The fourth annual Allegheny 100 is scheduled to take place June 7-9 on the Allegheny National Forest Chapter’s stretch of the North Country Trail.

The Allegheny 100 Challenge is an endurance event in unsupported backpacking. It’s not a race, but an attempt by all entrants to finish the course in 50 hours. There also are 25-mile, 50-mile and 75-mile challenges on the same trail for those of differing skill levels or those who don’t want to commit to the longest course.

The coursewill extend from just south of Marienville, at Vowinckel, to Willow Bay near the New York border. The hike’s direction rotates every two years, giving short-distance hikers a chance to complete all 100 miles of trail over time; in 2014 it will run north to south.

Entry donation is $40, which includes membership in the North Country Trail Association, trail shuttle service and a T-shirt. Preregistration is limited to the first 100 hikers and closes May 31 at noon for shuttling service and T-shirts. Walk-ins are welcome the day of the event until 5 p.m. if spots remain open.

The challenge will start June 7 at 6 p.m. and continue until June 9 at 8 p.m. Hikers must bring their own food, drinks and gear. Leave-no-trace principles and safety will be discussed before the hike. U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, of Howard Township, Centre County, R-5th Dist., will release the hikers June 7.

There were 82 hikers who participated in the Allegheny 100 in 2012, a 382 percent increase in participation since the inception of the event in 2010. There were 33 hikers who attempted the 100 miles a year ago; 31 chose to hike the 50-mile option and 18 hiked the 25-mile challenge.

The 2012 Allegheny 100 Challenge participants. Contributed photo

For event or sponsorship information, contact Karen M. Klos at 8320 Route 337, Tidioute, PA 16351-4318; (814) 484-7420; or nct001@verizon.net.

For hiking strategy questions,contact three-time 100-mile participant Michael Merry at michaelmerry@rocketmail.com.

For information on the North Country Trail, contact the North Country Trail Association, 229 E. Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331; call toll-free at (866) 445-3628; e-mail hq@northcountrytrail.org.; or visit northcountrytrail.org.

For information on the ANF chapter, contact chapter president Keith W. Klos at 8320 Route 337, Tidioute, PA 16351-4318; (814) 484-7420; or nct001@verizon.net.

Marcus Yudt, 14, of Millcreek Township, shot this 8-point buck Dec. 1 in Forest County while hunting with his father and two brothers. His brother Steven spotted the deer.

Vote for the NWPA Outdoors Deer of the Year at goerie.com/deeroftheyear. Voting ends Dec. 31, and the Deer of the Year will be announced Jan. 6 in the Erie Times-News and on www.GoErie.com, along with an Editor’s Choice pick.

You can still submit your deer photo to the GoErie Hunting and Fishing gallery.

Glenn Barthelson Jr., of Erie, shot a crab-claw 10-point buck in the Allegheny National Forest, Forest County.

Barthelson’s deer is among the candidates for the NWPA Outdoors Deer of the Year. Vote for your favorite at goerie.com/deeroftheyear. Voting ends Dec. 31, and the Deer of the Year will be announced Jan. 6 in the Erie Times-News and on www.GoErie.com, along with an Editor’s Choice pick.

You can still submit your deer photo to the GoErie Hunting and Fishing gallery.

A hunter from Pittsburgh killed one of the state’s largest bears this season in Forest County.

Michael J. Kelly shot the 573-pound male black bear Nov. 21 in Harmony Township. It’s No. 9 on the list of heaviest bears this season, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s preliminary harvest results.

The No. 5 bear belongs to Robert A. Pitts, of Meadville, who shot 620-pound male Nov. 17 in Roulette Township, Potter County.

The by-county preliminary harvests for the four-day hunt in the Northwest Region: Warren, 88; Clarion, 74; Venango, 62; Forest, 51; Jefferson, 50; Butler, 8; Erie, 7; and Crawford, 6.

Evidence still abounds in and around the Allegheny National Forest of the windstorm that dropped trees throughout that region July 26.

Some roads and many trails were closed for a time. The ANF is 517,000 acres — two-thirds the size of Rhode Island — so it’s clear the ranger districts at Marienville and Bradford have their cleanup work cut out for them, and many trails still are blocked, if not impassible.

A number of trees have fallen across the Songbird Sojourn Interpretive Trail, which starts at the Forest Road 157 trailhead south of Marienville. Some are easily stepped over; others require a bit of bushwhacking.

The Songbird Sojourn Interpretive Trail outside Marienville is blocked in a few spots by fallen trees from a recent storm.

Brook trout will be stocked into Salmon Creek, Forest County, on Aug. 6.

IF you’d like to volunteer to assist the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, meet at the Marienville Uni-Mart on Route 66 at 11:30.

Brook trout from 9 inches to 12 inches will be stocked from the confluence of The Branch upstream. The section to be stocked is entirely within the Allegheny National Forest.

To get to the stocking site, take Route 666 from East Hickory, cross Tionesta Creek at Kellettville Bridge and turn onto Salmon Creek Road.

John Schupp, left, of Erie, and his son, Mike Schupp, each shot trophy bucks opening day in Forest County. John Schupp killed an 8-point and Mike Schupp targeted a 9-point. Mike Schupp, a Cathedral Preparatory School and United States Naval Academy graduate, was home on leave for Thanksgiving. He is an ensign stationed in Norfolk, Va.