Tag Archives: Appalachian Trail Maryland

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Pushing Perceived Limitations…and Doing the Thing!

I enjoy hiking and leading hikes for Trail Dames…like really, really love it. Bearing witness to women’s growth as hikers, experiencing trails through their eyes, and watching confidence grow are some benefits to what I do. It is a blessing to have this opportunity to take women off the sidewalk into adventure!

However, over the years, I have found that leading for Trail Dames resulted in me not taking on the hard challenges for myself. With Trail Dames, I keep the hikes between 2 – 7 miles and don’t include anything crazy terrain-wise. We take breaks when needed and enjoy the social aspect of hiking together to the extreme. This is great, but I feel like I put myself in a box and, it is weird to say this, but I started to believe that I was not physically able to do MORE.

This summer, I did two hikes with a guy, a colleague, as he works on completing the Maryland portion of the Appalachian Trail. My first outing with him was an out and back hike from Route 40 to Black Rock Cliffs. It was enough to show me that hiking with him was different. This particular hike was not a tough hike for me, but it was a good hike to judge what kind of hiking partner I had. First difference from Trail Dames: We didn’t stop much. Second difference: I brought and ate a lunch at Black Rock…I didn’t see any snacks come out of my partner’s bag! 😆 Like, I don’t even understand that, but to each their own! 😂 Anyway, I thought, this is good. Hiking with this guy will help me push my self-imposed limitations and get back to more challenging hikes…SWEET!!!

So, when he texted about a section north of Route 40, I suggested if he was amenable to hiking together, then he could do a bigger section, specifically PenMar to Wolfsville road, about 10 miles. This was partially self-serving because I wanted to test myself…I thought I was ready, but I needed to get boots on the trail. He was down! We included another colleague and off we went!

The Appalachian Trail from PenMar to Wolfsville Road is my favorite part of the Maryland section. It has a rocky climb up to High Rock, lush forest with big ferns lining the trail, two shelters, two water crossings, a walk through a meadow, and a couple more climbs. A heaven of diverse trail!

You can find more out about this route on Alltrails!

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/appalachian-trail-pen-mar-park-to-wolfsville-rd-47a3893

It was a challenge to be sure! We started off at a good clip, climbed up to High Rock, and okay, I am so slow compared to the hiking companions, but whatever…*eyeroll* …🐌 we arrived at High Rock before it got too warm, and took a break. It was just gorgeous yesterday and we could see a long way out.

Then back to it, we made good time down to the Raven Rock shelter, where I detoured to use the privy…no other takers. Third difference from hiking with the Dames…we always stop at shelters…A.L.W.A.Y.S. 🤣 This level up was getting good. 🤗 Down to the actual Raven Rock, cross 491, then the Antietam Creek.

Pause for a moment: I have never seen the water level in the creek as low as it was yesterday. That was bizarre!

Obviously, no problems crossing the creek! On we went up the next hill…oooooo it was getting warm on that one. Yeah, still slower than partners, annnnnnddd still don’t care 😄 Onward!

Up, then down to Warner’s Hollow…love sitting by this creek! Before the hike even started I told my hiking buds that I was filtering water at Warner’s Hollow. It is such a beautiful spot. Water was flowing, cold, and delicious!

Break over! Up the third, and last, hill of the day (thankfully)! I felt good! I was doing this with, despite being slower up hills, in decent form! I didn’t hurt, my knees were not yelling at me, my right hip felt a little tight, but not too bad, and even my feet felt decent. Double-digit miles, I got you today!

A great day! What did I learn from this? It’s a question I ask myself after every hike or backpacking trip. Sometimes, I have no answer. But today, today I do. I learned that it is important to diversify my hiking partners. Hiking with different people encourages me to challenge myself. It leads to new conversations and experiences. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow as a hiker!

Hike on!

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Weekend with the Dames!

Before the pandemic, I would organize an annual winter backpacking trip for the Maryland Trail Dames. We would hike to the Ed Garvey Shelter on the Appalachian Trail, set up camp, then continue to Weverton the next day.

After missing out on this fun event for two years, I was delighted to put this up on the hiking board for January 2022. The Dames were excited to shiver together once again! 😄

But bad weather intervened…fast forward to an early Spring shiver, instead! I was secretly pleased to not be camping out in January. It was 17 degrees one year and even with good layers it was still cold! Especially when nature’s calls at 2:00 AM! 🥶

This weekend we had delightful weather…praise!!! We met at Gathland State Park around noon. I know, I know…I was really taking a gamble with parking at that time of day. I crossed my fingers and went with it. Happy to report we all found a parking space. I was grateful!

It was a lovely hike to the shelter. We had a few newbies with us, but I only got asked once “do you know how much further until we get to the shelter?” I call that a win!

We were surprised there were already several folks at the shelter when we arrived. And with complete disregard for hiker etiquette, they had put up tents on both the first and second level of the shelter. Ergh. We were tenting and had no need of the shelter. However, that whole tent in the shelter is a big no…especially at a shelter like Ed Garvey, which is pretty popular all year round.

It looks like a flat site…right?

Sure enough, it was a mob scene on Saturday night. I am glad we had gotten there early enough to pick the better tent sites. Some folks camped down along the trail as all sites were gone when they rolled in later in the evening.

***better = still slanted, but I managed to stay on my sleeping pad all night***

About 4:00 AM we got rain, just on and off, nothing much. It continued while we packed up and hiked out. Just a few drops, not enough to make us or our gear wet. Thankful is an understatement. Some of our newbies had gotten cold overnight…rain on top of that could have made an uncomfortable hike into a truly miserable one for them. 😕

It was great to get back to backpacking with the Dames. Looking forward to planning more fun adventures for this group! Hike on!

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Oh Fall…slow down!

I looked at the date of my last post…a sharp intake of breath…a month ago!!!

It has been an unforgettable fall season. 🙂  Lots of hiking, lots of working, lots of going to school…not a lot of time for writing unless it is for one of those reasons!

So a quick recap of the highlights. 🙂

Shenandoah River State Park

Shenandoah River State Park

October 17: We headed down to Shenandoah National Park in early October to leaf peep.  After seeing the line at the northern entrance, we gladly diverted and visited Shenandoah River State Park instead.  Lovely park and a very good decision!  We visit Shenandoah National Park all the time and quite honestly, prefer it without the traffic. 🙂

White Rocks, north of Gathland State Park on the AT in Maryland

White Rocks, north of Gathland State Park on the AT in Maryland

October 25: Sidekick Pauli and I took an afternoon hike to White Rocks on the AT in Maryland.  I realized I had been doing way too much desk sitting as I climbed up to White Rocks!!  We had a lovely lunch at the rocks before walking back to Gathland State Park. 🙂 🙂 🙂

2015 October 31 Antietam Battlefield

Antietam Battlefield

October 31: Led the Trail Dames on a walk among the lost souls at Antietam Battlefield. Perfectly beautiful day to enjoy and be thankful for all we have been given.

Wet, wet, wet on the Rose River Trail in SNP

Wet, wet, wet on the Rose River Trail in SNP

November 7: Rose River Falls Loop in Shenandoah National Park with the Trail Dames  IN THE RAIN.  Sidekick Pauli didn’t mind the rain and neither did I.  I wasn’t leading this hike so I walked along carefree as can be!  And we finished by celebrating a fellow dame’s birthday with blackberry cobbler and ice cream! Yes!!

Star Party at Sky Meadows State Park, VA. Just look at those set ups!

Star Party at Sky Meadows State Park, VA. Just look at those set ups!

November 14: Let’s all go to a Star Party!! Kudos to the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC) for sharing their super high caliber telescopes with us at Sky Meadows State Park.  I saw Jupiter, Uranus, a double star, the craters on the moon, and a lot, lot, more! So awesome. 🙂

Thomas Farm...my go to after work!

Thomas Farm…my go to after work!

I have enjoyed being outside this last month and am soooooooo looking forward to my Thanksgiving break!

#OptOutside on Black Friday! Hike On!

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Great Hike Near Frederick, Maryland on the AT (6.4 miles)

Got a couple of hours?  Have you ever visited the original Washington Monument?

Well, you could just drive up but why???  This is a nice out and back hike to the Monument on the Appalachian Trail (AT).

Park at the Rt 40 parking lot for the AT (new 40, not the old 40 that goes past South Mountain Inn).

Head south on the AT passing over I-70 on the bridge.  I drive under this bridge frequently … it was super exciting to walk across this bridge the first time I took this hike!  You will love it and if you have kids, they will definitely be loving the semi tractor trailers zooming just below their feet! They might even get a few honks! 🙂 🙂

Bridge over I-70

Bridge over I-70

Once over the bridge, the AT squeezes between two houses.  Respect the boundaries for the AT!

Cross the road and continue on the AT as it heads slightly uphill and passes the Bartram Trail.  The Bartram Trail links to Greenbrier State Park.

Many animals make their home along the trail, deer, bear, and even turtles!

What a cute little guy!

What a cute little girl! If the turtle had red eyes, then it would be a boy.

This is also a nice trail for dogs.  Sidekick Pauli loves to hikes here!

After about a mile, the trail crosses Boonesboro Mountain Road.  Be careful! Traffic can come though here pretty fast!
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The rest of the hike is wooded and shady with two power line crossings.  Some of the trail is smooth easy walking while other parts are rocky.
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Most of the hills are small and increase elevation slowly, that is until you get just past the second powerline crossing.  At that point, the trail makes its final climb up to the Washington Monument.
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The first time I did this hike I packed a picnic lunch and walked the 3.2 miles to the Washington Monument.  Sitting in the shade of the apple tree, I ate my picnic lunch while taking in the view of the Monument and Boonesboro in the valley below.  Then I backtracked 3.2 miles to my car in the Rt. 40 lot.  It was very peaceful!
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Enjoy!

Get Outside!

and Hike on! 🙂

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The Red, White & Blue Challenge Update!

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We, as in Sidekick Pauli and myself, hit the Red Trail at Gambrill SP just as the sun was coming up over the eastern ridge of the mountain. It was very quiet! This trail is short and I found that it connects the campground with the larger trail system at Gambrill.  Even though the distance […]