Samuel Hess, age 21/2 months, had the easiest time of it during yesterday's George Washington commemorative hike.

He snoozed in a snuggle sack strapped to his father's chest during the one-mile trek down a leafy former Indian path in Forward.

Samuel and his dad, Peter, who live in Harmony, were among about 70 people who retraced a portion of Washington's 1753 winter journeys through what is now Butler County.

The event was co-sponsored by three groups that support local history efforts: Historic Harmony; Slippery Rock University's Old Stone House; and Washington's Trail 1753, a new nonprofit organization headed by retired Butler County Judge Martin O'Brien.

Washington, just 21, traveled through southwestern Pennsylvania in November and December 1753 on a diplomatic mission for the governor of Virginia. His objective was to persuade the French to stop building forts in the Ohio Valley. The French and the British had each claimed the area.

"This is likely the route Washington traveled," Jon Cresson, of Zelienople, told participants as they began their hike. They were walking on a steep, often muddy portion of the Venango Trail, a major north-south route originally used by the Native American inhabitants of the area. A senior majoring in history education at Slippery Rock University, Mr. Cresson was one of four student guides for the walk.

Washington, and his traveling companion, Christopher Gist, each wrote detailed journals describing their adventures. Historians have used those works to try to mark their routes, but many landmarks have disappeared and place names have changed.

Washington and Gist had to struggle through high snowdrifts during their return journey from the French Fort LeBoeuf. Walkers yesterday had to contend only with a little mud and a few small springs that ran across the path. While morning snow squalls had left fields and meadows white, the accumulation soon melted as temperatures rose to near 40.

Organizers of the event said it was especially important for local residents to remember the noteworthy events that happened here.

"American history often jumps from the landing of Columbus to the American Revolution," Judge O'Brien said. "But the French & Indian War and this trip by Washington also were important."

An Indian probably allied with the French took a shot at Washington near what is now Evans City. "If he had been killed, I don't know what path our history would have taken," Judge O'Brien said.

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