2024 Total Solar Eclipse along the Allegheny River

For anyone interested in what one small slice of nature was up to yesterday during the eclipse, this is for you!

Flooding along the river narrowed our options down to an accessible area to safely tuck myself away, but we knew a good spot. Apologies in advance; I am wearing a dry suit (as water temps are hovering around 43 degrees). I tried to be as still as possible so you could hear everything (or nothing, if that were the case), but dry suits make noise with the tiniest movement, so you'll hear that a little.

Although spring flooding is a normal occurrence, you could visibly see things were not normal… the only spot without current was through the forest. These ecosystems and the wildlife that call them home were already out of sorts from so much water, it felt stressful knowing an eclipse was sneaking up on them, too.

Birds singing turns to silence; silence turns to night critters talking; night critters talking turns to confusion; one solo peeper peepin' away... it was a wonderfully odd, very fascinating day to spend a couple hours experiencing a total solar eclipse.

I included periodic time markers with moon movement for reference (totality begins at 5:29), but there are things you won’t see on this video that I did see while out there: A large beaver slip very quietly from the riverbank into the water a few minutes before totality began; dozens of little spiders crawling (and jumping!) on my paddleboard after coming out of the darkness from totality; and a hatch of stoneflies on the other side of totality, you'll catch one in the last clip.

What a cool day. So surreal!

If you spent the eclipse in nature, we'd love to know what you saw and heard!

#eclipse #totality #alleghenyriver #warrenpa #adventure #explore #discover