An afternoon’s wander in the woods with no goal in mind can have many outcomes and inspire many emotions. Awe. Delight. Wonder.
Recently, a sight right at my feet made me laugh out loud.
I knew what it really was — the start of this year’s skunk cabbage — but for a split second it looked for all the world like a gathering of tiny spacelings sharing a belly-laugh at the sight of a giant earthling (me).
These skunk cabbage “spacelings” are actually fleshy specialized leaves called spathes. Spathes protect the knobby bearers of the plant’s flowers which grow inside.
As amazing as it is that the plant creates heat if needed, that extra tidbit seems too much now.
Standing at the headwaters of the Middle Branch creek with these otherworldly creatures crowded around me, I was flooded with happiness, a feeling of being at the heart of things.
In a way, that feeling is literally true: the Middle Branch runs right through the center of the Upper Brodhead subwatershed.
It is one of dozens of named and unnamed creeks that rise in Coolbaugh, Barrett, Price, Middle Smithfield, and even Greene Township in Pike County.
These pure waters gather, join, and swell, descending 900 feet overall and draining 66 square miles — more than 42,000 acres — to converge at last at Seese Hill Road in Canadensis.
This is where the main stem of the famed Brodhead Creek begins.
Much of the Upper Brodhead subwatershed is wild, thanks to conservation-minded stewards like Skytop Lodge, Spruce Lake Retreat, and Buck Hill Conservation Foundation, along with hunting and fishing clubs and private individuals.
Waterfalls and trails on these lands are off-limits to the public except on special occasions.
But we all have access to such natural beauties thanks to local township preserves, Pocono Heritage Land Trust, Delaware State Forest and State gamelands.
Together, they protect the creeklands that keep our precious waterways cold and clean.
Many more creeks join the Brodhead on its long meander to the Delaware River —and you can get a bird’s eye view of it all by hiking to the lookout at the Gravel Preserve’s Mount Wismer.
Or you can keep an eye on your own feet as you walk the lower trails. You never know what sudden joy might be waiting there on a spring afternoon.
Interested…?
The Gravel Family Preserve protects 179 acres in the Upper Brodhead subwatershed. Take Route 447 north from Canadensis to Gravel Road. Follow Gravel Road to parking, on the left. No facilities. Pack out what you pack in.
Rattlesnake Falls is open to the public. Located on State Gamelands, parking and access to the trail are at the end of Pleasant Ridge Road in Mountainhome.
Skunk cabbage is a member of the Arum family of plants, like Jack-in-the-pulpit and the houseplant known as peace lily.
The Brodhead Watershed Association protects water quality and quantity throughout our area. Get involved! Become a member!
(Photo: These specialized skunk cabbage “leaves” are called spathes. They protect the knobby bearer of the plant’s flowers, which grows inside and creates heat, melting snow if needed.)
Related Article This Week:
-- What You Should Know: Black Bears Are Stirring In Penn’s Woods, Monroe County -
By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association [PaEN]
[Posted: April 1, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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