Soldier's Delight Natural Environmental Area

We wanted to get a hike in today, but we also wanted to avoid the traffic of everyone returning from a long weekend. Soldier's Delight Natural Environmental Area, northwest of Baltimore fit the bill. The area has some of the rarest habitat in Maryland, including oak savanna, partly due to its unique geology. You can read more about that here. The day started gray and foggy, but cleared up about halfway through our hike. We had a pleasant 6-mile walk and saw a number of flowers along the way.

 Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose)

Red Dog Lodge, which was a hunting lodge for the former landowner.

 A rabbit looks on skeptically while I try to take its picture.

 Ferns growing on the chimney of the lodge.

 Packera anonyma (Small's Ragwort)

 A snail hiding in a borehole in a tree.

 The serpentine barrens that the area is famous for.

Arabis lyrata (Lyre-leaved Rock Cress)

 Silene caroliniana (Wild Pinks)

 The entrance to chromite mine that once operated here.

 We had lunch near this tiny pond and listened to Green Frogs call to each other.

 A mushroom near the trail.

 A white moth on Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

 An Eastern Box Turtle.

Cerastium arvense var villosum (Serpentine Chickweed) a rare variety that only occurs in serpentine barrens

Maryland Heights and the C&O Towpath

A friend of ours was in town for a couple of weeks of training, so we had the opportunity to spend a day hiking with him last weekend. The Harpers Ferry area was centrally located and the Maryland Heights hike is such a great introduction to the area. It can be really crowded, but we were hoping that the sudden cold snap would keep a few of the crowds away. One way to beat some of the crowds is to park at the Weverton Cliffs lot, three miles down the C&O towpath from the Maryland Heights trailhead. The walk along the towpath is pleasant and quiet and you don't have to club people for a spot in the tiny Maryland Heights lot.

It was just above 20 degrees when we started, which was a bit of a shock after the 80 degree day we had three days before. This is one of my favorite sections of the towpath to walk. The river is pretty and there are good views of Harpers Ferry and Loudon Heights. We didn't see anyone on the towpath until we were almost to Harpers Ferry. We did see a bald eagle, thanks to the sharp eyes of our friend. The hike up to the overlook at Maryland Heights was just as steep as I remembered. We had a nice clear day with a view of the north end of Massanutten in the distance, 40 miles to the southwest. As we took pictures, more and more people kept arriving at the overlook, so we decided to continue with our hike.

Once back at the trail junction, we took a right and headed up the hill towards the Stone Fort, the ruin of a civil war fort overlooking the valley to the east. We ate lunch in the sun at one of the other civil war structures on the mountain, the Powder Magazine. From the top of the ridge, we were actually able to see Sugarloaf Mountain off in the distance as well as the high-rises of Tysons Corner in Virginia. It was definitely a good air quality day. We had a nice walk back down and we took a break across the bridge in Harpers Ferry on the way back. We had a wonderful hike.

 Harpers Ferry from the C&O Towpath.

 Harpers Ferry from the Maryland Heights Overlook. The Shenandoah River flows into the Potomac on the left side of the photo. If you click to enlarge, you can see the line where the waters of the two rivers are different colors.

 Looking up the Potomac River from Maryland Heights.

 The wall of the Stone Fort.

 Looking east down the Potomac. If you click on the picture, the tall buildings of Tysons Corner are visible in the center of the horizon.

 Rodent teeth marks on a sign at the Stone Fort.

 A Downy Woodpecker along the towpath.

Another view of the Downy Woodpecker.

Annapolis Rocks Snowshoeing

After last week's storm, we couldn't resist the opportunity to get the snowshoes out again. We picked up a friend and her dog and and met another friend at the Annapolis Rocks parking area on US Highway 40 west of Frederick, Maryland. Fortunately, road crews partially cleared the parking lot. We've hiked up to Annapolis Rocks and to Blackrock a number of times. This is the first time we have snowshoed up there. The first quarter mile of the hike has to be the least charming stretch of the entire Appalachian Trail. The trail goes under the US Highway 40 bridge, following a ledge perched over Interstate 70. The roar of traffic makes it impossible to talk even to the person hiking next to you.

After we passed under the bridge and turned up the hill, away from the highways, the hike improved rapidly. South Mountain still had nearly two feet of snow on the ground. There was a pretty wide path in the snow from hikers who had been up to Annapolis Rocks before us. We had lunch in the sun at Annapolis Rocks. From there, we headed north to Blackrock following only one set of snowshoe tracks. Then we hiked down the hill from Blackrock. The snow was still fluffy on the north-facing slope. We had a good time glissading down the trail. At the bottom, when we reached the creek, we decided it was time to head back.

We had a great time out in the snow and we saw a total of six other people (two of whom were climbers camped at the bottom of Annapolis Rocks). On a normal day, this area is crazy busy with hikers.

Michael at Annapolis Rocks

 The view northwest from Annapolis Rocks

 Our friends snowshoeing

The view from Blackrock

 Sumac seeds

Blackrock Creek. The trail continues on the other side. This is where we turned around.

My snowshoes on trail.

 The trail and shadows in the late afternoon sun.

 Michael and our friends hiking up the last hill on the way back to the car.

Michael had to do an emergency repair on his snowshoes. The rivets on the binding strap pulled out (this is probably his third time using these...we'll be contacting the manufacturer). He used utility cord to make a field repair, which got him back to the car.

Cycling in a Heat Wave and Spring Flowers

The training continued this weekend with a ride out of Meyersville, Maryland. We've done the shorter (55 mile) version of this one before. This time, we intended to do the 75 mile version and we did come close. The weather and a lack of water conspired to cut our ride a couple of miles short. The weather was absolutely beautiful, but it was really warm compared to what we have been riding in. I had to ride in tights earlier in the week, so it was a bit disorienting to ride in 80 degrees.

We took a break at the parking lot which is the northern terminus of the Catoctin Trail. In spite of the good weather, there weren't any cars in the lot.

This sign, which I had never noticed before, is right beside the parking lot. The previous times that I've been to the parking lot, it was in the summer, so I think it was covered by leaves and undergrowth.

The part of the loop that was new to us took us north, into Pennsylvania's Michaux State Forest. It was a really nice road, through beautiful pine woods. We stopped for lunch at a pulloff next to this stream. From here, the road climbed steadily for six or seven miles. Here's where the adventure started.

By the end of that climb, we were all getting pretty low on water. The cue sheet indicated a store just after the top of the climb, which turned out to have gone out of business. We checked and decided we could make it to Pen Mar Park, where we had gotten water in the past. We arrived, completely out of water after a grueling, hot, windy climb, only to find that the water had not been turned on yet for the season. They had a vending machine, which must have been empty. It taunted us with pictures of cold water bottles as we tried to put money in it. Normally, after stopping at Pen Mar, we ride up to High Rock, a couple of miles up the road. The prospect of more climbing with no water didn't appeal to any of us, though. We knew of a gas station a few miles down the road (and all downhill) from a wrong turn on a previous ride, so we decided to skip the short climb up to High Rock and head for water. We must have sat in front of that gas station for half an hour, draining a gallon jug of water and cooling off.

Later in the ride, Michael spotted these Sanguinaria candensis (Bloodroot) in a ditch along the road. These are the first wildflowers we've spotted this year. They provided me a nice morale boost on the last leg of the ride.

These Tussilago farfara (Coltsfoot) were nearby.

Rappelling at Annapolis Rocks

We spent Sunday with Wild Type and another friend at Annapolis Rocks on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland. We arrived early so we would beat the crowds and actually get a spot in the parking lot on US Highway 40. It was cold, below freezing, when we arrived at the parking lot. Sub-freezing temperatures don't bother me in months like December, January, February, etc. It is April now, however, and I'm ready for a few days where the temperature reaches the 70s. There's no sign of spring yet in the mountains.

It is a quick two-mile hike up to Annapolis Rocks. The climb over Pine Knob was a welcome way to warm up. We arrived at Annapolis Rocks, which is usually quite crowded, to find we had it to ourselves. People filtered in and out during the day, but overall it wasn't particularly busy. The temperature eventually climbed enough that it was comfortable without coats and we had a great day playing on the rocks.

Michael getting ready to take the first descent of the day.

 Looking southwest from one of my descents.

 Rappelling down the first pitch.

 Michael demonstrating the value of the autoblock.

Michael watching Wild Type on the second pitch. This one was a lot higher than the first one.

 My shadow on the rocks and a bootshot on the second pitch.

 Looking down at the ground.

 And back up to the top.

 Interesting lichens on a rock.

Michael carrying both ropes on our way out. 

Spring Riding: Prettyboy Dam and Tailwinds

Spring has been stubbornly refusing to show itself this year. We've had promises of 60 degree weather that never materialized, to say nothing of temperatures, say, in the 70s. Yesterday looked like it was going to be another day like that. When Michael, our friend, and I arrived at the Oregon Ridge parking lot, about 15 minutes north of the Baltimore Beltway, it was cloudy, windy, and cold. It even vaguely looked like it might rain. Nothing makes you want to ride like shivering in the parking lot in spandex.

Things rapidly improved, however. We got underway and the sun came out. By the tenth mile, we had to stop and peel off a layer of clothing. The wind never abated, but after lunch, our route aligned perfectly such that we had a strong tailwind for a good portion of the ride. There is nothing quite like getting blown up a hill at over 20 miles per hour. Of course, when it wasn't at our backs, it was a wicked crosswind bent on blowing us over. I have done a lot of soul-crushing rides where it seems like the wind is in your face no matter which way you turn. I have even fought the wind all the way out on a ride, only to have it change direction right when I reached the turnaround, so I got to fight it all the way back. This might be the first ride that I've done where the wind seemed like it was at our backs most of the time, no matter which way we turned. It was a good day and a beautiful ride, for a total of 73 miles.

All of the pictures were taken with my phone, so the quality is what it is.

A railroad bridge over the road near New Freedom, Pennsylvania.

 A pretty creek near the railroad bridge.

The spillway of Prettyboy Dam, which was built in 1932 on the Gunpowder. Prettyboy Reservoir is one of the water sources for the city of Baltimore.

Looking downstream below the dam towards Gunpowder Falls State Park.