executive director of the Countryside Conservancy, led the over 3-mile trek.
Ski Shack has a three-pronged mission, said Roberts.
"It's to help support the growing outdoor community here in Northeast PA, to bring awareness to nonprofits, and ultimately, to support conservation efforts," she said.
After 6 p.m. headlamps and flashlights clicked on. The bright moon, half covered by clouds, peaked through almost-bare trees.
Halloween is one of Robert's favorite holidays and she wanted to find a way to enhance the hike. She invited along Jami Hearn, a local medium and author.
The group of around 20 hikers stopped in a clearing about half-way through the hike. Hearn gave them advice.
"If your attention is called to a certain grove of trees, there's probably a reason," she said. "So be aware, there are a lot of ancestral connections in these lands."
The Trolley Trail runs from Clarks Summit to Dalton. It was completely washed during the deadly flash flooding in Lackawanna County on Sept. 9. Since then, the conservancy rebuilt most of it with volunteers and materials bought with donations. And as of last week, the trail is back open.
"We want to do you know longer term work on it, but it is very much usable for for most folks," said Kern. “The more that we can create awareness and raise some funds … It all helps.”
For more details, visit countrysideconservancy.org/.
