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Participants take an educational winter hike through park
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
If you ask Bill Locketti about his favorite aspects of Mill Creek MetroParks, be prepared for a long, passionate response.
“It’s like heaven on Earth; I’m sometimes here four hours a day,” the Austintown man said. “I play tennis with my girlfriend, run the trails and love nature and the beauty of it.”
In light of that level of endearment, you might say that it was a given that he would be among those who took part in a 90-minute hike Sunday that began at the Ford Nature Center, off Old Furnace Road on the South Side.
Locketti, 58, a union laborer for Youngstown-based Laborers International Union Local 125, joined about 15 others for the walk, “Place of Pines,” which took them around much of Lake Cohasset.
Conducting the educational and recreational hike was Marilyn Williams, a park naturalist since April 2013.
“It’s a wonderful place to view wildlife in its natural habitat,” said Williams, referring to an elevated area overlooking the lake.
A thin sheet of ice covered a large stretch of Lake Cohasset, which was refilling after having recently been drained so as to allow workers to repair a collapsed shoulder along West Cohasset Drive. The project also entailed adding rock-filled baskets that serve as a makeshift retaining wall.
The lake is the oldest and smallest of the park’s three major bodies of water. It was built in 1897 on about 28 acres, and in 1899, a bathhouse was added, Williams noted, adding that swimmers often rented bathing suits for 25 cents an hour and towels for 10 cents per hour.
Williams explained that a large section of what looks like pine trees abutting the lake actually are hemlock pines, which produce small pine cones, typically grow to between 40 and 70 feet and can live to be 800 years old. Weather conditions need to be ideal for their seeds to grow, however, she continued.
The naturalist also pointed to a row of rocks that contain moss and lichen, a slow-growing plant that often forms on rocks and trees and is a favorite food for deer. Soon after, participants saw evidence of beaver activity in which the animals had placed branches in the water to prepare for winter.
“They [also] can dive into their dens to escape from mountain lions and other enemies,” Williams said.
The hike took the walkers across the Silver Bridge, which formerly was a suspension bridge that the Youngstown Bridge Co. had built in 1895. Over the years, the popular landmark has been referred to as the “Cinderella Bridge” and by dozens of other nicknames, she explained.
Williams also pointed to less-obvious finds such as an area called “Witches Cave.” It’s been said that the area was closed because a child once got stuck in a small crevice between two large rocks.
A little farther along, participants viewed a former coal mine into which dogs had been sent to extract coal largely because of the narrow entrance. The mine likely was active in the 1800s, and rail cars were used to transport the coal, she noted.
Also, the hikers were told about a nearby amphitheater. Certain tribes of Native Americans probably used the enclosure to protect them from inclement weather as they passed through the park.
The walk certainly was not devoid of wildlife because participants saw several mallard ducks on the water, as well as several scattered dreys, which are nests usually made from twigs that tree and flying squirrels build high in trees.
Winter’s chill, snow and ice might be just around the corner, but don’t think that such conditions that are unfavorable for many will keep Locketti and other die-hards from taking advantage of Mill Creek MetroParks’ offerings.
“I’m down here every time in the winter; you just bundle up,” said Locketti, adding that he also enjoys the ice formations near Lanterman’s Mill.