Another letter to the Pennsylvania Game Commission
New year, new problem created by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. You might recall last year they attempted to impose a 30 dollar a year permit fee to hike on the 1.5 million acres of State Game Lands. That idea was tabled and then dropped thanks to the outcry from the public.
This year’s idea is to require free permits from non-hunting hikers. When a government body says something is free, read the fine print. In this case the fine print says hikers would be banned from the State Game Lands during all hunting seasons, aside from Sundays when hunting is illegal in Pennsylvania. This totals 130 days, including the fall period when the foliage is at its peak. Also, at some point the Game Commission could start charging for the permit.
I believe the proposal to be as flawed and unworkable as the user fee proposal, and so here is another open letter. Feel free to copy any or all of it and send it to the Game Commission before the vote on January 26 and 27. To contact the Game Commission:
Email: pgccomments@pa.gov
Fax: 717-772-2411 (General)
Fax: 717-772-0502 (Executive Director)
Phone: 717-705-6540 (Exec Dir)
Dear Sirs,
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is researching the idea of a permit for non-hunters and non-trappers who wish to use Pennsylvania’s 1.5 million acres of State Game Lands. Along with the permit is a proposal to ban hikers from State Game Lands during hunting seasons. I believe these proposals are harmful to all outdoors people, hunter and non-hunter alike, for several reasons, which I will outline below.
Enforcing the proposed permitting of hikers will stretch Game Commission resources. Currently the Game Commission is struggling to keep up with its core activities. When a black bear went wild in downtown Easton two years ago, there was only one Game Commission officer in all of Northhampton County to answer the Easton Police Department’s call for help, and “he’s not available” was the answer the police received. This same staff now has to stop and question hikers on State Game Lands instead of investigating poaching or managing wildlife.
Enforcing the permit will generate bad press for the Game Commission and Pennsylvania when the inevitable citation and subsequent challenge comes up. Tourism is a major source of income for the Commonwealth and its citizens. It will look poorly to both citizens and tourists when the first prosecution of a hiker for walking in the woods takes place.
And to be effective any permit WILL have to be enforced, meaning the Game Commission will have to, for the first time, specifically hire officers to keep people out of the woods. We’ve come a long way from William Penn, who when laying out his “green country town” Philadelphia planned open space and public lands for citizens to enjoy, and insisted one in five acres of the colony be kept undeveloped.
Requiring a permit helps blur, instead of making distinct, the difference between the state parks and forests and the state game lands by introducing confusion. And the situation becomes even more confused when the National Scenic Trails that pass through game lands are included. The Appalachian Trail is considered a distinct corridor from the game lands it passes through. Does a through hiker going off trail in state game lands constitute a permit violation?
For a century the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the hunting and non hunting users is that the the game lands when not being used for hunting and trapping are open to everyone. While it is true hunting and trapping fees are a source of income for the Game Commission, they aren’t the only income stream. And while the Game Commission does spend money to acquire land, often land is either donated to the Commission, as with the 41,000 acres the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy gave up title to over the years, or sold at below market value. This land was given or sold to the Commission under the assumption that the gentleman’s agreement mentioned above would be in place. To require a permit to see the snow geese at Middle Creek or the elk at Winslow Hill is a violation of trust. Ditto for groups the Game Commission worked with on special projects such as the Tiadaghton Audubon Society, who built the blind and trail in “The Muck” in SGL 313. And it penalizes the many volunteers that work on trails on State Game Lands.
Large parts of State Game Lands are rarely if ever hunted, and a permitting scheme which proposes to keep non-hunters out during season will ban hikers from areas that never see a bow or gun. For instance, the Thousand Steps in central Pennsylvania, or the State Game Lands near St. Peter’s Village in the Southeastern part of the state. The proposal also impacts many trails and rail trails that pass through game lands – are they to ban non-hunting users for 130 days a year?
Part of the gentleman’s agreement mentioned above is that the game lands are game lands, not parks, and that while we who are not hunters may use them, we are not primary users, and when the hunter needs them, we stay out or use extreme caution when using them. Requiring a permit, free or otherwise, means the hiker now have a investment in the game lands, and are likely to petition for changes to suit their use. After all, they are required to obtain permission to hike there, shouldn’t the Game Commission spend money on trail improvements? Shouldn’t non-hunters have representation on the Commission? I can even see at some point someone saying, “Fall is a wonderful season to hike and ride – do the hunters need EVERY Saturday for deer?” This proposal promises to be a disaster to the hunter and trapper; for the occasional problems non-hunters cause them, they’ve not had to compete with them for Game Commission resources or had a voice in managing the game lands.
While my suggestion of hikers petitioning the permitting Game Commission to ban hunting on Saturdays is a worst case scenario, the current permitting proposal specifically mentions allowing hikers in on Sundays during hunting seasons. There is a substantial movement in favor repealing the ‘blue laws’ and allowing hunting on Sundays in the Commonwealth. Approving a permitting scheme is a setback for the goal of hunting on Sundays, as it creates one more roadblock by specifically stating hunting doesn’t take place on State Game Lands on that day. This is a slap in the face of the people the Game Commission serves, the hunters and trappers of Pennsylvania.
And speaking personally for a moment, I hike in State Game Lands. During hunting season I use extreme caution and wear a substantial amount of orange, or do not hike some areas when hunters are hunting. I do this not only for my safety but to support my fellow outdoorsmen and women who hunt. I’ve never had an unpleasant encounter with a hunter, and I hope I’ve never been one of those hikers hunters complain about. The hunters and non-hunters of Pennsylvania on the whole get along very well as they walk the woods with a gun, bow, or camera, and they don’t need a permitting scheme to place a division between them. What IS needed is education for non-hunters so they use the game lands responsibly and safely, and a permitting scheme doesn’t accomplish that.
For these and other reasons I urge you at your next meeting on January 25 to vote against any proposal to enact a permit requirement for non-hunters to use the State Game Lands, or apply restrictions for their use by non-hunters.
Cordially,
Neil Brennen
www.atasteforthewoods.com
New Year’s Hike 2015, Warwick County Park
I started 2015 with a splash, entering the near-freezing Schuylkill River as part of the Polar Bear Plunge. Despite having all of three hours of sleep I felt awake. Especially after getting wet.
After a few minutes at the post plunge bonfire I drove home for a couple of hours before my next event, a group hike in Warwick County Park. Of course I was too excited to sleep, even though that would have been the prudent choice. Then again I’d just taken a dip into a river in a Pennsylvania January, so prudence obviously wasn’t on my mind.
I drove – and yes I did consider if I was alert enough to drive – to Warwick and joined up with a group of twenty people for the two mile hike. Because of my work schedule and my pace I don’t often participate in group hikes, so I was looking forward to this one. The park ranger outlined our planned route, spoke about the mental and physical benefits of walking and the outdoors, and we were off.
Or perhaps I should write “and they’re off!” As the ranger told me later, he didn’t anticipate people would be pushing the pace, and soon our group was spread out for a fifth of a mile over the Iron Heritage Trail.
I’m normally slow in hiking, and today I was fatigued too. I soon fell behind on the flat trail, and as we switched over to the Horseshoe Trail for the return and climbed up the ridgeline I fell back. We finished together, but that was because the ranger let the speeding dogwalkers go on their own and held back a group to wait for me.
Not that being alone was a problem for me. As I said, I knew these woods and I felt confident in them. And I enjoyed the solitude and the trail and the view of the opposite ridgeline.
Some might be disappointed not to have kept up with the group, but I wasn’t. I found the experience reinforced my preference for solo hikes or hikes with one or two other people. And I did manage to hike on next to no sleep.My new year was under way, and while it might stress me, it was going to be great.
Oh, and after carefully driving home and having dinner, I slept for a dozen hours.
Neil Brennen / Hiking /
In Florida
For the next week I am in Florida. Since I am without my computer at the moment there won’t be any website posts until I return. If you want to keep up with my outdoor adventures here in the land of sunshine and oranges join the A Taste For The Woods Facebook group. I’m posting images and stories from the trip there. Posts to the website resume next week.
Interview: Austin, sightless backpacker
(The outdoors is for everyone, including people who cannot see it. The blind experience the world in ways the sighted can’t fully understand. When I came across Facebook posts by a woman writing about taking her blind nephew Austin on a ten mile overnight backpacking trip on Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Big Creek Trail in the Tennessee woods I reached out to her, and Austin, for an interview. Like many people I underestimate the abilities of the sightless. After this conversation I hope I ‘see’ a little deeper.
Both Austin and his Aunt Cat participated in this interview. )
Q:First, some background. Austin, how old are you?
Austin: 19
Q: What are some of your interests in school and hobbies?
Austin: I enjoy playing and singing music, I play the guitar and drums. I also enjoy studying history.
Q: You’ve been blind since birth. Is the vision loss “legal” or “total” blindness?
Austin : Legally blind in left eye – I can only see a few really bright lights (like the sun) and large shadows, Totally blind in right eye due to glaucoma.
Q: Congratulations on your backpacking trip. Was this your first?
Austin: Yes.
Q: Do you have other trips planned?
Austin: Not right now.
Aunt Cat: We will likely wait for the weather to warm up a bit before our next hike.
Q: Most of our readers, and me as well, will have trouble imagining how we would experience the outdoors without sight. Could you tell us some of the highlights of your backpacking trip? What sticks in your memory?
Austin: I recall noticing the different scents of plants along the trail and the different sounds of the creek depending on where we crossed it. (open area/holler/etc). I enjoyed our campfire, singing to my aunt and cousin with the river in the back ground. I enjoy being out in nature, it’s very relaxing.
Aunt Cat: We took time during our hike to ‘show’ Austin the huge rocks covered with icicles along the trails edge. Austin identified each time the trail turned away from the creek and when the rock walls on the sides of the trail changed to wooded areas. We hiked 5.3 miles on the Big Creek Trail where we pitched our tent at GSMNP Backcountry Campsite 37 (Walnut Bottoms).
Q: Cat, you led the trip. What considerations did you make in your planning?
Aunt Cat: First, let me say that Austin is an amazing young man and has never allowed his lack of vision to prevent him from doing anything from he sets his mind to, from barrel racing horses to playing in the marching band. When he voiced an interest in hiking with me and my son, Hunter, I did not hesitate. Considering that most trails are not wide enough for me to act as Austin’s guide while hiking, I started teaching Smoki, my SDiT (Service Dog in Training), additional tasks so she could provide Austin with visual guidance and act as a counterbalance (should he slip). Otherwise, my biggest concerns were the same as they would be for taking any person on their first backpacking trip. First and foremost, I wanted to make sure he enjoyed the trip. A friend helped me identify an easy/moderate trail with a wide footpath. I mapped out the route for water sources and identified where we would camp. We determined what food/snacks to bring and I taught Austin how to wear his pack and use his gear. Finally, I monitored the weather to ensure we had the correct clothing and gear to stay warm/dry – overnight temperature was expected to be in the mid-twenties, with a slight chance of rain.
Q: Austin, tell us about Smoki. What breed is she?
Austin: Smoki is a female, 19 month old Bluetick Coonhound.
Q: How long have you had her?
Austin: Smoki is actually my Aunt Cat’s dog that she is training as a service dog. I do not use a seeing eye dog on a daily basis.
Q: Austin, I understand you hunt. Could you explain what’s involved in hunting for a blind person?
Austin: First you must always have a guide willing to work one on one with you. While in the stand and/or ground blind my guide (normally family) gets set up behind me, when my guide sees an animal (I hear it), they get the gun aimed on the animal. We wait for the right moment and when they say pull, I pull the trigger to harvest the animal.
Q: What’s your proudest harvest?
Austin: Thanks to the Outdoors Without Limits (OWL) program, I was able to harvest my first 6 point buck last year. It was very exciting and I’m glad I was with family and friends during this experience.
Q: Thank you, Austin and Cat, for this interview.
Neil Brennen / Hiking /
Horseshoe Trail, Warwick County Park, December 2014
On the last weekend of 2014 I spent time walking the Horseshoe Trail. The section completed was the stretch between Coventryville Road and Mount Pleasant Road in Warwick County Park.
As I wrote in a previous post, I turned around at a major trail washout because the terrain looked slippery. This afternoon I started again from the Mount Pleasant trailhead. Armed with better boots, I went through the mud and continued along the yellow blazes, only to be confronted by this:
This is the South Branch of French Creek. At its center water would have reached my knees. I chickened out of crossing the Creek in 40 degree weather and turned around.
I then drove to the Coventryville Road parking area. The actual trail is about a fifth of a mile up Coventryville Road. As you walk up the country road and near a school you will see a yellow gate on the right. Past the gate the trail continues along the edge of a farm field and then into the woods to the South Branch of French Creek. Enjoy the sweeping vistas of the countryside before you reach the creek.
Soon enough I was at the South Branch. I tried to ford the creek so I could say I did it, regardless of the cold weather and the depth of the water. But the rock under the water was like glass, and I soon lost my confidence. I turned around again, and concentrated on photos.
The Horseshoe Trail lived up to its name as a group of five equestrians rode through.
This wasn’t a terribly long hike, but I found it satisfying aside from the creek crossing. There is a series of boulders in the creek that people cross on, but as they are high out of the water I’d have problems on them as well. The creek is now on my list of things to do. Its unfinished business, and I will be back to cross it.
Perhaps in different boots, however. In my quest to upgrade my gear I purchased a pair of Asolo Fugitive boots in my new, larger size (13 wide). They fit great and look even better, but I since discovered they have a reputation for not maintaining traction on wet surfaces. I like the boots, but I’ll save them for dry hikes and not for stream crossings.
Goals for 2015
I am a goal setter. Unfortunately its taken a while for me to come up with goals for 2015, but I’ve done so. I broke them down into three parts:
Personal goals:
1. Hike at each of the Natural Land Trust preserves in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At the moment I’ve hiked at three of the eighteen – Binky Lee, Stone Hill, and Crow’s Nest. But there are fifteen others, and I expect they are as interesting as the three I’ve visited.
2. Hike the Horseshoe Trail, or at least segments of the trail. I’ve completed stretches of the 140 mile trail in Valley Forge, Warwick County Park, Hopewell Furnace, and St. Peters Village, but there are many other areas to hike. I credit Nate Harner and his hiking the trail to completion for putting this idea in my head.
3. Resume bike riding. The year-long hiatus reminds me how much I miss riding, despite the frustration it sometimes brings. I don’t have any particular reason I stopped, other than I was tired of it and wanted to devote more time to my first love, hiking. I don’t have any particular goals for where to ride, or the number of miles I want to achieve. Just participation is enough. In my own defense I had planned on resuming riding in June, but unforeseen circumstances caused me to decide at the last minute to not bring my bike with me on vacation.
4. Hike the mountains I’d planned on last year: Mount Minsi, Gillespie Point, the Thousand Steps, etc.
5. Hike the Pinnacle and Pulpit Rock. As allegedly the best vista in Pennsylvania, and reportedly one of the most visited, I feel I am missing out by not hiking this eight mile, rocky loop. This will be a major effort on my part, for both the distance and the terrain.
6. Revisit the Catskills. My short 2013 visit didn’t turn out as I hoped. But now I’m better read on what to do in the region. In particular Bellayre is calling me, as the ski slopes are a challenging but not insurmountable climb.
7. I want to spend more time on the water. Despite my problems in a canoe I had a good time, and I understand a kayak might be easier for me to operate.
8. Participate in trail work and cleanup. I’ve been using the outdoors since 2006. Time for me to start giving a little back. In addition to working on a trail or two, in April I should bespending a day helping with cleanup in Centralia. The town is no more but people are using the land for dumping trash, which is both illegal and disgusting.
Goals for the website:
1. As you may have noticed, we are shifting away from the “diary” model to one in which other voices are prominent. There will be more guest posters and interviews in the future, and gear reviews as soon as I can find someone who can write about gear for ordinary people and not people who claim REI as a dependent on their tax returns.
2. I hope to put the A Taste For The Woods YouTube channel to more use. In my speech at Bradford I mentioned shooting video clips and collaborating with companies. We are working on bringing that to fruition this year.
3. Since I’ve now done public speaking, and am good at it, I want to do more of it. Expect more presentations and videos of them in 2015.
Goals for the readers:
Yes, friends, I have a goal for you.
Its one thing to be an outdoor advocate hurling thunderbolts from his cyber-mountaintop. Its another to go out and do. As I’ve said before, I am a doer. But I didn’t start as one. Nor did I self-start. I had a lot of help, with a lot of people going out of their way to assist me. And I’ve been repaying forward ever since.
My goal is to get people outside and participating in some way or another, regardless of the challenges they face. This will mean my active working with individuals. My challenge for readers is that in 2015 you do the same. We all have friends who do nothing in the outdoors. Take one of them on a hike. Teach them to ride a bike or row a boat or ski. Get them on a walking routine or geocache search. Take them fishing or on an outdoor photography session. You are reading this website because you have a taste for the woods, a passion for the outdoors. Share it. If its just one individual you’ve worked with, you’ve still made our world a better place, and a better place for that one person. This is my challenge, and yours. Let’s do this.
Neil Brennen / Bicycling, Catskills, Hiking, Motivation, Uncategorized /
New Year’s Day 2015 Polar Bear Plunge, Riverfront Park, Pottstown, PA
Readers of the A Taste For The Woods Facebook group might recall last year I’d posted about wanting to do a polar bear challenge. In brief, a polar bear event is when otherwise sane men and women jump, run, or otherwise enter a large outdoor body of water on January 1. The “polar” in the title implies the event takes place in an area subject to cold winter weather. So while my friends in Florida are out of luck, as a Pennsylvanian I have lots of cold places to jump into.
One such place is Riverfront Park in Pottstown, where for seven years running the town puts on a New Year’s Day celebration. This year registration for the plunge was from nine to ten, with the dash into the water a half hour later. For many people meeting this time isn’t a challenge. I’m not many people, as my ‘day’ job has odd hours and New Year’s Eve I traditionally work into the first day of the following year. In 2014 I skipped the plunge as I was too tired. In 2015 I’m determined to push myself harder than ever before, and so despite working till four AM I planned to jump into the Schuylkill River a few hours later.
After three hours sleep I awoke and began to dress – not that I was wearing much anyway. I look thrilled at the sub freezing weather.
As we neared the start time, Riverfront Park was both warming and filling up. 117 people registered for the run into the river, and at least a hundred people came to spectate. The local fire department was on hand to manage the post plunge bonfire, and divers and rescue crews were in and on the water. River temperature was 35 degrees, with the air a little cooler. I stripped down to a swimsuit, dri-tech shirt, and hiking shoes, and waited.
Finally the whistle blew and we ran into the water. Or most people ran. A formerly sedentary man rediscovering the outdoors discovered that negotiating the muddy river bank is difficult when you’ve removed your glasses. I eventually reached the water, the last one in, and stood thigh-deep in the Schuylkill. The divers asked me not to go any further, having seen my difficulty on shore, and knowing the river bottom becomes rocky further out.
I posed for a victory photo with Justin, another polar bear.
And received the certificate:
I’ll let the Pottstown Mercury fill you in on details of the plunge, and the Christmas tree toss, and bonfire, and other events.
Would I do this again? Probably. But perhaps not in Pottstown. Nothing against the borough but I felt awkward at the river bank, as I wrote above, and think I’d have no trouble running into the Atlantic from a beach. Still, I’m glad I plunged, and this kicks off a year of plunging into things.
Speaking of kicks, I think these shoes are officially retired now. I knew the Schuylkill was a mess, but I had no idea this much mud lined the banks.
Interview: Nate Harner, Backpacker
There’s been some talk in the outdoor media about an alleged decline in interest in hiking and backpacking, particularly among young people. So when I discovered a young man named Nate Harner had hiked the length of Pennsylvania’s 140 mile Horseshoe Trail, I thought he might have some thoughts to share. Turns out he has more than thoughts, he has an Appalachian Trail through hike in the planning stages too. I hope you enjoy this interview, and Nate’s photos, as much as I did.
Q: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. How old are you, Nate?
A: I am 16 years old.
Q: When did you start backpacking?
A: I Went on my first backpacking trip with the Boy Scouts in 2010, and I hated it. I decided in 2012 that it may be something I would enjoy, so I went with some friends and I ended up loving it. I then decided right away I wanted to do big things with my new talent.
Q: You’ve completed the Horse Shoe Trail. Was that a through hike? Or in segments?
A: I completed the Horseshoe Trail in 2013. I took about 9 day hikes and that was all I needed to finish it. I averaged about 15 miles a day and I did it in single days because it is tough to find places to camp on the trail.
Q: Which end did you start at? How many days did it take you?
A: I jumped around the trail quite a bit. I started near Lawn, PA and went 15 miles south. I then did many other segments before finishing at the Northern terminus on Stony Mountain.
Q: What sort of gear did you carry?
A:I used most of the gear I will be taking on the AT next year, which can be found on my blog. www.hikeofalifetime.blogspot.com
Q: What was your favorite part of the trail? Least favorite?
A: My favorite part was the solitude of the HST. I did not see many people. I did not like how I was treated by non-hikers. It was difficult at some points trying to cross roads, etc.
Q. How did your parents take the news you were going on this ambitious solo hike?
A: My parents are always worried about me, as they should be. I trust them, and they trust me. They know my ambitions, so they will do anything to help me achieve them, even if that includes letting me hike alone all the time.
Q: Since you are still legally a minor, how did your parents keep tabs on you? Did you have any safety concerns? Did your parents?
A: I texted my location frequently. I mostly feel safe all the time when I am out alone. I have had close calls with wildlife, but I am in their territory. Respect goes both ways.
Q. Some people say we are raising a generation of overprotected kids. Parents have been arrested for letting their children play in a local park unattended. Your thoughts? Just where is the line between concerned parent and helicopter mom?
A: Parents should always keep their kids in eyesight. If the kids have dreams, let them do it. Let them do it safely, but help them achieve it. Give your kids freedom. There is a fine line between being over protective and not being there. It is hard finding the balance.
Q. Outdoor websites and magazines recently are writing about the decline of hiking, particularly among young people. On average, how old were the people you saw using the HorseShoe? Did you see any young people?
A: I saw nobody on the HST while I was out. I saw not one hiker. When I hike on the AT, I see all older people-middle age people. I saw a few older teens on the AT, but I have never met another young teen like I am on the same trail as me.
Q: If you think there’s been a decline, why do you think that is?
A: Honestly, Neil, I am not sure what it is. Kids just enjoy doing exciting things. I guess hiking is not as exciting as some other things that are gaining attention.
Q. I see you have an AT hike scheduled. Please tell us a little about it. Is it solo? A through hike? Supported or unsupported? With a group?
A: I will be thru hiking in 2016, Northbound, solo. I am planning to do a thru hike, Georgia to Maine. I am still figuring out food, but I will most likely buy along the way, with minimal mail drops(3-4). More information about my thru hike can be found here on my blog: www.hikeofalifetime.blogspot.com
Q: Thank you Nate, and I look forward to following your Appalachian Trail hike in two years.
Neil Brennen / Hiking, Interview /
Ambrose Bierce, Bicyclist
Its always interesting to discover the personal side of famous writers. While looking around for material for another post I came across some information on one of my favorite writers, Ambrose Bierce, and his passion for cycling. And having a passion for Bierce, I thought I’d share it with you.
Ambrose Bierce doesn’t draw nearly enough attention among researchers and readers today, but he was a major American writer in the last decades of the nineteenth century, and the first decade of the twentieth. His range was deep, narrow, and dark. “Bitter Bierce” was the tag that stuck on him, and his most read and respected works are the sardonic book of epigrams and definitions known as the Devil’s Dictionary, and his gruesomely realistic tales of the Civil War. His works of horror writing are still shocking for Bierce’s casual discussions of the unspeakable – the short story “Oil of Dog” describes using human babies in patent medicine, for instance. His newspaper columns were filled with squabbles with public figures. His death remains a mystery; his last letter was dated December 26, 1913, from Mexico, and its believed he died, possibly by firing squad, the following year during the revolution in that country.
But while the prose was dark, and the end murky, the life had bright spots. One was cycling. Where and when he took up riding I’ve not come across, but he rode, and his letters often mentioned bike riding. Bierce had asthma, and the vigor of riding a bike helped him restore his health. Or at least until his 1895 accident, described in an article in the San Francisco Call.
“Ambrose Bierce will never again be seen astride a bicycle, and the probabilities are that he will in future be restricted in the use of one of his lower limbs, if, indeed, the case is no more serious. Mr. Bierce has been for a couple of years past an expert and enthusiastic cyclist, and his tall form, clad in conventional bicycle costume, has been a familiar sight on Oakland streets as he wheeled to and from his residence and the Atheneum Club, or among the more secluded and better paved thoroughfares of the city. It was also his custom to make long trips in the country awheel, the litterateur declaring that more inspiration could be gained from a spin through a pleasant country lane with resplendent nature all about than by hours of patient thinking in the crowded precincts of a city. Usually these journeys were accomplished alone, and the author always returned refreshed and invigorated from his outings.
“Recently Mr. Bierce returned from a protracted visit to Los Gatos, where he had been recuperating, and took apartments at The Washington in Oakland, where it had been his custom to reside when in the Athens of the Pacific. After getting settled he made plans for a long trip awheel and a run to St. Helena, with several days of rest and quiet at that pretty town, varied by short spins about the adjacent country was on the program. The journey was about accomplished, when, in passing over a dangerous portion of the road where a deep canyon flanked one side of the highway, he lost control of his wheel and started down the grade at a rapid rate. After making several ineffectual efforts to regain the use of his pedals and thus check the speed of his wheel, Mr. Bierce devoted his attention to keeping his bike in the middle of the road and free of the rocks and ruts that were encountered at intervals.
“He succeeded admirably for some time, but a slight miscalculation of the extent of a curve around which he was compelled to pass made him lose his balance and in an instant the wheel toppled over throwing the rider down the bank with terrific force.”
According to the newspaper report Bierce struck his head and was unconscious for a time. When he came to, he crawled up to the road and was picked up by a passing carriage. His injuries aside from the blow to the head included a broken collarbone and fractures to an ankle and kneecap. He reluctantly gave away his bicycle.
But Bierce still had enthusiasm for cycling, enough that late in life he could work the wheel into the Devil’s Dictionary. While women were a constant subject of Bierce’s sharp pen – “the most widely distributed of all beasts of prey” – he also opposed authority that limited freedom, and when a woman named Charlotte Smith claimed cycling was immoral for ladies, Bierce knew she had a special place in his book. We end with Ms. Smith’s claim to immortality, as it appears in the Devil’s Dictionary.
SMITHAREEN, n. A fragment, a decomponent part, a remain. The word is used variously, but in the following verse on a noted female reformer who opposed bicycle-riding by women because it “led them to the devil” it is seen at its best:
The wheels go round without a sound—
The maidens hold high revel;
In sinful mood, insanely gay,
True spinsters spin adown the way
From duty to the devil!
They laugh, they sing, and—ting-a-ling!
Their bells go all the morning;
Their lanterns bright bestar the night
Pedestrians a-warning.
With lifted hands Miss Charlotte stands,
Good-Lording and O-mying,
Her rheumatism forgotten quite,
Her fat with anger frying.
She blocks the path that leads to wrath,
Jack Satan’s power defying.
The wheels go round without a sound
The lights burn red and blue and green.
What’s this that’s found upon the ground?
Poor Charlotte Smith’s a smithareen!