Experiences While Thru-hiking the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail - Part 2

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I must have stood there, looking at the walrus-like man, for several long seconds. It seemed unbelievable to me that this "Park Ranger" had no interest at all in offering any kind of assistance. I fumbled for something to say, but without another word, he slowly eased his Explorer down the road. I watched his tail lights as they disappeared. I was completely baffled by the utter uselessness of the whole conversation that I had just been involved in. What was the point of having a park ranger if that was the kind of “help” they provided? I was still staring down the road, perplexed and annoyed, when I saw the headlights of a truck heading in my direction. As it got closer, I could see it wasn’t just any truck, it was a big and beautiful F-250. It was our savior.

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Finding the Time to Put-Up Fur - My Method of Freezing and Fleshing Pelts

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The joys of successful trapping are accompanied with the trials of finding time for processing the animal. The pelt of the furbearer you harvested will be dried and either shipped off to a fur auction, sold to a buyer, or tanned for display. However, the joys of everyday life won’t provide the average person with adequate time for the skinning and fleshing process...

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Little Arnot Run: A Recap of a Brief Native Brook Trout Fishing Excursion

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As soon as I realized that the first weekend in June was free from any prior obligations, I immediately called up my two buddies from college. My hope was that they’d have an interest in backpacking into a small freestone stream to fish for native brook trout. As I suspected, both were more than happy to make the drive to northwest PA from the Cleveland area.

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Cleaning and Preserving a Skull

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Game animals not only provide pelts and meat, but they can also provide great home decoration. Recently I decided to clean and preserve a beaver skull from a 51 pounder that was caught this year. Cleaning skulls for presentation is really pretty easy. You just need to set aside some time to do it. The next time you have a memorable catch or hunt, consider preserving the animal’s skull for a great looking decorative piece.

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Big Water Muskrats: Island Trapping the Allegheny River

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When I was about 12 years old I had the opportunity to talk to an old-timer who everyone called Rabbit. Rabbit and I started talking one afternoon because I brought in a couple of muskrats that I was going to sell to my local fur buyer. Rabbit told me, in his raspy voice, “Use your boot and make a shelf for your trap on the side of the bank. Take an apple and pin it to the bank just above the trap. An apple’s like candy to dem muskrats.” 

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