Cook Forest State Park & the Clarion River

The Clarion River might not exactly qualify as majestic, but it's definitely one of the prettier rivers in the state.  Wending its lazy course between wooded hills and boulders, the Clarion is a favorite for kayaking, tubing, and canoeing.  In an episode of middle-aged decline, my backpacking buddy and I ended up spending two nights in a cabin at Cook Forest with a sweeping view of the river.  Why do I blame our time at the cabin on middle-aged decline?  Because even just five years ago, we would have braved the rain and camped in tents.  But now?  Renting a cabin is just so much easier...  Sit on the porch with a book and a cup of coffee and watch the river flow.

The tiny hamlet of Cooksburg is really just three grand old Victorian houses, an ice cream shop, and the ranger station for Cook Forest State Park.  There's also a smattering of rustic cabins for rent.  A narrow road runs 7 miles along the river's edge from Cooksburg to Clarington.  It's a beautiful, circuitous drive.

In the immediate vicinity, you've got Clear Creek State Park, Clear Creek State Forest, the Allegheny National Forest, and the ever-popular Cook Forest State Park--with its several acres of virgin woodland.

Cook Forest is more than just "The Forest Cathedral," that ancient stretch of woods that's never gone under the saw.  But the Cathedral is the park's biggest draw.  There are some truly magnificent trees here--so tall and graceful.  But a lot of the Cathedral section of the park is...ragged.  

There are many dead or fallen trees and rotted trunks standing without branches.  This could just be due to their age.  Some trees here are as old as 450 years.  Somehow, even the dead trees have a stark and silent beauty about them.

We hiked here on a rainy Saturday, and there were very few people on the trails.  One of the reasons I rarely go to Cook Forest is because it's just so popular and frequently crowded.  But I was surprised to discover that Cooksburg was only about half an hour from my house up in the North Country.

There was a bald eagle soaring above the Clarion and a couple in the cabin beside us who were cheating on their spouses.  It was here that I saw my first blue-headed vireos--such sweet little beauties.  The first night we had dinner at the nearby "Reigning Cardinals" restaurant.  As a relatively recent convert to birding, I was intrigued by the name, but my interest didn't last very long.  Their paper placemats depicted some favorite North American birds with lots of misspellings and typos--which was fun.  But the restaurant was...underwhelming.  

The second night, we went to the legendary Sawmill Restaurant in nearby Leeper, which was a great improvement.  Leeper is home to an eccentric fellow who wears a tall purple wizard's hat with purple bell-bottom pants.  He stands or sits in front of his house-trailer and waves at passing vehicles.  The North Country is full of eccentric souls.