Frigid Temperatures and Flowers in the Frederick Watershed

When we arrived at the trailhead on Gambrill Park Road northwest of Frederick, MD, it was 37 degrees, windy, and sort of misting.  It wasn't enough precipitation to really call it rain, but it wasn't really dry, either.  In spite of that, we were going to look for flowers that our friend had seen a couple of days before.  When it wasn't 37 degrees.  I did not have much hope that there would be any flowers left, but with the weather calling for rain most of the day, I didn't want to drive very far to hike either. 

We were accompanied by our friend's dog, who made an excellent hiking guide for the area.  She made a point of keeping the group together and usually chose the right trail when we came to an intersection.  When she wasn't chasing sticks into the water, she was a rather impatient hiker.  If we stopped to take pictures, she would start whining to urge us on. 

We ended up hiking a total of 13 miles on the Catoctin Trail, the trails around Sand Flat, and a few roads.  It turned out to be a fairly decent day.  The rain held off until late afternoon, although the sun never came out.  The leaves on most trees are just starting to turn, but a few species, like blueberries are already bright red.  In spite of the cold, we saw a lot of flowers, including several I had never seen before.  Best of all, very few other people were out hiking or mountain biking in what is normally a very busy area. 

Pictures (click to enlarge):

Our canine guide.  She is very motivated by Clif bars.

A small waterfall near the Catoctin Trail.

One of the many ponds along the route.

Eupatorium hyssopifolium (Hyssop-Leaved Boneset). 

Two tiny red mushrooms on a bed of moss.

 Headed towards Fishing Creek Road.

Symphyotrichum laterifolium (Calico Aster). 

Hiking north towards the Catoctin Trail.  One of the challenges of the Frederick Watershed is that there are so many social trails, it can be difficult to determine if an intersection is really the one you are seeking.  Good practice navigating.

 An overlook on the east side of the Frederick Watershed.

Conoclinium coelestrum (Mist Flower)

Symphyotrichum racemosum (Small White Wood Aster) on Gambrill Park Road.

Rudbeckia hirta (Black-Eyed Susan).

Asclepias syriaca (Milkweed) pods on the Gambrill Park Road.

The Catoctin Trail - Maryland's Other Long(ish) Trail

We made a quick trip up to Thurmont to hike with a friend yesterday.  We decided to do a relatively short out-and-back on the Catoctin Trail, from its northern terminus at Mt. Zion Road to Cunningham Falls and back. The Catoctin Trail is a 26.5 mile long trail near Frederick, MD.  It starts in Gambrill State Park, crosses the Frederick Watershed, Cunningham Falls State Park, and ends at the northwestern boundary of Catoctin Mountain Park.

The parking area is at the top of a ridge on Mt. Zion Road near the boundary of Catoctin Mountain Park.  From there, it is one-tenth of a mile on a horse trail to the Catoctin Trail.  We got a late start, so before getting too far underway, we stopped for lunch.  The late start also meant we were hiking in the hottest part of the day.  The trail trends downhills toward the Owens Creek Campground.  It is marked sporadically with blue blazes.  A couple of horse trails cross it so we had to check the map once or twice.

After crossing Owens Creek, the trail climbs steadily, but relatively gently, for a couple of miles.  It was the kind of climb where you expect the top to be around the corner a number of times.  I turned the corner several times only to find the trail still climbing.  Still, it was a relatively easy, pretty climb through the forest.  On the way down the other side, we crossed an area that had been hit by a tornado in 2004.  The damage from the tornado is still visible in all of the large trees that are down.  We found ripe wineberries below the rootball of one of the downed trees.  Not many of those survived our visit.

We crossed MD Route 77 after waiting several minutes for a break in traffic and continued south to the trail down to Cunningham Falls.  Up to this point, we had seen fewer than five people.  As soon as we reached the trail to the falls, we found the crowds, not really surprising on a hot July day.  The falls themselves were jam-packed with people.  The amount of trash was a bit disappointing:  I mean, how heavy is an empty water bottle to carry out?  In spite of that, the falls were pretty.  We took a break and then headed back up the trail to the Catoctin Trail.  The return trip was uneventful, except for eating more wineberries.  We hiked about 10 miles, total and I would hike there again, but perhaps visit the falls in the winter.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Cunningham Falls

I tried out a neutral density filter for the first time yesterday.  A neutral density filter allows a long exposure without overexposing bright parts of the image.  It is pretty much made for smooth waterfalls on sunny days.  I've had it for a while, I just keep forgetting it when we are going hiking in areas with waterfalls.  The picture above is with no filter, with an exposure of 0.4 seconds. 

The same setup with the neutral density filter.  What a difference.  I did go in after I got home and lighten the shadows just a little bit.

 Impatiens capensis (Jewelweed, Touch-Me-Not)

 Prunella vulgaris (Selfheal)

Geum canadense (White Avens)

The view from the parking area on Mt. Zion Road.