Three Weeks

It's Sunday evening, three weeks into the New Year. This is apparently when most people have failed and given up on their resolutions. 

Sunset at Soldier's Delight

Apparently, "three weeks" is the magic time span when things that are done routinely shift into a habit. So far, my SMART goals are going pretty well. 

1) I've hiked several times already this month, including yesterday in a new-to-me place called Soldiers Delight NEA. I went kind of late in the day, so I didn't get around the entire Serpentine Trail, so I'll definitely be back. I guess the real test of this goal will come next month and the month afterwards.

2) This is my third blog post of January, so again, this will likely be tested more next month and in March. 

3) I not only finished The Queen's Weapons, but I've also read Ben Raby's 100 Things Capitals Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die and finally started on Steve Glynn's This Team is Ruining My Life (But I Love Them). I've had the latter book around since August of 2019, when I went to a RMNB-sponsored book signing and met "Dangle" himself (who is pretty cool).

Pat got this for me last year.

4) This one is about to get easier, as Centr is about to start a new six week program called "Sculpted" which is 4 days of 30 minute workouts. At this point, I've been mixing it up with Centr workouts and hiking, but I have met the goal each week.

5) This one, not so good right now. I've thought really hard about the students I plan to track, and I still need to get some information down on "paper" (pixel). With only four days of "instruction" this week, since it's the end of the marking period, I should have some time to work on this more formally soon.

6) I have put the intention out there, in multiple places. People know. I need to buckle down and get the brakes done now, so that it's ready to sell during tax return season. 

7) For the most part, I've been doing okay on this last goal. Sometimes I record it in my journal at home, and sometimes I do it in my plus/delta book at work. Sometimes both. When I'm having a mentally tough day, it's tougher to get something on paper, even if I do recognize that I've accomplished something.

This week is going to feel so long, I really do want to go back to Soldiers Delight and finish hiking the Serpentine Trail. The site is a fairly unique ecosystem (serpentine barren and oak savanna), which has a very magnesium rich soil. This results in some plants that aren't found anywhere else in Maryland. I'm thinking of seeing if I can maybe incorporate the area into some evolution/adaptation lessons, especially with my magnet biology students. 

The serpentine grassland in late January

I also need to start thinking about doing taxes and I'm hoping that I get a refund this year. With Pat's new job, maybe his withholding is correct. I haven't played hockey in a year because the refund money that helps pay for that didn't happen last year. Plus, the green terror has some significant engine issues, and I might need the refund to pay for that. 

It's almost 8PM, and Sunday sadness over going to work tomorrow is in full swing. The rain today also didn't help. Here's to hoping that this is a good week.

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So Far, So Good

Two days into the new year, and two hikes under my belt. That's making some good progress on my resolutions!

Yesterday, I did an obligatory First Day Hike in Patapsco Valley State Park, starting at the ambiguously defined Pickall Area by the CSX train tracks, then trying to meet up with the Ole Ranger Trail. The trail is very poorly marked, and I didn't find the cut-over to the trail, but I did eventually meet up with the Union Dam Trail. It was a shorter hike than I thought it would be, which is good to know for future reference. I might start at Hollofield next time so that I can take the Ole Ranger Trail to see where I'm supposed to go from Pickall. 

Maryland State Parks gave out these First Day Hike stickers

A Pontiac center cap in the mud

The CSX tracks curving to match the river's bends

A train tunnel underneath US40.

The link to the Union Dam Trail

Cold, clear river water where the Union Dam once stood

A thriving community once stood here, until repeated floods in the mid-1800s kept destroying the dams, mills and homes of those who tried to use the river for their living

I texted Pat that I was at the entrance to Hollofield, and chatted with the ranger on duty there until he arrived. Turned out that someone's car had been broken into -- rear window smashed and stuff taken -- so I was watching the response to that. The thieves were quite brazen, as the vehicle in question was easily visible from the entrance gate. 

For today -- the Federal holiday version of January 1 -- I decided to go to my other standby, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath. I needed to stop by my mom's anyway, and I initially thought to go to Ferry Hill and from there, maybe up to Snyders Landing. Then I thought, maybe I should go to Catoctin Aqueduct? Finally, I settled on parking at Point of Rocks and heading downstream, a section I don't think I've been on before. 

Point of Rocks is at MM48.2 

The last time I'd been to Point of Rocks was just over a year ago, when my friend Andy Howe was in town. Being an engineer who designs bridges and the like, I think he wanted to see the aqueducts and locks of his 19th century counterparts. Sadly, there are no locks or aqueducts east of Point of Rocks, at least not until past Noland's Ferry. There are culverts though. 

A culvert right at Point of Rocks

Seek says these are "stinking orange oysters". The area smelled like garbage, so, yeah.

I hiked down to mile marked 46 before turning back around. I was going to be cutting it close to get back to the Crosstrek by sunset. 

As far as I went today. 

Like yesterday, the drab Winter colors in the forest made nothing stand out. That's probably why I noticed the orange oysters. The sunset was pretty, reflecting off the river, but other than that, there wasn't too much else to see. 

A larger culvert east of MM48

The sun's getting real low

One of the reasons I was really hankering to get out on a trail was because one of my holiday gifts from Pat was a new and nice pair of Merrell Moab hiking boots. They are super light compared to my old boots, and I wanted to see how well they handled muddy conditions. 

So far, so good with the boots! I know I'll be testing their waterproof-ness and more in the coming months. 

After a short stop at Mom's in Sharpsburg, it was back home to wrap up Winter break and prepare for the end of the semester.... and to think about camping and hiking and where to go next. 

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Wanderlust Close to Home

After physical therapy today, I was hit with a bout of wanderlust. Since we have tickets to see Thor: Love and Thunder tonight, I didn't want to go too far, plus I also am a little shy of needing to get gas since the Camaro requires premium. Since I bought a Maryland State Parks Annual Pass this year, I opted to go to the close-by Patapsco Valley State Park and hike around on some trails I haven't really explored. 

Of course, the first thing I realize is that I wasn't going to have my hiking poles with me, since I left them in the Crosstrek after our trip last weekend. I didn't really want to just go along the paved Grist Mill Trail, so I just figured I could find a long enough stick somewhere along the way. 

Wineberries were prevalent along all of the trails I was on

I started off on the Santee Branch Trail, heading roughly north, and when it met up with the Bull Run Trail, I paused for a moment to admire the bike "shop" that was installed there. It looks like it has tools and a bike pump for mountain bikers who find they need it along the trail. I wonder how many other ones there are in the park?

A combination tool/air pump station for bicyclists

There were quite a few birds, rabbits and squirrels along the trail, and some interesting fungi. I found one cluster of slime molds that was pretty intriguing. 

A cluster of slime mold

I paused by a small stream (Bull Run? Though the maps all say "Bill Run," so I'm not sure which is correct), and saw at least two kinds of crayfish, but couldn't really get a photo. 

It's not Cascade Falls, but it was still pretty

An odd looking rock 

Once I met up with the Soapstone Trail, I followed that in the direction that I thought would be taking me back to the Camaro. Instead, I ended up at the trailhead at Rolling Road. No biggie; I headed down a different way. It was a little traumatic at first, as there was barbed wire next to the trail. This triggered bad memories of a random stretch of barbed wire along the Patapsco River that almost ended my life so many years ago on a 4-H trail ride. 

No idea why there was a barbed wire fence here

I ultimately ended up at the Lower Glen Artney area, where some Civilian Conservation Corps-built shelters are found, just as they are in other areas of the park. 

The CCC built a lot of shelters and other structures at Patapsco Valley State Park

I opted to just follow the road back to where I'd parked, as I was out of water and I was tired. My trail shoes also are worn out, and I'm pretty sure I bruised my right foot when I stepped on a rock. It wasn't a long hike, but there were a lot of steep hills and with the humidity, I was soaked with sweat yet not cooling down. Needless to say, the first thing I did when I got home was shower! 

My Camaro makes me happy

Looking over the trail map for the area when I got home, I see lots more opportunities for hiking, even as the Grist Mill Trail will be closed after Labor Day for about a year to fix the footbridges. I need to print out the trail map and keep it with me! 

I'll leave you with a photo of tiny mushrooms; these were barely an inch tall and the slender stalk looked delicate. 

Larger than life

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