Although I grew up not terribly far away from Maryland’s Patapsco Valley State Park, I’ve actually done relatively little hiking in this expansive and non-contiguous park that stretches along 32 miles of the Patapsco River.
In 2011, I did a 17 mile hike that included a six mile stretch in the park's Hilton and Glen Artney areas, and in late October and early November, finally returned to the park to do two hikes in the Pickall and Hollofield areas, through which I’d driven through hundreds (if not thousands) of times.
Today, I joined a MAHG hike in a section of the McKeldin Area of the park, near Henryton, MD. In the low 40s and partly cloudy, it was another great day for a hike.
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My fourth outing with MAHG was at the Jug Bay Natural Area, on the Patuxent River near Upper Marlboro, MD. Sunny, with no clouds, very light wind, and temperatures starting in the 40s (warming up to the high 40s or low 50s), today was another great day for a hike.
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My third outing with MAHG was a bit closer to home, this time at the Little Bennett Regional Park in northwestern Montgomery County. With the temperature in the low 50s and a cloudy, overcast sky (and no wind!), it was a good day for a hike — especially to burn off some Thanksgiving dinner calories.
As usual, the group attending met shortly before 10 am at a parking lot near a trailhead. This time, though, we had two people that cancelled, no doubt due to eating too much turkey yesterday!
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My second outing with MAHG was to the Susquehanna State Park in northern Maryland. I haven't been to this park before (at least, not that I recall), and while it was still a long drive to the park, it was closer to home than last week’s excursion into Pennsylvania.
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Slightly restless (and having already gained back all eight pounds I lost on the Appalachian Trail), I decided I needed to get out hiking more often, especially now that my knees and feet seem to have recovered, and I can walk down the stairs in my house without feeling like I’m about to fall over.
While there’s still a few trails vaguely near my house I haven’t hiked yet, I’ve long exhausted most of the hiking trails within a half hour drive. Since I’d much prefer to hike something new than retread old ground, I decided the solution was to join a hiking group, With other people in the mix (and someone else doing the planning), it’s a lot easier to consider hikes further afield, especially point-to-point hikes (as opposed to loops or out-and-back).
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