Maryland in the Snow

Maryland 1.11
The hike on Saturday went very well! 28 of the 35 RSVPs braved the cold and snow, and there were many first timers with the group.

Temperature was around 26 when we stepped off at 9:30 am and the sun was shining. We found the snow on the trail to be pretty tramped down by other hikers with some areas still around 6″ deep and fluffy, but not difficult to get through. There were slick areas, mostly on the rocks, but otherwise the trail was not treacherous. It was, as another person noted, a bit like hiking in sand – – it was harder to pick up your feet and really move along and that made for a good workout. Everyone quickly found their own best pace and the group spread out up and down the trail. It’s pretty much impossible to hold a group that size together, to one pace. I realize it makes it harder for everyone to get a chance to meet and talk with everyone else, but I won’t put a leash on the fast hikers and I won’t push the ones that need to move slower.

Along the way we ran into at least a dozen backpackers and at least that many day hikers. I heard that one young man, upon finding out that we were an all-female group, said “Oh! Cougars!” 😉 We also had one young man approach us in the parking lot and ask to join the hike. Turned out he was looking for another group that was going to meet there. Whew!

We were all at the shelter by around noon and my goodness the food! The picnic table was covered in a feast of homemade cookies, bars, breads, baklava, muffins. There was chocolates, granola mixes, nuts, berries and cheese. We fired up the stoves and soon had everyone sipping their hot drinks. After our tea time, we started back to the parking lot.

I want to let you know that we have two ladies who are going to start their thru-hikes of the AT on the same day, March 16th! Rose Clack and Rebecca Berbert, we are so proud of you! We must keep up with their progress along the trail so that we can be there for them with lots of trail magic when they get into our area.

Speaking of trail magic….the Georgia Dames will be doing their annual trail magic at Mountain Crossings in GA the last weekend of March. They rent cabins for the weekend for themselves and spend the weekend providing burgers, hot dogs, and other treats to the hikers that are coming thru Neels Gap at Mountain Crossings. That is the 32 mile mark where many hikers decided a thru-hike is not for them and something like 10% drop off the trail. A hot meal and friendly faces could make all the difference in getting them to keep going. I’m hoping to have the time to go down there and help out. If you think you’d like to go along let me know and I’ll get the accommodations worked out with Anna.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=athiker07&target=ALBUM&id=5562563515405268273&authkey=Gv1sRgCMiJndrWisCzJA&feat=email

The link is to the photos I took of the hike.  I wish I had taken so many more!  There are more than 40 of them posted by other members on the Meetup.com website and probably more to come.

Linda

Gambrill State Park- Maryland Dames

Gambrill maryland
Hike Report from the Maryland Dames….

Wow, what a wonderful hike! I am an admitted fair weather hiker and hadn’t hiked in the snow and ice (other than to hike up Fox Glacier in New Zealand 7 years ago), and I loved this. There was 13 of us and many first timers. Brave souls all to make this their first time out with us. It was about 27 degrees when we set out at 10 am, but not at all windy or even breezy. It actually felt just fine. It took 2 hours to cover the 3.3 miles as some of it was treacherous and slow going with icy slippery rocks and leaves, especially the descents.

The sun came out, more or less, after the first hour and started melting off the snow. The woods were beautiful – the white sugar dusting of snow, the brown of the ground, the green ferns still peaking out, the fallen leaves…..just breathtaking. And so calm and quiet. We will definitely do another winter hike. More snow would actually be better – a thicker, packed base to walk on rather than the thin coating of snow and ice on everything. I’ve asked my hubby for snowshoes for my birthday, so I’ll have them by January and our next winter wonderland hike!

Linda

More of Karen’s Waterfall Adventures!!

More of Karen’s Waterfall adventures!!!

IMG_3994
The waterfall project continues.  This weekend I finally “captured” a
waterfall I’ve been trying to find for weeks.  It’s on the ‘net, but never
with any directions.  I found clues here and there and finally put them
altogether and got to the right place and found it!

Then today my sister and I went up to Cloudland Canyon State Park.  I had
wanted to get there several weeks ago, but when I called them they said the
falls were dry.  So after all the rain we’ve had lately, I called yesterday
and they said the falls had lots of water…so we went!

We only did the waterfall trail, which is probably less than 2 miles total
out and back, but it’s tough.  In fact it’s a lot like doing Tallulah
Gorge…lots of steps right down the side of the canyon and then side trails
to the falls.  The first 2 are the “show pieces” of the park.  They are each
fall over a sheer cliff into a small pool, but then below them are lots of
smaller falls with 2 forming together a falls of may 5 or 6 feet, then
there’s a bridge over the creek that takes you to another trail, and the
bridge is right over the top of another falls – maybe 10 or 12 feet high.
Then there’s ANOTHER one a little further down that’s may 6 feet high.  And
finally, back at the top of the gorge, there’s a viewpoint where you can see
a long, cascading waterfall coming over the side of the gorge.  Altogether
that’s 6 falls.  There may actually be more along that trail at the bottom
of the gorge, but we just didn’t have time to go any further.

The trail down has, I think, 600 steps – so that 600 down and then 600 back
up.  But even going as slowly as I usually go, we did the whole thing – all
of the falls, in just over 2 hours.  Not bad!

So I’ve been working on putting together a slide show of my pictures and I’m
pleased to be able to say that I’ve done 98 waterfalls this year!  That’s
counting “double” falls as 2 falls – which, of course, they really are
anyway.  I didn’t set out to get to see so many in just my first year of
hunting waterfalls, so I was quite surprised that it came out to so many!

Karen T.
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/d/ddoggone/Homepage/Homepage.htm

Beautiful Maryland Hike

MD Dames
Hike Report from the Maryland Dames

What a great hike we had yesterday!  Many thanks to Sue Guynn of the Frederick News Post for coming along to interview the Dames and take photos and video.

We met in the Harpers Ferry Visitors Center parking lot and took the shuttle bus down into town. We were early to be almost the only people on the bus…the one other person was a lone male, or as one Dame put it “a thistle in a bed of roses.”  Winking smile  It was chilly to start off, only in the upper 30’s, but brilliantly clear out.  We made our way to the trail head (a trek that probably adds another full mile to the hike, round trip), and took our group photos. I took a moment to dedicate the hike to a dear friend, Lola Williamson, who died suddenly this past week. She was always a great encouragement to me in every thing I did and will be sorely missed on this earth. Broken heart

This trail is the road bed that Union troops made to haul up cannon, ammunition, powder, water, tents and other supplies to the summit of the mountain, where they set up to defend the rivers and town.  It is long and steep, 3 miles to the summit. If we find it hard in our high tech boots/shoes, light clothing, and using hiking poles then just imagine doing it in July, in wool uniforms, broken down boots and shoes, dragging cannon capable of firing 100 lb cannon balls plus all of the supplies the troops would need – and having to go all the way back down to the rivers once a week to haul up enough water for everyone.  At the 2 mile point we took the side trail, another 1 mile round trip, down to the overlook – a rocky cliff that has a full view of both rivers and the town.  Spent some time enjoying the view, taking photos and having snacks.  Then it was time to do the last mile ascent to the summit.

Once there we spread out, relaxed and had lunch.  Again, stunning views and by then a gorgeous warm day.  Off came the layers and we soaked up the sunshine.  I should note as well that there are many historic markers and sites on this trail – the ammo dumps and powder magazines, the ruins of the stone fort the troops built, the site of the 100 lb cannon at the summit (that’s the weight of the cannonball – not the much much heavier cannon itself), troop tent sites, and even a sad sign remarking on the death of a soldier who was blown to bits when an ammo dump blew up. I suppose he’s still there watching the hikers pass by…….

The hike back is all downhill, as much steep down to the bottom as it is up to the top.  It is a loop hike, so the way down offers different scenery til we hit the main road again.  It took us about 4 1/2 hours start to finish, for a total of about 8 miles with the walk back to town.

Once in town some went on home, many headed to the Secret Six Tavern, and five of us went on up High Street (another long steep climb!) to the PATC HQ (Potomac Appalachian Trail Conference). We had been invited to stop by by a new Dames member, Terri, as she’s a volunteer there. They were so excited to meet us!  Lots of handshaking and a 1000 questions! I’d never been there and it is absolutely worth visiting. So much information on the AT, books and things to buy, a hiker’s “lounge”, photo albums of thru-hikers that have stopped on the way, a huge relief map of the AT,  and more.  I will definitely be going back when I’m not so tired and sweat soaked!  The five of us went back down the street to the tavern for some refreshment. We couldn’t get seated with everyone else, but we still had a great time just sitting and chatting and it was a perfect way to end a perfect hike.

More Waterfalls From Karen, Part 2

Excerpt by Karen T.
Gorgeouswarwomandell
Falls on West Fork of Montgomery Creek
I saved the best for last!  Actually, I just did it today – after failing to
find it yesterday.  Mr. Anthony’s directions are accurate, except that when
you get to the area he describes as “an area large enough to park and turn
around” he doesn’t make it clear that you are at an area that looks like 5
or 6 old roads come together.  So, yesterday following what I *thought* were
the directions I, naturally, went completely the wrong way and ended up
going down an eroded trail that looks like it might be a mountain bike
trail.  I crossed a branch, as he describes and came to a T-junction with
another trail which he does NOT mention.  Since he said the trail “ascends”
after crossing a branch, I took the uphill direction.  Actually, this was  a
very nice trail – but I have NO idea what trail it is!  I only know it
wasn’t the right one!

So I went back today and looked around a little more carefully.  Actually,
where Mr. Anthony says to take the “right fork” it’s easier to just keep to
the left, but either one brings you out at the same place – where it looks
like several roads come together.  There’s a nice parking spot and the REAL
trail is just to the left of this area, over a couple of small mounds
designed to keep care from driving down the old road.  This was an easy hike
down and then back up a little way to a very nice, big water fall.  I didn’t
climb down to the base, though it’s possible down a steep trail.  Maybe some
other day.

But the BEST part I’ve save for last!  If you go on the right day, and get
lucky – as I did today – you’ll get to see about 100 good-looking young Army
Rangers out on maneuvers!   The beginning of this trail is actually on the
Ranger camp grounds, though not inside the manned gate…but there is a gate
across the road, so it’s possible that sometimes it might not be possible to
drive up the road.  Luckily for me, that gate was open both days.  BTW, when
Mr. Anthony says the road gets very narrow after the first fork, he is NOT
kidding!  It’s JUST barely wide enough for a pick-up truck – you PRAY you
don’t meet anyone coming the other way.  If you decide to park at the first
fork (as he suggests) it would still be a nice, easy hike to the falls and
back – maybe just under 2 miles total.

Over the last few weekends, I’ve done a lot of driving on forest service
roads and I am happy to report that a lot of them are in MUCH better
condition than they were last spring, especially FS 42.  A LOT of work has
been done on them, grading and graveling, and they are much improved.  They
aren’t superhighways, but still much, much better than they were after last
winter.

Karen T.