A Frigid January Hike, And An Unexpected Polar Plunge, At The Susquehanna Wetlands

A Frigid January Hike, And An Unexpected Polar Plunge, At The Susquehanna Wetlands

Susquehanna Wetlands (30 of 44)
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January is usually the coldest month of the year here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. However, last year we had  very mild January weather.And it has been somewhat mild in January for a few years now. Not his year. This January has been one of the coldest on record. In addition to some snow,  temperatures plunged to well below zero near my home in Hazle Township, Luzerne County  this past week. On Saturday the morning temperature warmed to a mild 8 degrees when I took my daily morning walk through my neighborhood.

Of course, I wanted to head to the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township,  my favorite hiking spot here in Pennsylvania.  I wanted to see how  the cold affected the ponds, canals and river, and the critters that live there.  I  was fortunate to escape the cold and visit Florida for a bit so this would be my first hike in the wetlands in three weeks.   The skies were clear when I left my home and began the 24 mile drive to the wetlands. High clouds moved in and it was a warmer 10 degrees when I parked near  the entrance to the wetlands.

The access road to the wetlands parking lot is closed in the winter so I park my Jeep by  the two ponds near the gate and walk in the .4 mile to the trail-heads. On Saturday I found a Dr. Zhivago like winter wonderland. The ground was covered in snow and the trees covered in a frost that was glittering in the early morning sun.

It was quiet as I surveyed the frozen ponds. In the warm months I am usually hearing the flapping of the wings and high pitched whistle like calls of the wood ducks eluding my camera. The migratory song birds would be joining their year long resident cousins and filling the surrounding woods with a chorus of beautiful songs. Insects would be adding to the sounds of the wetlands. Well, it wasn’t warm and only a cold silence greeted me as I began my hike.

I walked on the access road where I found many animal tracks in the snow. I’m not good at identifying animal tracks but I was able to identify one set of human tracks in the snow. I now knew I was the second person to walk here this past week .

Along the way I only heard the sounds of a few birds in the distance, song sparrows and white throats sparrows. I usually see a lot of them, and other Winter residents,  woodpeckers , wrens, tit mouses and nuthatch feeding in the thick brush along the road. There was nothing stirring on this frigid morning. I walked to the parking lot, and down to the ancient Susquehanna River.

I was anticipating it being ice covered . I was surprised when it was mostly open water. The river was frozen when I crossed over the bridge at Berwick, about five miles west of where I stood.

I believe the reason for the open water,  is this , the nearby nuclear power facility. The  water used to cool the nuclear reactors, now heated,  is discharged into the Susquehanna River about a mile east of where I stood.

A small flock of common mergansers was  swimming in the open water, until I disturbed their  swim. However, they couldn’t fly too far down the river since it was ice covered.

I walked into the wetlands, were the tracks in the snow told me there was a cross country skier, a few humans and a lot of animals visiting the wetlands the last few days.

The  canals and ponds  in the wetlands were frozen solid and snow covered.

There were all kinds of tracks in the snow, on the canals and ponds, and on the trail. I can not distinguish them but I’m sure they included beavers, muskrats, foxes, minks and probably river otters. I hoped to see one.

As I walked under the now cloudy skies I heard something rustling in the leaves. I stopped, hoping it was one of the critters that made the tracks. I stood still for 10 minute’s searching for the critter making the sound. It sounded loud in the silent wetlands. Well, I was surprised to find it was only a couple of Carolina wrens foraging for food in the leaf litter.

They blended  in  with the leaves and were hard to locate  even when I knew where they where.

I also saw  a downy woodpecker in a tree above the trail, but it would be the last  for awhile.

The wetlands were covered in a heavy frost, a result of the moisture from the Susquehanna River. A frost covers a few of the remaining winter berries,

green brier berries, and

the leaves of the green brier vines, which still maintained some green color.

The only other green now visible in the wetland were the tree club moss or princess pine plants.

I walked past this  pond,

and through a wetland,

and came to the other side Water Fowl Pond,  opposite from where I parked my Jeep.

The pond was frozen, and after some investigation,

I decided it was thick enough to support my weight.

I walked across the pond, getting a wood duck, mallard and great blue heron perspective of the shore, where I spent many hours in the Spring and Summer observing them. There were a lot of animal tracks in the snow on the middle of the pond, but as I mentioned above, I couldn’t tell what kind.

I left the frozen pond and began my one mile hike to the river lands area of the nature preserve,

I saw this frozen white throated sparrow,

and another Carolina wren along the way.

The canals, like the pond, were frozen solid . I ventured onto the frozen canal , following the tracks left by  some of the animals still roaming the snow covered wetlands.  Fortunately, the ice was thick enough to support me here.

As I continued my hike, I was curious, and decided to walk onto the ponds and  wetlands on the other side of the canal.  This pond and wetland  is hidden by trees in the warmer months. It is were the wood ducks and herons often fly to hide when I approach. I walked onto the frozen canal again, and over  to the opposite bank.  Rather then crawl up the bank,  I saw a passage in the canal leading to the wetlands on the other side. I walked through  an opening and  plunged into the frigid water. I now realize there must have been water flowing between the canal and wetland and the ice was much  thinner here. 

I fell into the mucky water well over my knees . It was cold.  I was shivering. Thankfully, I was only out about a 1/2 mile. I took a brisk walk back to my Jeep. My toes actually felt warmer than before the plunge because the water was above freezing. However, my shivering told me if I didn’t get to some warmth hypothermia would be a real possibility. It wasn’t the first time I plunged into frigid water, I have had to build fires to dry myself in my younger years to dry off and get warm. . But I am not young anymore and this was a good lesson to be more careful.

I made it to my Jeep, turned up the heat and drove home. On the way   I was overwhelmed by the horrendous stench of the muck from the canal that covered my pants and shoes. It was really, really bad.  I got home and quickly got out of the smelly muck covered pants and shoes.

It was still early, and I only hiked 1 1/2 miles in the wetlands before my polar plunge. I had wanted to get my usual 7 miles in ( I hiked 2 miles earlier in my neighborhood) so I  changed and decided to hike on my land. I hiked 3 1/2 miles and finished my hike by building a fire under some rocks. I wanted to make sure I could still build a fire if I had too, like if I fell into frigid water in middle of winter in the midddle of no-where.

I didn’t forget, as always it only took me one match to get a nice little fire started.

I sat under the rock and enjoyed the Winter scene around me. I don’t like the cold and snow anymore but even some frigid January morning can be interesting and fun, like an unexpected polar plunge.  As they say “all’s well that ends well” and it was a nice way to end my morning.  It wasn’t a bad January day, but I’m still counting the days until Spring, and the return of life in the wetlands. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog  website with some more photos from my hike in the wetlands. Susquehanna Wetlands.  January 25 2025.

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.  Albert Camus

“The birds are gone, The ground is white,
The winds are wild, They chill and bite;  
The ground is thick with slush and sleet,  
And I barely feel my feet.”
–  Winter Poems 

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