As I was hiking yesterday at New Germany State Park, I heard the voice of the D.C. Metro Goddess in my head softly stating, “Doors closing” in that sing-song voice, then more forcibly, “Please stand clear of the doors!”
I looked up through the now bare branches of trees to a steel gray sky. Doors have indeed closed on the season of Fall color here in western Maryland. It was a beautiful season starting right about at the Fall Equinox in September with a few golden leaves, then reaching its pinnacle about the third week in October with reds, golds, and browns. A lovely time of year!
When Fall began, I felt the frenetic energy down in my bones! I rushed to drink it all in before the turn to the darker months of Winter. And wow, did I ever scramble to get the most out of Fall! I got out to hike at Monocacy National Battlefield, the C&O Canal, Shawnee State Park, the Appalachian Trail, Coopers Rock State Forest, New Germany State Park, and Rocky Gap State Park!
A hike on the Appalachian Trail to sit in the woods and write in our journals
I led a “Journaling in Nature” hike for the Maryland Trail Dames. This is an event focused on being present in the forest. We hike in with our journals and supplies, then find a spot to sit for about an hour to tap into our senses and journal. Many of our Dames don’t feel comfortable sitting in the woods alone to journal, so this gives them the opportunity. It is a great experience and was one of my favorite hikes this season!
Below are a few photos from other hikes. I was blessed to be able to take in all this beauty before the temperatures dipped, the winds kicked up, and the rain fell.
Now I hear the Cailleach calling!
A stop at Monroe Run Overlook after a hike at New Germany State Park
Along the C&O Canal near Spring Gap, Maryland
November brings a different vibe into my life. One of burrowing down into the coziness of indoor life. Oh, I still go hiking, but afterwards I look forward to a hot shower, a hot chocolate with a dash of Kahlua, and cozy cuddles with my kitties on the couch! 😻
One of my favorite Winter activities is to bring out my hiking maps and use the time to dream up and plan next Summer’s adventures! I have a lot to look forward to!
New Germany State Park on November 4, 2023…all the leaves are gone!
For now, the Metro Goddess is correct, the doors are closing or possibly have closed…I wonder where that next stop will be? 🥾🥾
Any suggestions for hikes in western Maryland…or within 100 miles of Cumberland, MD? Let me know in the comments! Always up for a new adventure!
The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT) runs from Laurel Ridge State Park to Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. The elevation profile for the entire 70 – miles of the trail is fairly level, with the ends having elevation a bit more extreme, and miles 0 – 11 having the MOST extreme elevation changes of the entire trail.
So, guess where I initiated myself to the LHHT? 😁 Along with Queen V, who is up for all the adventures…better or worse.
Hiking the LHHT requires preplanning as one needs to reserve the shelters for overnight use. It will cost a small fee to reserve, but it is worth every bit! You can have the entire shelter to yourself! Each shelter has a fireplace, plenty of hooks to hang items, and even a place to put up a hammock. The shelter area includes a nice pit toilet with separate building for men/women, trash cans, a pump (non-potable water), and a wood splitting area stocked with firewood. If you are a backpacker, can you imagine such a glamping setup in the backcountry?!! I mean…you don’t have to pack out your trash! I dropped trash into the bin at least five times in the span of twelve hours just because I could!!
Planning this overnight backpacking trip back in April I reached out to my backpacker gal pals to see who wanted to go…seven of them were like HELL YEAH, SIGN ME UP! And I did, reserving two shelters for us. Reflecting on this now, I won’t reserve for everyone next time. Why? Because life intervened to a point where five of those who had signed up could not come along. The reservation system is easy to navigate and this trail is not as populated as say, the Appalachian Trail, so next time each can make their own reservation. Just makes it cleaner if they need to cancel.
Another hiking friend, Cathryn, wanted to go last minute which was great…because we had PLENTY of room! 😄 More importantly, neither Queen V or myself had hiked with Cathryn in a while and looked forward to reconnecting with her.
We met up at Ferncliff parking area in Ohiopyle, the southernmost trailhead for the LHHT at MILE 0, then I shuttled the three of us to Jersey Hollow parking area, MILE 11-ish. A trail kiosk, that had paper maps of the LHHT available, greeted us, and we each greedily snatched one. Honestly, you would have thought we’d won the lottery or something. Ka-ching! Seriously, though, having a paper map is a good idea for this trail as we did not have cell service for most of our trek back to Ohiopyle.
Storing our coveted maps, we started down the trail towards the Ohiopyle Shelter. What a fantasy land! A dense fog laden woods with large boulders covered with ferns and moss. Water dripped from the ends of the moss that hung over the sides of boulders. Add the reds and golds of trees and other foliage that have turned as Autumn enters…and ohhhhhhhh, such hobbit-like lushness!
Early fall foliage added so much value to this hike! And I was incredibly thankful for something to be thankful for as my knees took a beating on the downhill to the shelter. Good lord almighty, that was long, steep, downhill littered with little rolling rocks and acorns. Slow going and demoralizing! I was elated to see the shelter sign…but that elation was short lived as my head turned from the sign to the side trail. Only the top of the trail was visible! Down, down, down. My thought, my actual thought, as I stood there, almost paralyzed, was I should have packed more Ibuprofen! Then I put one foot in front of the other and went on down.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Ohiopyle Shelter area. Arriving early-ish in the day, we had a lot of time to relax, set up camp, and eat. Queen V brought a Red Velvet moon pie that she shared with me and that sugar buzz was better than any ibuprofen! Later in the evening the ranger came up to check on permits. He asked us where the rest of the people on the reservation were and jokingly said, “Please tell me I don’t have to go looking for them!” In our chat with him, he asked where we had started, where we had parked cars…the usual stuff. When I told him we had a car parked at Jersey Hollow, he paused and looked up. Oh no, I thought, what is wrong with Jersey Hollow…”What? Is it not safe?” I asked. He replied, “no, not that, but overnight parking is not allowed there.” Oh crap … crap, crap, crap! “Are they going to tow my car?” This is my first question and all I can think is that I am going to pay this man any amount of money to drive me to Jersey Hollow so I can move my car!
He let me know the worst that would happen is IF the game warden checked the lot, then it would be a ticket, like a $5 ticket. *whew* crisis averted!!!
The rest of the evening was delightful. I had my tent set up in my shelter and stayed cozy all night. There were some aches and pains as I carefully navigated each move of my body, but otherwise good!
Next morning the climb out of the shelter area was not as bad as anticipated and we were on our way once again! This trek was not as grueling as that downhill had been (Queen V’s opinion may differ 😏). It was a hard day, but not as soul crushing…except for the climb coming up to the MILE 5 marker. STEEP and the elevation on the profile did not match Queen V’s Garmin or how we felt! My strategy was to make sure to break when needed, drink lots of liquids to keep all my muscles well hydrated, and make a conscious effort to look up and enjoy the beauty that surrounded me. It worked!
Trudging back into Ohiopyle, we found lunch right on the trail at Falls City Pub & Restaurant. I downed two glasses of Pepsi before my meal of salmon wrap and onion rings arrived. That Pepsi hit the spot and the food was delicious! Full tummy and completely caffeinated and sugared up, I was in high spirits as Queen V shuttled me back to my car. On arrival, we all scanned for a parking ticket, and gave a unanimous whoop when one could not be found! 🙌🙌🙌
Twenty-ish hours later, I am still able to walk and all I have is love for the LHHT. So much so I am already planning the next section of the LHHT with Queen V.
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!
Thru-hiking the 2190 plus miles of the Appalachian Trail is a grand undertaking and surely a test of mind and body! Catnap and Sweet Tooth, my niblings, are completing a thru-hike this year. They started at Katahdin, in Maine, and are hiking south. I planned to meet up with them as soon as they came within range of my area. Last week they appeared on my radar! We were messaging back and forth and planned in advance to meet up on Sunday. The morning dawned bright and beautiful, a wonderful day to meet up with Catnap an Sweet Tooth, as they passed through Pine Grove Furnace State Park, approximately half-way on their southbound AT journey!
You might be asking yourself…what is a nibling? Nibling is a non-gendered term for niece/nephew. There are three great people in this story, who are all adult children of my siblings, and they all have different pronouns, so niblings it is!
The first nibling, Izzy, my nephew, had stayed overnight at my house. We were up early and headed out the door just in time for an 11:00 meet up. Pine Grove Furnace State Park is about a two hour drive from my house in western Maryland and it was great to have Izzy as company for the drive!
Reaching Pine Grove, we spotted and joyously celebrated with Catnap & Sweet Tooth (because of course they got there first)! They had toured the little AT Museum and highly recommended it for anyone who has not been to visit. As we talked, we walked. Right back to my car where the requested goodies were. Bananas and chocolate chip cookies were on the requested list…but I threw in some salmon jerky and powdered electrolytes, as well. Nothing was refused! …nom, nom, nom…😍
The Niblings
*Sidenote* – my hiking pal Queen V now volunteers on the weekend at the museum and is a GREAT person to tap for information regarding the trail!
Ok, back to the niblings! We all moved on over to the Pine Grove store for lunch. This is the home of the “half-gallon challenge” where some thru-hikers will eat a half gallon of ice cream. Catnap told us the evidence of this could be found at the first north bound shelter past Pine Grove. 😝 Interestingly, Catnap and Sweet Tooth abstained!
As we sat down, Catnap told us she had lost her wallet along the trail, so that was a point of concern. She had posted on the FarOut app. I assured her that things get found and told her about my friend, Roxanne, who had lost her phone a couple times along the trail and has gotten it back every time! I loved sitting there on the porch of the store listening to trail tails as they retold harrowing experiences of the crazy flooding in the northeast and the male hikers that had been dubbed the “dude bros”(not a complimentary term, fyi)! 😂I hated to wrap up lunch but it was getting late and these thru-hikers needed to hike! We made a plan for Izzy and me to drive up to the Michaux Road trail crossing and hike in to the half-way point sign to wait for Catnap & Sweet Tooth to CELEBRATE!!!
At the Michaux Road Crossing with Izzy
Easy and lovely walking along the AT to the Half-Way Point Sign
It was amazing to meet up and share part of their AT journey with them! The day after meeting up with them I received a message on Instagram, tell Catnap to check her dm, we found her wallet!!!!! The BEST kind of trail magic!
Sweet Tooth & Catnap!
Catnap & Sweet Tooth are now long gone and moving fast through the easier terrain south of the half-way point. They took 80 days to hike from Katahdin to Pine Grove and that was the hard part! I assured them they weren’t going to hit any of the big mountains for quite awhile, so picking up speed and miles per day is assured. Last I heard they hit a personal best of 28 miles! If you are on the trail, don’t blink or you might miss them!
Currently immersed in Teacher Week…or “administrator week” as my partner, who is also a teacher, called it this morning. 😏 So…after a day of attending professional development sessions that our admin thought might be useful, I am cooked. The last session was on health and wellness … I skipped it … for my health and wellness! 🤣 Time to exit the building and start home. My commute was spent reminiscing on a quick overnight trip I led for Trail Dames last weekend along the Appalachian Trail.
This was truly a quick, low mileage, backpacking trip giving us the opportunity to relax and unwind. Another teacher, besides me, came along and I bet she is also holding the weekend close this week as she prepares for her incoming 5th graders!
We started at the Appalachian Trail crossing on Rt. 233 near Caledonia State Park. A very small pull off with space for two cars. We had a group of five, so only one car and one spot needed. I crossed my fingers that no one would block the car in overnight (no one did).
A jolly bunch of Dames we were as we started down the trail just after 8:00 AM. The last of the cool air was dissipating as we started the climb to Chimney Rock. The change in temperature as the sun rose above the ridge was palpable. Ohhh, it was going to be a hot day! Many a break was taken as we plowed uphill to the overlook. Mostly in the shade, the trail takes a gentle uphill path, but when temps rise into the upper 80s and humidity increases without bound, it is a butt-kicker!
Chimney Rock has a lovely view, but you have to climb to the top of the rocks for it. One Dame was a little fearful of the climb so she stayed down in the shade eating her lunch. By the end, however, fear of missing out overtook the fear of the climb! And while she did not go ALL the way to the top, she did push her own boundaries and got close! 🎉 That is what Trail Dames is all about…providing a safe space for women to get out there and try things…climb that mountain, cross the creek, camp, backpack, and have a great time!
The descent to Tumbling Run Shelter was as long as anticipated. When I arrived at the shelter, there was already someone there with a big tent (like a car camping tent) set up by the creek and music blaring. Ohhhhh nooooo, I had wondered about weekend party campers since this shelter area is close to a road crossing. Hoping this would not be a loud night, and ignoring the camper, I turned away from the creek and headed back to check out the group camp site.
Amazing site!!! We quickly set up while exclaiming our sheer delight at this site. Six nice tent pads, picnic table, benches, and firepit. It was better than a lot of car camping sites I’ve seen!
We lounged around the site all afternoon. Absolutely wonderful! In the later afternoon, we had a visit from Kurt, who is a member of the family that maintains the shelter area, and has maintained it since 1991. He gave us the history of Tumbling Run Shelter, how he and his family keep the weekend party campers away, and how the creation of the beautiful group site came to be! What a treat to have him take the time to chat with us!
Once he had left, I headed up to the shelter/privy and noticed that the camper with the music blaring was gone, along with the big tent. Much applause for Kurt!!
Kurt also made sure we knew storms were forecasted (we knew) …and sure enough right about 11:00 pm the wind whipped up, lightning lit up the forest, and thunder rolled through the mountains. We were never in the bullseye, just a good ole storm! It stopped before dawn giving a nice dry pack up and walk out. 🙌
The sunbeams through the raindrop laden trees was a perfectly magical sendoff.
But, yeah, I could go for a do-over right now! 🥾🥾Hike on!
A whirlwind of a weekend! As Chair of a community college math department I have been BUSY. Scheduling my auto-response email message Friday morning, I let out a sigh of relief. This weekend was mine. 🏃♀️
Bear Spray, Akela, and I made High Point State Park our base camp. Akela would be hiking with me; Bear Spray offered to camp and shuttle us to trail heads. If you section hike, you know the time suck that accompanies moving cars every morning. It was a treat to have Bear Spray as our shuttle driver!
Friday we hung out at the campsite on Sawmill Lake. Bear Spray and I had camped here in 2019. My dog, Sidekick Pauli, had been along for that adventure. Since she was not able to hike long distances anymore, I had shuttled Bear Spray to a trail head. What comes around goes around! I loved Sawmill Lake then because it felt remote and the campsite we had that year was pretty nicely secluded. I believe it was site 4, if you’re interested. This time, I came away not so enamored! We camped at the only site left at the time I registered, site 11. This site would be good for a group also reserving 10 and 12 because they were all connected. Zero privacy. Friday night wasn’t too bad. Perhaps because site 10 was unoccupied OR because there were storms and all I could hear was rain on the tent…went right to sleep! But holy mother of…Saturday afternoon/night was a disaster with loud music, loud talking, extra cars that took up all the spaces, AND after dark…one of the guys must have a medical issue like sleep apnea or something…the sounds that came out in the night…AND THEN HE STARTED TALKING CRAZY SHIT IN HIS SLEEP! 😲
If I had been camping alone, I would have left. That whole group was just…no words.
Regardless, the hiking was GREAT!
Saturday, we hiked from Sunrise Mountain back to High Point State Park. This was a pretty easy trek. There were some small climbs, but nothing really crazy. Although, there is one down that was unexpected and it goes straight down! Might be a good idea to channel your inner mountain goat at that spot!
Mountain Goat it downhill to the left of the Pine
The thing that almost did us in were the mosquitoes. OMG, those blood-sucking little feckers got in our ears, eyes, neck, arms, EVERYWHERE. I literally had one stuck to the rim of my glasses and when I took a selfie (at the bottom of mountain goat drop off) I found there was one on my nose! Our skin was on fire!!
After getting to High Point, we booked it to our campsite to pick up shower supplies and head to the camp showers in hopes of extinguishing ourselves. Arriving at our campsite to the sound of the blaring music and no place to park did not help our moods. I am sure we set the tone for the weekend with our less than welcoming looks to the site 10 inhabitants. 😂😂😂 Don’t care…they were just that bad!
A word on camp showers…a curtain is not enough. Locking doors need to be installed on the showers. That is all.
Hanging at camp later, Bear Spray told us about her day…and she saw a bear!! We saw no wildlife other than mosquitoes and she saw a BEAR. LIFE IS UNFAIR!!!
Saturday night…I knew what I was up against with site 10, so I popped a Benedryl to 1) help with the bug bites which had left little welts all over my freakin body, and 2) help me sleep! It worked for a while, but as I have already stated above, there was no silencing the horrific sounds coming from site 10. 😖 I thought the guy might need an ambulance called at some point! Sleep tests can be a lifesaver…just putting that out there.
High Point Monument
Sunday, our section started at High Point and ended at NJ 284. Shuttling to place our cars at 284, we went through a little piece of New York, Unionville to be specific. What a quaint town! Very cute!
Bear Spray took us back to High Point and off we went! The first part of the trail between NJ 23 and High Point Monument is a little rough. Lots of rocks and some climbing. It was already started to warm up and whew! That piece made us sweat! After that it was downhill to the High Point Shelter, then the trail leveled out. My favorite part of this section were the meadows. 🌻 All the summer wildflowers are in bloom right now. A feast for the eyes and the nose! I could hear a tractor across one of the meadows and it was a nostalgic moment as I thought back to my childhood on our farm in Indiana…my dad on his tractor…sweet memory. 🥰
A picturesque pond along the way
The bugs were not as bad for me during this hike and I was grateful! We were really cruising along, almost to NJ 294, and even with the ever rising temps I was feeling pretty satisfied with our pace. Then we hit a steep hill after Unionville Road…don’t look for it on the map…it is literally a blip…but that blip was a head down, one foot in front of the other, struggle for survival!
Afterwards the path leveled out and it was smooth sailing again, until BOOM right into a bunch of tree branches that were blocking the path.
Thanks to Akela for this pic of the Jungle Woman
Can’t go over it, Can’t go under it, Can’t go around it, Got to go through it!
On Sunday morning, after an hour of decision paralysis, which I am adding to the hours on Saturday of the same, I settled on Coopers Rock State Forest.
“Where to hike this weekend?” is such a good problem to have. All those hours were SO productive that I have lined up a great hike for next weekend, as well! 👏👏👏
Back to Coopers Rock…do you like Hobbit-like rock canyons, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) handiwork, and big views? Yes? Me too! And this hike had all that and more. Throw in some cool bits of history and traversing lovely forest scape … *sigh*… it is a hike well done!
First the canyon! I stood for more than a few minutes at this location wondering if I was suppose to go around on the trail seen to the left. Finally, decided and went down the hole! Thrust immediately into a Hobbit world of immense stone walls, I may have audibly squealed in delight. 🤩 I was in a magical moss covered tunnel between soaring stone canyon walls. I felt the temperature drop as I descended. A wonderful feeling mid-summer!
Down into the Hobbit Hole
Second, the CCC structures! The Pumphouse is my favorite! It looks like a little forest witch’s house and I want that in my backyard. 😄 After I got back home, I poked the Internet beast and found a whole tour of the CCC buildings at Coopers Rock. I will be going back with this information in hand!
The Pumphouse or Forest Witch’s Magical Hut…you decide 🍄
Third, big, big views of the Cheat River and Canyon! The CCC also built the bridges and safety barriers on the rocks. The workmanship, wow! It is beautiful…thankful for those who put their blood, sweat, and tears into making this overlook accessible for many folks!
Vertigo is not your friend here! This is just a small snip of the whole overlook area.
And … Bonus points for the extra tidbits on the history on the community built up around the Henry Clay Iron Furnace! ✨ I started my hike in the parking lot just inside the entrance to the park and hike the “advanced ski” trail to the furnace. It is a thickly forested area. Hard to imagine this community now…even the first sight of the furnace was a surprise, as it was sitting in the middle of the woods and nature is definitely trying to take back its own! There is a really cool picture of hikers from the 1890s at the furnace on the WVU Library webpage!
I completed approximately 7-miles and 800 feet of elevation on this hike. A shorter, easier route exists to approach the furnace from another parking area, if you were wondering!
Tailgate of my RAV4 open, I sat, legs dangling, phone in hand, mindlessly swiping through Pinterest as I waited on the Dames. A blessedly cool morning, I thought, as I swung my legs back and forth, and kept swiping. A car turned off of Rt. 30. Someone was yelling from their car as it was driving by. What the…? It took a minute for me to drag myself from a cute backyard firepit setup that I had been getting ready to pin, so I only heard “…have to pooooo!” Ahh…Queen V had arrived. Well, almost. 😂
A good bathroom is a godsend at a trailhead. Especially for women hikers. Yes, we can go in the woods and do…but a nice bathroom at the beginning. It’s a plus!
Once we had everyone together, we piled into two cars, rode down to the Rt. 233 trailhead, and began our hike up and over Rocky Mountain. We all agreed that the weather was an awesome change from the hot and muggy swamp weather we had been having previously.
This hike is mostly regular dirt trail, but just after the cut-off to Rocky Mountain Shelter, it goes through some spectacular rock formations. OH…and in my previous post, I stated that Dames always stop at the shelters. I should have added IF and only IF (that’s IFF for you math folks) the shelter is a reasonably short distance from the trail! 😁 The Rocky Mountain Shelter is 0.3 miles from the trail, so that was a no go!
The Dames did great along this stretch of the AT. Their comments were it was a shock to the body to get out of the car and immediately be expected to go steeply uphill. AND that Queen V was so not truthful about it being just one climb up, then the rest of the way down. 😆 For the record, I never made any such claim! 😏
After the initial climb, the trail was easy walking until just after the shelter cut-off. Then the trail turns right, climbs a short hill, and we entered the jumble of boulders that make this hike one of my favorites.
We slowed down, picking our way through the rocks carefully. Stopping frequently to take in the wonder of these big rock formations, we theorized how they had come to be. No conclusions, as none of us on this hike are geologists. However, none were necessary. It is enough to be in awe of these phenomenal formations.
Coming down off of the rocks, we descended into what was becoming a hot and humid day. Summer is back. We kept our spirits up and our feet moving by chatting about wading in the creek at Caledonia, then going for ice cream. You do what you gotta do!
The creek was as amazing as we thought it would be! So, so, so good!
The ice cream, friendly service, and cute decor at the Caledonia Cafe was a perfect way to celebrate! Highly recommend if you are in the area. 🍦🍨🧁
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!
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!
August 2022 was my last post. That is kind of tough to say aloud. By the way, “aloud” is one of my good starting words on Wordle. 😀 Anyway…I am calling this embarrassing pause my gap year.
Did I stop hiking? No.
Did I stop leading hikes? No.
Did I lose motivation for writing? Well, sort of…I still write in my journal, but it is mostly bulleted lists or drawings or a few sentences here and there. Case in point, my last entry in my journal was “June 30 – July 1: Led a backpack to kick off July 4th weekend with Trail Dames” and I put a Shenandoah National Park sticker next to the entry. Unacceptable! Not a fail, but definitely D-level submission! 😂 I did better on Instagram and made a Reel…oooooo fancy! And here is a pic of some of us at the Rock Spring Hut. FYI…the spring is WAY downhill, but it is an amazing spring…lovely water source!
With blogging, I kept saying “maybe I’ll write about the next hike” over and over and the blog just sat here waiting for me to notice it again. And today, I did!
To inspire myself, I actually Googled “why I should write” … yep, this is where I am. 🤦♀️
And I thought about it. The more I thought about writing about hiking I kept coming back to two comments I got from Dames who came along the backpacking trip I led this weekend.
“This trip surpassed my hopes! It was wonderful and I enjoyed every moment. Thanks to Kylena for organizing it and to each and every one of you for sharing your stories and your backpacking knowledge“
“What an amazing trip! Thanks for welcoming me so warmly into this group. I loved getting to know my fellow adventurous Dames. A huge thanks to Kylena for her mad organization skills that made this trip a reality and for encouraging me to attend.”
If I were reading my blog, what would I want to take away? This blog holds stories of hikes and people that have shared the trail with me along the way. Now, I feel a need to level up and be, oh, I don’t know…more entertaining and inspiring. To assist in some small way in making the outdoors more enticing and welcoming for everyone. I want everyone feel like Queen V looks standing atop Little Stony Man cliffs (also from this weekend)!
Hard truth – when I start actually thinking about writing, instead of just doing the thing, anxiety and procrastination set in. To be honest, thinking does me in EVERY time. If I start thinking about doing something, it becomes thinking forEVER and I never get to the doing of the thing. 🤯
So, fuck it, I’m writing. I am going to set a schedule, because I love schedules, and when my Google calendar tells me it is time to write, perfection be damned, I am going to write!
And for all of you who “think” your way right out of hiking, or walking, or just going outside…I personally challenge you to stand up and do the thing. Get up, open the door, take a step, then one step more.
Girl Gone Hiking 