Hikers brave elements to savor park in winter

They heard bird sounds and viewed animal tracks along the 2.5-mile path.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — For some people, the dead of winter can mean weeks or months of self-imposed hibernation. It might also be easy to assume that Mill Creek Park is blanketed in a coating of inertness.

A little time in the park, however, can go a long way toward dispelling such a notion. A long, robust hike can do a lot to get people attuned to outdoor sounds and sights often overlooked this time of year.

That’s one of the things 14-year-old Joey Fagnano appreciated about being part of Sunday’s two-hour, 2 ½-mile walk through Mill Creek.

“I enjoy going through the woods in winter and stuff, and seeing the animal tracks,” said Joey, a Canfield Village Middle School eighth grader.

The Canfield boy was one of about 25 people to take part in the afternoon expedition that began at the Ford Nature Education Center & Recreation Department, on Old Furnace Road, and covered several trails.

No one can say that Joey came unprepared: With few exceptions, the teen wore double the usual attire — two each of hoodies and pairs of pants and socks, along with one T-shirt and jacket.

Temperatures in the mid-20s and bright sun greeted veteran and less-experienced walkers of all ages for the event, which the nature center planned.

Leading the expedition, titled “Sounds of Winter,” was Carol Vigorito, a park naturalist, who took participants along or near landmarks such as the Lily Pond, Lake Glacier and the Birch Cabin.

The main purpose was to deepen people’s appreciation for nature while allowing them to get plenty of fresh air and exercise, Vigorito noted.

It wasn’t long before Vigorito pointed out various types of tracks in the scant snow that were made by turkeys, deer, raccoons and possibly a coyote.

Puncturing the quiet of the woods were the occasional sounds of birds, such as crows, chickadees and titmice.

“I’m hoping to see and hear things you hear in winter, like melting ice and ice cracking,” she said. “You never know what you’ll hear in the wintertime.”

The hike occasionally became something of a science lesson, as Vigorito explained certain winter phenomena, including the rustling sounds during light wind (some oak and small beech trees keep their leaves year-round), why geese seem unusually calm (they have yet to stake their territory), and reasons some sounds seem to carry farther in cold weather.

Geese are herbivores, which means they eat natural green plants, so it’s not advisable to feed them bread, for example, Vigorito advised.

Near the Lily Pond, one observant walker spotted the dull green beginnings of skunk cabbage, which usually grows in moist areas. The cabbage is able to generate its own heat, the main reason it’s one of the earliest wildflowers to appear, Vigorito explained.

Hikers also saw several large ice formations overlooking various streams, as well as patterns of numerous shapes that had formed in narrow creek passages and along downed branches in water.

The park offers several hikes each month, the next being a bird walk that’s set for 8 a.m. Saturday.Those interested are asked to meet at the MetroParks Bikeway Trailhead at the MetroParks Farm on state Route 46 in Canfield.