Winter's Arrival: A Cold Hike on the Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail

Sunday was cold. As in, breathtakingly, huddled under a rock, no breaks cold. We hiked on the Appalachian Trail from the Old Forge Picnic Area outside of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania to Caledonia State Park, about 11 miles. We started out from Old Forge Picnic Area somewhat sheltered from the wind. It is a relatively gentle climb to that point, which was welcome, given the cold. I love Tumbling Run shelter.  It is one of the nicer shelters out there, which two actual sleeping shelters and a nice, covered picnic table. The table even has metal plates on it to protect it from stoves. The best part of the shelter, however is this:

 One of the shelters is designated for snorers.

And the other is reserved for non-snorers. I don't know how strictly it is enforced, but I love the thought behind it.

We debated having lunch at the shelter, but decided to push on to Chimney Rocks. The climb up to Chimney Rocks was steep enough that I actually had to shed a layer on the way up. As soon as we arrived at the top of the ridge, however, the full force of the wind blasted us. Instead of having lunch with a view, we found a sheltered nook under a large boulder. We were out of the wind, but since we weren't moving, the cold quickly set in. Before long, everyone was packing up so we could get moving. 

I climbed up onto the rocks and braved the wind for a quick picture. This the view from Chimney Rocks.

From there, we hiked north to Caledonia State Park. It is an easy walk and there were some interesting rock formations, but no more views. 

A gravel road crossing south of PA Route 233.

The Appalachian Trail keeps to the ridge top in this area, so we were in the wind most of the time. In some sense, the toughest part was the last three miles:  All downhill and straight into the wind. It was just cold and we weren't working hard enough to fight it off completely. We were all pretty happy when we reached the car! It was a pretty hike and literally saw no one else out hiking (wonder why!).

A Short Hike in Catoctin Mountain Park

December is always busy and sometimes the whole month will get by without a hike, at least until Christmas is over.  Yesterday, we found ourselves with a few hours and nice weather, so we decided to make a quick getaway.  We met WanderMindfully and drove to the visitor center at Catoctin Mountain Park.  We started around noon and crossed the highway for a mile-long hike along Big Hunting Creek.  There isn't really a trail along that section of the creek, but there is a pretty distinct fishermens path along most of it.  The woods were fairly open, if a little muddy, so it wasn't too difficult to make our way down the creek.  We stopped for lunch beside a pretty little waterfall.

After a mile, we crossed the road again and began the climb up to Chimney Rock.  We had to quickly shed layers as we warmed up from the climb:  short sleeves in December.  Remarkable.  I'm not complaining, but it is a little weird.  At Chimney Rock, we found that the valleys were still filled with hazy fog, giving the mountains a blue cast that is usually associated with those mountains further south and west.  We continued north to Wolf Rock, a large outcrop which was part of the seafloor 500 million years ago (per the sign at the outcrop).  There is no view at Wolf Rock, but the outcrop itself is pretty interesting, with large blocks of quartzite and deep cracks.

From Wolf Rock, we continued to Thurmont Vista and then on to Hog Rock, before descending back to the car at the visitor center just before sunset.  Our hike was only 7.5 miles, but it was a pleasant walk through the woods and a nice break from pre-Christmas preparations.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 The view southwest from Chimney Rock.

 A small waterfall at our lunch stop on Big Hunting Creek.

 Big Hunting Creek.

 A fungus on a downed log.

 The trail near Hog Rock.

The view east from Hog Rock in the fading light.