Chapin Forest Reservation

Shining Club Moss: Huperzia lucidula

Hike Date:  September 25th, 2011

Going home to visit my family for the first time, I also wanted to show Francis around one of my favorite hiking spots.  When I lived at home, I visited Chapin Forest often since it was beautiful and close by.  To give you an unbiased review I will let him tell you about it.  The area has some interesting geology so I'll let you know about that too.

Baby Northern Water Snake found along the trail

Well, as Ann mentioned, Chapin Forest is beautiful.  I enjoyed getting to hike through the habitat and see a bit of the variation when compared to the usual Maryland mixed oak and hardwood forests.  The trail itself offers some hills but no other difficult challenges such as rough, rocky terrain.  Some of the trails are paved, but all are heavily traveled and according to the laws of this park system, you cannot have any off the beaten path adventures.  Sticking to the trails, getting a view of the Cleveland Skyline, and getting a glimpse of Ohio's nature make this park a great place for a nice day hike.   As with most parks with heavy foot traffic the animals are a bit used to seeing people so spotting some white tailed deer, birds, and a few other local amphibians and reptiles along the trail is almost guaranteed.  Overall, it makes for a nice day out, maybe even bring the family along or take the dog out for a nice day adventure!

Billy Goats in Maryland?

Hike date: June 9th, 2011

Mather Gorge

Rocky Section of Billy Goat A Blue Blaze in pic

One of the most challenging and rewarding day hikes near DC is right along the C & O Canal at Great Falls, MD.  If you are native to the Greater DC area, you've probably heard about this trail.  Billy Goat Trail A offers a variety of flat terrain and some moderate rock climbing for a nice hike/work out.  Even though dogs, horses, and bikes are prohibited on the trail, expect some company.  Due to the areas proximity to DC it attracts a lot of visitors just to see the Falls area so our best advice is to avoid this hike on the weekends if possible.

Patapsco Valley State Park: McKeldin Area

Hike Date:  June 5, 2011

We discovered Patapsco Valley State Park last summer in our attempt to get out every minute we could.  It was one of our favorite hikes last year.  So we decided to return again this year to experience it again and share it with you.

Patapsco Valley State Park was Maryland's first state park; established in 1907.  Located in Carroll County, Maryland, it is the northern most area of the park out of the six (The others are the Daniels, Hilton, Pickall, Avalon, and Hollofield areas).

Prince William Forest Park

Hike Date:  May, 8th, 2011

Pink Lady Slipper

If I (Ann) had to pick my favorite place to hike in the area for the shear pleasure of feeling the ground beneath my feet, this would be it.  Not only does it provide a great hike, there are many opportunities to view wildlife and wildflowers.

Prince William Forest Park is a National Park located in Southern Prince William County, Virginia, adjacent to Quantico Marine Corps Base.  It covers over 15,000 acres and is the largest preserved area of Piedmont in the National Park System.  With 37 miles of trails to choose from,  beautiful streams, and interesting geology we couldn't have been happier.  If you want to make a weekend trip out of it, there are numerous campsites and a few cabins available to use.

Frederick County Watershed

Hike date:  April 3, 2011



Rock Structure in the forest

If you are looking for a little variety in terrain look no further because the Frederick county watershed has it for you!  This place, aka the Frederick County Municipal Forest, offers everything from trout fishing, mountain biking, hunting, and hiking.  This location is extremely popular to all types of cyclists so if you are headed out on a weekend expect to be sharing trails with bikers.  On some occasions I have run into groups of 30 or more people out biking here.

Monocacy NRMA Civil War Trails

On Sunday, March 20th, we headed out to do some hiking in Frederick County, MD on some of the famous Civil War Trails in the area.  Our destination was the Monocacy NRMA.  The trails were a bit muddy, unmarked, and there were also some creeks to cross so boots are recommended on this one.  We walked around for a while and discovered an old lime kiln along the trail. After a quick look at this piece of history we continued our adventure along the trail.

Welcome Hikers!

We are Francis and Ann; avid hikers and wildlife enthusiasts in the DC Metro area.

Last summer we spent a fair amount of time hiking.  Trying to find new places to go proved to be a bit of a challenge.  After searching so called hiking and or trail websites for park and trail information, in many instances, we found ourselves on trails that were not properly marked, maintained, or not accurately described.  This lead to hikes where we were desperately in need of a machete or walks on paved trails with stroller moms.

In this blog, we hope to provide other hikers with this kind of information.  We also want to highlight special and interesting features including geology, wildlife, and other interesting bits we come across.

Each trail we hope to evaluate based on the following elements using a 1-5 star rating.  One star means poor or low and five stars means excellent or high.

Maintenance
Human Traffic
Wildlife
Difficulty
Terrain Variety

Next week we hope to be travelling to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.  Stay tuned for our first adventure of the year!