Tag Archives: western maryland rail trail

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Looking Forward to This…no, That…no, the Other Thing!

Last week I was eagerly looking forward to leading a hike at Coopers Rock State Forest for the Maryland Trail Dames. I scouted that hike a few weeks ago and knew the Dames would love the area with its overlook, the CCC structures, and the canyon! But, as luck would have it, the weather gods threw a wrench into my plans…so I needed to reschedule the hike. Since there would be no hike, I was now eagerly looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning. It was superb sleeping weather, rainy with a heavy fog that brought that first Autumn chill to Haystack Mountain. Sublime! I snuggled under my fuzzy blanket and nodded off into dreamland. ZZzzzzzzzzz…several hours later……BEEP, BEEP, BEEP… BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…

What the…I was up and out of bed…the smoke alarm … what???? One eye half open, I stumbled round the end of the bed to get to the hallway. OW! My knee hit the end of the iron bed frame! Graceful, I am not!

Finally reaching the hallway, the alarm was now quiet as a mouse. I flipped the light switch giving the alarm an evil eye. No smoke, no smell of smoke, everything seemed fine. Except, of course, I was now sure there was a secret fire somewhere in the house! I’ll spare you the details on the rest of the alarm story but it climaxed with me yanking it off the ceiling and deactivating it, for the time being.

I put a pot of coffee on while taking a sideways glance at the clock on the stove. Eyeroll…It was 4:00 am. So much for the sleep in! 😒 Still groggy, the smell of coffee brewing brought me to my senses. I humbly accepted that I had possibly been a little over dramatic during this short episode of my life. 😂 Moving on…

Outside, a perfect Autumnal morning had developed! Heavy fog to the ground. Mysterious and a little spooky, I love hiking in the fog! Well then, let’s go for a hike!

A quarter of an hour later, I was turning off I-68 into Rocky Gap State Park…but, but, but…no fog. 🤦‍♀️ Forget this, I got back on I-68, determined to find a suitably foggy place to take a walk. As I was headed west, my partner called me.

“Oh…you’re in the car?”

“Yes, was at Rocky Gap, but I am headed …..”

“toward or away from Cumberland?”

“Um…toward…”

“Well, I am…and could you…and…”

And 45 minutes later, I was meeting my partner at the IHOP in Hancock. She had suggested breakfast and a walk. Perfect, as the rail trail was right across the street!

Starting at the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT) parking lot, we headed down to Hancock on the rail trail. The WMRT is about 28 miles long extending from Fort Frederick State Park to Little Orleans. It parallels the C&O Canal along the way. Both the WMRT and C&O Canal are wide and flat which makes them great for bicycling, running, or walking, especially when I feel it is too hot to hike up mountains.

This morning the trail was relatively quiet and the weather still on the cool side. It was starting to look a little like Fall with a path strewn with brightly colored leaves! A grin spread over my face. My favorite season can’t come too soon!

We reveled in other signs that the turn of the season was upon us. That mulchy, woodsy, smell permeated the area around the trail. We noticed a once rushing creek now dry except for a few pools of water between the rocks here and there. We heard a hum of bees, and other pollinators, weaving through heavy blooms of Goldenrod and Asters. To top it off, cheery pumpkins and colorful mums graced porches of a few of the houses we walked by. The warm fuzzies of Autumn! All this morning was missing was a big cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte! 😜 Hike On!

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Saturday Stroll at Little Orleans

A stunning morning for a walk down along the Potomac River near Little Orleans, Maryland. This was a chilly morning and I almost talked myself out of a walk before I even finished my cup of coffee. Then I saw a friend’s post about how excited they were to be headed out to see the bluebells…well, that encouraged me to get up and get out!

My route around the horn this morning…about 5 miles.

This is a nice 5-mile loop…well, it’s not exactly a loop. That shape requires a more descriptive name…..hmmm, how about Pelican Bill loop? or Butterfly Catcher loop? 🙂

I pulled into the Western Maryland Rail Trail lot across from the Little Orleans camp store at about 8:30 am. Not a soul around except folks in the campground. Nice! I started down the smooth paved rail trail towards the canal. It was surprising that no bikes were out this morning. Oh well, better for me! The rail trail curved to the right and through a small tunnel before ending, rather abruptly, at the beginning of an old trestle that spanned the river. Okay…how do I get down to the canal??? Backtracked to the road crossing, which was the most likely suspect, and looked downhill. A PATC sign greeted me…so I went that way. 😀

That was a good guess and after a small, but muddy, stream crossing I was on the canal path! Lovely stretch of the canal!

I am not a huge fan of walking for a long time on the canal path as it is hard on my feet. Today, was no exception in that regard, BUT there was enough Springtime popping action around me that I was distracted by the absolute beauty of it all!

The redbuds were every where! You can see one in the pic from the little tunnel above. I passed many along my route. They really lit up the forest!

Oh, and then the big hit…Bluebells! I wait for them every spring, calculating when and where to go to see them. They seemed to be at peak bloom! I was over the moon to see them in bunches lining the canal and carpeting the river bank! One of my favorites!

A Bluebell jamboree!

Skirting around the horn of this hike, I passed the 15-Mile Creek Campground. This is a decent sized campground and right on the river. Spring and Fall are probably the best time for camping here. I imagine the bugs in the summer would be pretty unbearable! But hey, if you like the summer river life, go for it! 🙂 There is a boat ramp and with the towpath and rail trail it gives everyone something to enjoy!

I headed down the canal towards the old Indigo train tunnel. As I approached the opening a rush of cool air gave me the chills. I had momentary vision of a scene from one of the Harry Potter movies when Harry’s cousin, Dudley, is attacked by the Dementors in a tunnel near their house. 😀 😀 Okay, maybe not quite that dramatic! 😀 The tunnel is closed off, but it is still a neat side trip to look through the bars towards the light at the end of the tunnel!

And without any discussion on this…I am closing out this post with a cheesy t-shirt slogan…”The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming train!” 😀 Hike on!