Staying Close To Home For Christmas , A Couple Of Hikes On The Rails To Trails.

Never having a family of my own,  Christmas morning was always spent with visits to my parents and aunts homes, all  within  walking distance from my home. I would walk to burn off the calories from our traditional Polish  Wigilia or Holy Supper on Christmas Eve. Since I lost my parents and my aunts I  spend my Christmas morning alone.  But  I still have to get my walking in. My nephew Charlie and his wife carry on the tradition and I have  Holy Supper with his family  my brothers at his home. I always eat t much of the fried fish, pierogi, lima beans, green peas,

and of course the mushroom soup, followed by many home made cookies for dessert.

So I had to hike somwehere  on Christmas morning. I first took my usual 2 mile walk through  my neighborhood and visited my parents and sister and her husband at the nearby cemetery . I  then drove to the Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails.  I was the only one there on the mostly cloudy and cold Christmas morning.

I first visited the seasonally dressed  black bears in the picnic area near   the parking lot.

As  always I hoped to see a real black bear on my hike, and I heard there have been some recent sightings of one on the trail. Well I would be looking for him.

The Greater Hazleton Rails to Trail is  a flat, crushed stone 5.5 mile trail which follows an old and abandoned railroad right of way.  I began my hike, passing another bear at the start of the trail. I was glad to find, or so I thought, the trail was mostly snow free.

It was quiet along the trail,

the migratory song birds were gone and I was surprised not to see or hear any of the Winter resident birds. I usually see sone black-capped chickadees or tufted titmice visiting the seeds left from the flowers that bloomed in the native flower garden along the trail. Not a creature was stirring  on Christmas morning.

The leafless trees along the trail were brown and gray. The only green was the moss growing on the ground along the trail,

and our State flower, the mountain laurel growing in the woods.

I walked past the “Story Walk” signs along the trail a wonderful program created in co-operation with the Hazleton Public Library and the Greater Hazleton Civic Partnership to encourage children to engage in 3 of my favorite things,  walking ,  reading  and enjoying nature.

My hope of hiking on a snow free trail came to an end when the trail made a turn to three south and east after about a 1/4 mile.   I found not only snow, buy very icy conditions on the trail.

The path on the trail from hikers  compacted the snow and created icy ridges that were very difficult to walk on.

I slowly and carefully  walked on the trails for about another 1/4 mile.

I had enough slipping and slidding  so, when I came to the the Butler Preserve sign,

and I saw a snow free trail, I followed it up a ridge.

The Butler preserve is a 118 acre nature preserve that protects an endangered pitch pine and scrub oak baron track above the trail. I walked up the ridge  on a snow, free, narrow pine needle covered trail.  Sheep laurel,

brown and shrivled bracken ferns,

, and large patches of tea berries grew along the trail.

The trail continued through the pine trees and came to an open area where scrub oak trees  grew,

with an occasional large oak tree towering above the scrub oak and pine trees. . The plants here  require fire to prevent forest from growing and overtaking the low growing plants and trees that thrive  in the barrens.

I walked up the ridge and followed a little used trail into the scrub oaks.

The trail was overgrown in parts.  I don’t like hiking up here in the warm months because of the ticks. It was nice seeing the barrens on the ridge tops in the Winter.

I came to a small wetland on the ridge top. The wetland is here because of the water table. I am not sure of the details geological reasons but I know it has to do with rock formations and water pressure.

I saw a few deer run off as I scrambled through the scrub oak , but otherwise there was little wildlife. The only birds I saw was a small flock of black-capped chickadees.  I almost always see them on my Winter  walks.

I walked down the ridge and took a side trail,

that left the barrens and took me to an old road created to transport a large anthracite coal shovel over the mountain. This land was private and posted.

I returned to the main trail, past the pitch pines,

laden with pine cones.

There were also a few white pines in the barrens,  and their different looking pine cones.

I came across evidence of some wildlife, deer,

and coyote scat.

The sun was breaking through the clouds as I began my hike back home.

On the main trail I met a few other folks out for a Christmas morning walk. I finished my 3 mile hike thankful for  this trail,  great gift to our are, and thankful  for another wonderful  year enjoying and sharing the beauty of nature on the trail..  Here is link to a gallery on my blog web-page with some more photos from my  Christmas morning hike. Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails   December 25 2025.

We had some snow and freezing rain arriving in our area on the Friday night after Christmas. The freezing rain created an icy crust on the top of about an inch of newly fallen  snow. The roads were slick so I decided to stay close to homeagain  and return to the rails to trails. This time I decided to hike on the eastern trailhead near the village of Hazel Brook.

Once again, I was the only one at the parking lot when I came to the trail. I was the first one to walk on the newly fallen snow. It wasn’t too bad walking.  I would sink through the icy coating atop the snow giving traction as I walked. It wasn’t slippery but the extra effort made it a very exhausting hike.

It was a brown,  white and gray winter wonderland as I followed the trail under the leafless maple and oak trees I am not  a big fan of snow anymore  but I will admit the snow covered woodlands did look  beautiful.

Only the  mountain laurel  growing along the trail,

and princess or  ground pine tree club-moss  on the ground provided some green color to white snow covered woodlands.

I followed the trail which took me to an area of pitch pines.

I love these trees which grew in the woodlands near my home and always remind me of my childhood.

The trail came to a culvert  under an active anthracite mine haul road,

and then entered an anthracite strip mine reclamation area.

Here,  on this portion of the trail,

I hoped to see some Winter resident birds feeding on the, black locust,

birch  and grey alder seed cones,

and catkins on on the  trees along  the trail.

The only birds I saw  were a flock of black-capped chickadees feeding not on the seeds,

but on the buds of the birch trees.

The trail  continued to the bridge,

over an active railroad right-of way. I have many blog posts on the history of this  railroad which can be found using the search tool on my blog.

On the other side of the bridge the trail continued through an abandoned anthracite coal strip mined area.   The strip mine pits and  culm banks created from the overburden from the strip mines could  now  be seen better through the leafless trees.

Here  I saw a white-breasted nuthatch crawling down a snow covered tree trunk.

The  trail l next came to a mixed oak/maple and eastern hemlock woodland.

Fan clubmoss grew under the eastern hemlcok trees.

And there were rhododendron shrubs along the trail, their leaves curled fromthe cold temperatures. Here is link to a gallery on my blog web-page with some more photos of the plants and birds I saw on my morning hike. Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails  flora and fauna  December 25 2025.

The trail  came to the now abandoned Township road to the site of the former  Beryllium processing plant.

I ended my hike here and started back on  the crusty snow.  My old legs were getting sore walking on the snow.

On the hike back I came to this sign along the trail where some nitwit walking in the snow and  cold  wrote a  message,  I wonder who that could be.

I also saw these tracks on the trail.  A heard of deer must have crossed the trail since I passed earlier.

I finished my 4 mile hike. It was another dreary and cold December day but I enjoyed being outside and sharing some of the Winter beauty of nature I found on the trail. Here is link to a gallery on my blog web-page with some more photos from my hike in the snow . Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails   December 27 2025. 

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. – Agnes M.