First hike in 2016: Canoe Creek State Park

Canoe Lake is invisible under a layer of snow at Canoe Creek State Park.

Pennsylvania state parks host a series of "first day hikes" every year where groups of people walk trails at their local parks on New Year's Day. These hikes give people a different way of celebrating the New Year other than working off a hangover. They also help prevent the impending cabin fever that starts to set in after the winter holidays.

If you visit the Facebook pages of several state parks, you will find photos of people enjoying themselves on these first day hikes, mostly because no snow had fallen yet, and the temperatures in Pennsylvania were in the 30s. What you won't find in those photos is me, because I didn't go on a first day hike. I had the option because Canoe Creek State Park hosted one, but I had work that day.

Instead, I decided to take my first hike of 2016 on the weekend of my birthday (Jan. 23). That happened to be the same weekend of "Blizzard 2016," which blanketed much of central Pennsylvania in more than a foot of snow. Not far from Canoe Creek, in nearby Hollidaysburg, we registered about 16 inches of snow, and that's being generous.

Despite the forecast, some friends of mine suggested doing a "manly" hike during the snowstorm. We originally planned it for Saturday, but by the early afternoon that day, the storm buried most of our cars up to their doors. If I had forgotten where I parked my car the night before, I would have been screwed, because it wasn't even visible the next day.

Thank God I put my windshield wipers up.

Much better?

On Sunday, the snow stopped falling, and the sky, for the first time in weeks, was predominately blue with only a few clouds. My friend Ryan messaged me and said he was still interested in doing our hike. The weather looked a little more promising, other than the temperature, which was forecast to be in the mid-20s that day with a wind chill value of about 0. Regardless, I never hiked in deep snow before, so I thought it would be a neat idea.

Ryan picked me up, and we drove down to Canoe Creek. When we got there, we were the only car in the park. The snow in most of the parking lots looked untouched other than a road that was plowed about halfway down to the one lot. However, it stopped abruptly, leaving only enough room to park cars single file. We were unsure if we could park there, but we lacked other options. We parked and made our way into the park.

We found out that someone else was just as crazy as we were. Leading from our parking space was a set of footprints in the snow that went into the woods. I'm unsure where these footprints originated since, as I stated earlier, we did not see another vehicle at the time.

Walking inside these footprints made it easier to traverse through the snow. They eventually led to the edge of Canoe Lake, where they then went across it. This sounds more frightening than it actually is. About a week before the storm, the ice at Canoe Lake measured about 4 inches, according to local ice fishermen. That's usually enough to comfortably walk across ice without the threat of falling through it. By this point, the ice was probably twice as thick, and there also was nearly two feet of snow covering it. Ryan and I found out later when we crossed the lake ourselves that our feet barely touched the ice because the snow was so thick.

These are the footprints Ryan and I left when we crossed Canoe Lake.

The two of us ventured around the park for about an hour or so. We hiked over to the Blair Limestone Co. kilns first, where we crossed Mary Ann's Creek. Despite the snow and ice, the creek still flowed in some spots, which made for a peaceful sight on an already tranquil day.

Mary Ann's Creek at Canoe Creek State Park

After vising the kilns, Ryan and I then hiked to the Marsh Trail boardwalk, which runs along Canoe Lake. The snow hadn't been touched since the storm, so we had the honor of making the first footprints on the boardwalk as if it were the moon landing. Toward the end of the boardwalk was the Marsh Trail Observation Blind, which is a small hut with several glass-less windows that let you look out at Canoe Lake. The blind doesn't look like much during the summer, but when it's covered with snow, it's an image you would imagine seeing on a Christmas card from your relative in Montana who never talks to you otherwise.

Fresh snow covered the Marsh Trail Observation Blind and boardwalk.

The Marsh Trail Observation Blind up close

Our footprints on the Marsh Trail boardwalk give you an idea of how deep the snow was at Canoe Creek State Park.

When we walked inside the observation blind, we looked through the windows and got great views of Canoe Lake covered in snow. You could also see the nearby mountains incredibly well. I've been in this blind several times but never really appreciated it until this storm.

This window in the Marsh Trail Observation Blind looked like a painting.

When we were ready to return to the car, Ryan and I decided to cross the lake to get there. Just like the boardwalk, the snow on the lake was untouched in most places other than the lone set of footprints from nearby ice fishermen. During the summer, the lake is filled with boats, but now it looked like a desert in a tundra.

Pictured: Canoe Lake ... somewhere.

Once we made it back to shore, we walked to the beach/swimming area, which was also completely covered with snow to the extent that you could hardly recognize it. Just a few weeks before the storm, a group of people ran into the frigid water as part of a polar plunge for charity. There was so much ice then that it had to be chopped apart with axes so the swimmers could get into the water. Some of the participants even got cuts from the ice, according to my friend, Sean, who covered the event for the "Altoona Mirror." On this day, that water had refrozen over, and the snow covered any trace that people had swam there just three weeks earlier.

Who wants to go for a swim?

After hiking around the park for almost an hour, Ryan and I returned to the car. We thought we were crazy to go hiking in deep snow, but we found out other people had the same idea. Our car, which had been the only one in the lot when we arrived, was now in front of a line of about a dozen vehicles. As we drove out of the park, another four or five cars were just arriving.

Apparently cabin fever is rampant this year, or people in central Pennsylvania haven't had a good snow day in a while. I'd like to assume it's the latter, considering the last time I've seen this much snow was during the nor'easters in the early '90s. Whatever the reason, people embraced the best snow we've had in nearly 20 years. No matter the time of year, I'm just glad to see people outside enjoying themselves.

On a final note: Pennsylvania state parks are open year-round, and they're free. Screw your gym membership: Do your leg day on a trail, and work your muscles by doing pull-ups on a tree branch, just like God intended.