I wonder if you know what it is like to have your only kid grow up into an amazing person of the world. I could not have dreamed my son, Logan, would be so smart, savvy or sarcastic! …well, the sarcasm kind of comes with the territory…

Anyway, Logan is home for a week before heading back to college and he took a couple of hours to come hike with me and Sidekick Pauli. We couldn’t have been more pleased! It was nice to head out to Great Falls, Maryland with the only goal to have a nice walk and talk in the woods. I hadn’t been to Great Falls in probably 7 or 8 years. It is a nice place, but crowded since it is in the Washington,D.C. area. I thought we would beat the crowds since we were headed down there on a Wednesday afternoon…

When we got to the parking lot at Angler’s Inn it was packed!! I had to circle around, pull out of the lot, drive down the street, turn around and THEN as luck would have it a space opened up! Awesome, because I didn’t really want to pay to go into the park proper!

OH…we could not have had a more beautiful day! It was breezy and sunny with a high of 75 degrees! I pulled on the boots and we headed down the trail. Our path included the Valley trail, part of the Gold Mine Loop, the C&O canal and Burma road (a fire road). What an easy route!

I thought the Valley trail might have a few hills, but it was pretty flat…as was the Gold Mine Loop. These two trails flank the eastern side of the park. The Gold Mine Loop ends at the park proper. Both traverse through the woods devoid of underbrush and small growth trees. You can see through the forest and looks to be a great place for an impromptu picnic!

The entire hike was very conducive to easy conversation…no huffing and puffing…perfect! We reached the park proper and headed for the C&O canal. We had been hoping to visit the falls, but NO DOGS ALLOWED! Oh well…another time. So we continued down the towpath and were rewarded with an amazing view of the gorge.

I believe the Billy Goat trail would take you out onto the rocks…can’t believe I have never gotten around to doing that trail. The Billy Goat trail has three sections, A, B, and C. Section A is the one to do. It is out on the rocks, lots of rock scrambling…just what I like! However, like the rest of the park, it is crowded…so pick your time wisely if you are looking for solitude!

We were lucky today. On the Valley and Gold Mine Loop trails we only saw very few other people. 🙂 🙂

We had a fabulous time!