Moments in Dirt and Ink

Klamath National Forest Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Yellow lines for day 2. Click for interactive map Neither of us had quite got our boots open wide enough the night before and the frozen shapes were hard to put on in the morning in spite of preparing for it. I had elected not to bring along my waterproof socks and I was sorry for it as soon as my boots thawed out. The cold also left my camera battery devoid of sufficient energy to take sunrise pictures. The extra battery, which admittedly only registered 2 of 3 bars when I grabbed it, was also dead. I decided to leave the camera and be stuck with substandard photography equipment for the day. I was also sorry for being lazy about battery maintenance. Leaving Kangaroo Springs, just one pool visible from here. Shasta almost hides in the low clouds in the nearby valleys. Upper and Middle Devils Peaks where the Pacific Crest Trail goes. Our goal for the day was ...

Klamath National Forest Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Red line for day 1. Click for interactive map Daniil had the idea that exploring the Pacific Crest Trail and Boundary Trail, one a National Scenic Trail and the other a National Recreation Trail, up by Red Buttes Wilderness looked like a grand idea and noted that it offers three entry options: head north on the PCT from the lot near Seiad, head south on the PCT from the parking at Cook and Green Pass, or the middle route along West Fork Seiad Creek. The pass might not be accessible with it being winter. The route from Seiad looks a bit too long but with some peak bagging opportunities along the way. I thought, by far, the creek side route looked the most interesting and obtainable, assuming the ford isn't too scary. There is definitely a point of view that makes it the most interesting and the ford wasn't too scary. So there's that. There is a large parking area at the ...

Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link I returned to the Ilchester area, this time parking in a lot the park considers more acceptable, up the hill from where Ilchester once stood ( and where I parked before ). There was a small lot closer, but it had a locked gate. The small, unpaved lot is free and has some informative signage and was getting toward half full as I pulled in. Two trails diverging, one to start on and one to finish. You can take both! A downy woodpecker was finding good stuff on one small tree. My plan for the day was to head down the hill and cross over the river for a low route over to where I first hiked to the little waterfall . Then I would cross over and stay low a little longer until a collection of trails that rose to an area marked Soapstone. I sort of expected some to be on display along the way, somewhere. Then I'd wander along a high route back. This would be a little more complicated navigation, but I've got a map and the S...

Liberty Reservoir Cooperative Wildlife Management Area interactive map link The Liberty Reservoir Cooperative Wildlife Management Area sits just north of Patapsco Valley State Park. Instead of surrounding a river, it surrounds a lake, or rather a reservoir. The land and lake belong to the City of Baltimore to keep the people hydrated. It is managed by Maryland Department of Natural Resources as more green space. There's also some Environmental Police, but I saw no evidence they're very active. Those who enjoy the green space don't have enough respect for those who provide the green space to keep their dogs, which are required to be leashed but rarely are here, out of the drinking water as requested. On Old Liberty Road after the gate, a few of the area rules and a second block. Access to this section of Liberty Reservoir seems to be fairly restricted by the small amount of legal street parking along Old Liberty Road. One side of the road was still empty as I par...

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...