Old Forge to Pen Mar: A Short Hike on the Appalachian Trail

We went out for a short hike on Saturday with a friend of ours. We hadn't hiked the seven mile section of the Appalachian Trail from Old Forge Road in Pennsylvania to Pen Mar Park on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border and, given our friend's evening commitment, it was a good day for a short hike. We probably hiked in the "wrong" direction, since hiking north to south on that section has much more uphill than downhill. Not a bad thing from a character-building standpoint, I guess.

The hike is a pleasant walk through the snowy woods. We had lunch at Deer Lick Shelter where we met the only other people we saw on the hike. The only clear view on the hike was right at the end at Pen Mar Park.

Antietam Creek right near the Old Forge Picnic Area parking lot. This area was covered with a lot of ice.

A clearing, I think for a gas line.

Ice sliding off of the roof of Deer Lick Shelter.

The Appalachian Trail through mountain laurel.

Our canine escort for this hike.

The trail near Pennsylvania State Highway 16.

The smallest white blaze I've ever seen. This tree is about as big around as my thumb.

Crossing into Maryland.

Railroad tracks below Pen Mar Park.

The view west from Pen Mar Park.

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.

High Rock and Pen Mar from Another Perspective

Michael, a friend, and I are training for Cycle Oregon in September, so we have been riding. A lot. This year's route for Cycle Oregon is actually similar in length and climbing to the route we did in Iowa during RAGBRAI two years ago, so we are training in the same way we did for that ride. This weekend, we wanted to climb, so we headed out to Meyersville, Maryland with a friend for a hilly ride along South Mountain. We hiked in the area a couple of years ago, but we had never ridden there.

We started out under gray skies and sprinkles, but that turned out to be okay. It was nice to ride without the sun bearing down on us while we were doing the majority of the climbing. The climb on Pen Mar road was, shall we say, challenging. I am pretty sure I could have walked up the switchbacks faster than I rode it, but I managed to make it up on two wheels. We took a long break at Pen Mar Park before tackling the two mile ride up to High Rock. That part of the ride turned out to be a pleasant surprise:  an easy climb with a nice, breezy view from the top.  The rest of the ride consisted of rolling hills, some of which were steep, but nothing as steep as the climb up to Pen Mar Park. It was a good, tough ride:  55 miles and 3,000 feet or so of climbing. It could definitely become a regular ride for us.

Pictures:

 Taking a quick break at the northern trailhead for the Catoctin Trail.

The view from the Catoctin Trailhead. Although this picture doesn't show it well, the route goes through some absolutely beautiful farmland. 

The Appalachian Trail in Pen Mar Park. This is where people typically start the Maryland and Four State Challenges.

Shoe shot from High Rock.

A better picture of the view from High Rock. The weather cleared while we were having lunch at Pen Mar Park.

About 12 miles from the end of our ride, we were grinding up a long hill out in the sun when we spotted a spring pipe in the ditch on the side of the road.  All of us soaked our heads in the ice-cold water, which was a perfect morale boost for the rest of the ride.