Moments in Dirt and Ink

Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link Just down the road from my parking for an excursion east of Marriottsville , I pulled into a gravel lot for an excursion west of Marriottsville. I wouldn't have thought this was a legal lot, tucked up next to the active train tracks, except that I found there was already one parked, another pulled in after me, and there's an information kiosk at the end. What I didn't find was either of the trails I planned to hike in a loop of sorts. The train came by right after I got out of the car for a start that was more extraordinarily loud rather than excellent. Wowsa did it ever screech and rumble. Parking just off the railroad right-of-way access road by an informative kiosk. My map showed a trail running off the side of the access road to the right and another crossing the rails to wander off left of the tracks. I looked for the one on the right, but couldn't find it. Something to worry about later since it was my pl...

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park interactive map link I guess I am in search of waterfalls, because I decided to go off and see the Great ones. One may go to see them from the Virginia side by visiting Great Falls Park or the Maryland side by visiting Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Both are National Park Service units and with the government shutdown, all pay areas were closed. This meant the whole of Great Falls Park was closed, but only the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center was closed on the canal side. When they are open, these pay areas have a $20 entrance fee. The parking area I chose beside Macarthur Boulevard is both official and free. I chose to visit the Maryland side because the trail system has more obvious looping excursions, but it looks like there's plenty of good hiking on the Virginia side too. I hoped that with so many people inside the Beltway shirking their work, traveling the Beltway to just outside the Beltway would...

Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link The multitude of ruins marked in the Ilcheter Area of Patapsco Valley State Park drew my attention, so I made a rough plan of wandering among them. My first choice for access was a public lot in Ellicott City. The whole area doesn't show much "heat" on the Strava map, but what there is shows this as one access point that is actually used, so it was a bit disappointing to see a bit of new fencing across the access. As this access follows the active railroad right of way for a distance, it wasn't completely surprising. I also see some heat suggesting the end of Red Stag Court is an entry, but decided against trying this one. My next try was the hunter parking. This was open and has a lot of information provided at the lot, including that to park there legally, you need to place your hunting permit in the car window. My third option was a parking area next to Ilchester Road. Although a sign across the hiker bridge su...

Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link On my own, I could go on a big hike, and Alltrails is no help in planning that. The McKeldin area caught my eye and I constructed a big loop around it, including a couple crossings of the North Branch Patapsco River that looked popular enough in the Strava heat map although there are no bridges here. I couldn't quite sort out where the parking for the Woodstock area end, so went for the McKeldin North area end instead. I was fully intending to use the pay lot, but having handed all my change to the attendant on Sunday, I had none to deal with there being no attendant on Tuesday. I was the first to pull into the free parking. Maybe I was just after the morning users finished. I was an hour later than expected because I let a long 2 lane exit draw me off onto the wrong bit of I-70 (thousands of miles from the good bit) and there's no way to turn around for the 3 miles to the traffic jam. Map kiosk in the morning sun, acros...

Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link I was charged with deciding on a hike that kids could do, except I have no experience in this or in evaluating what a particular kid can do. Plus, I would be without any parental supervision. Alltrails offered up Cascade Falls as a possible suitable suggestion, except that it would be done on the weekend and is a very popular location. I liked a climb on Garrett's Pass and a drop on the Cascade Falls Trail, which is 4 miles and only 300 feet or so from bottom to top. (It goes from ~20m to ~100m.) That's not so much, right? And I even had the means for up to 2 kids to be self sufficient, able to carry water, snacks, camera, and a light sweater on their own. Self sufficiency for the win, right? The hike would be in the Patapsco Valley State Park, like most my hikes would likely be. This park has a mix of free lots and pay lots. The pay lots have different prices for in state or out of state, weekends/holidays or weekdays. T...

Dorsey Hall Open Space interactive map link It was declared that I should "meet the nibbling" with the suggestion that "at 1 year old doesn't count" (which I must admit is true, but there were claims otherwise at the time) and that perhaps during the fall when the leaves were turning (probably late October) and when the temperatures were attractive to hiking. It was admitted that the area is not really known for its leaf peeping opportunities. Most of my leaf peeping aspirations revolve around larches at the moment, but that opportunity had already passed again, so I might try some eastern trees. All this is how I came to be on a plane for the second time since 2012 in the middle of a government shutdown when many in the control towers were rightfully calling in sick instead of working without pay. Somehow my flights weren't even delayed as I traveled, never in anything bigger than a 737. Do you know there is now a thing called "Basic Economy...

Shasta-Trinity National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Brown line for day 3. Click for interactive map We had nothing to do on the final day but retrace our steps back down to the trailhead. We had plenty of time to do it, so I could record, on this final day of summer, the few flowers we had passed on the way up. It must be said that the canyon looked a bit better under the morning sun, too. Mount Shasta is hiding again. Thin clouds over the very pointy bear teeth of the ridge around Big Bear Lake. Folks weren't ready as fast as I was and I was deeply aware that I hadn't gotten the likely most common photo of Big Bear Lake from near the end of the trail, so I headed up the short way to the lake. The group that had arrived after us to camp there was still packing up and would start down just barely before us. At the edge of Big Bear Lake. The whole of Big Bear Lake in poorly executed panorama. Everyone was already moving down the trail wh...