This was a short day hike (3.2 miles) at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) on Rhode River/Muddy Creek. During the summer, we frequently anchor our boat on the Rhode near SERC and often see their research vessels coming and going from their dock. Jackie and I visited their open house a couple years ago and strolled a bit on the trails near the Visitor Center, but this was my first time really putting in the effort to cover their trails. There are a few miles of trails; actually, more like gravel walking paths than hiking trails, but worth a morning to explore. The trails wind along the river, marshland, and through hardwood forest of mostly Beech, Oak, Sweetgum trees with a sprinkle of Holly and an occasional pine. On the Hog Island Marsh trail I noticed a tree maker proclaiming an American Chestnut! However, after a good bit of searching and examining dead leaves, I could find nothing that appeared to be an American Chestnut. Most of the trees seemed to be Beech or Oak and iNaturalist suggested that the oak leaves were in fact Chestnut Oak. I later emailed the public outreach contact at SERC who related that the consensus among the tree experts was that when the trail was extended to Hog Island a couple years ago, there may have been an American Chestnut sapling, but they did not believe the tree survived. They felt the Chestnut Oak was a coincidence. Perhaps.
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I don’t have any considered wisdom or prolific prose to offer for St. Patrick’s Day. Simply an update on where my AT thru-hike countdown, D-Day Minus Some Integer, finds me at this point in the journey. D-Day 2021 has me hiking a local green blazed trail for St. Patrick’s Day. Not the AT, but one year closer hopefully to a thru-hike. And despite the COVID pandemic, the past year since March 2020 has been a relative hiking success. In particular, I completed the Maryland section of the AT with my two sons, Matt and Greg (along with Jackie and Lucas) on New Year’s Eve with a day hike along the C&O Canal/AT north of Harpers Ferry and have ventured further into Virginia. Two day hikes with Matt since the New Year, totally almost 16 miles, have moved the Virginia track into Shenandoah National Park; declaring 2021 the year of Virginia. While knocking off the remaining 400+ miles of the longest state along the AT this year may be a bit ambitious, it would be great to at least complete the last small section in Northern Virginia and Shenandoah National Park. That would mark a successful year. I also am pondering a couple short forays into Pennsylvania with a former work colleague. The past year has also seen my AT adventure become more of a family activity, with my wife joining my sons and I on an overnight and a day hike. The plan this year is to include our grandson, my daughter and her boyfriend on at least one trip. Other statistics for the past year include 22 day hikes, totally 90.2 miles, on local trails. Highlights were Crabtree Falls Trail in George Washington National Forest, VA with Jackie; Calvert Cliffs SP, MD Red Trail with Jackie; Balls Bluff Battlefield VA trails with Lucas, Matt, and Greg; River Bend Regional Park/Great Falls NP, VA Potomac Heritage Trail with Jackie, Matt, and Lucas; Patuxent River Park, MD trails with Ryan, a work colleague. My gear has been refined/upgraded – getting closer to what I believe would be a solid thru-hike gear list. I will be working on updating the Gear Prospectus. And finally, I have started an Instagram account to chronicle my hikes/photos to accompany my Trail Journals journal. Follow me @quiet_man60 on Instagram and Quiet Man on Trail Journals The last year had been a difficult year for many in so many ways. Considering the pain and loss many have suffered, a hiking journal seems a bit self-absorbed. But life does go on, even if at times it may not seem as if it will go on in a meaningful way. Fortunately, for me, 2020 was a positive hiking year. I completed another state on the AT – Maryland. Two down (WV and MD); twelve to go! WV and MD were easy since they are both very close to my home and the states with the shortest AT miles. So, I may have to curb my enthusiasm a bit. Next up is Virginia, the state with the longest miles. I have a bit of a head start, having hiked 15 miles in Virginia so far; however, 400+ more in a year seems like a goal too far. We shall see. But in 2020, I notched a total of 108.9 miles hiked. This includes 41.7 miles on the AT and a few miles on the Potomac Heritage Trail. Also, my oldest son, wife, and grandson, all notched their first AT miles. That may be the biggest plus of the year; my family all is now aware of my thru-hike thoughts and have joined in my effort to hike the AT. I am still a considerable way from convincing everyone that a thru-hike is something I should attempt and even further away from finding the time to begin a NOBO attempt. But the journey continues to move forward, even if slowly. Sometimes it feels like my journey to an AT thru-hike is in slow motion. Then I remember that my realistic start date is still probably years away. So, I continue to take my AT journey a few bites at a time. This past month I was able to snack on a few conditioning day hikes; four to be exact for a total of 21 miles. Today’s hike was again at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, which has become my favorite group of day hiking trails. Jug Bay also checks off a site on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. And to cap it off, today’s hike completes all the various trails at Jug Bay. Little bites; yet forward progress. These conditioning hikes have also provided an opportunity to do minor gear field-tests. During my AT section hike last year, I decided that I really want to have a water bottle conveniently attached to my pack strap. I have been using two Nite-Ize 12” Gear Ties, which have been a functional yet imperfect option. I recently viewed a YouTube video in which I saw the Aqua Clip in use and decided to give those a try. I still need to add a shock cord band (instead of one Nite-Ize Gear Tie) to keep the bottle from swinging; nevertheless, I think this will be the best solution. And I finally have tired of using the REI Co-op Packmod Rainshield Pocket on the opposite pack strap for my mobile phone. I still want a pocket on that strap to keep my phone, but the REI pocket simply is about a ¼ inch too short to hold my Samsung S8 in a Defender Otterbox. Searching the internet, I can find ultralight pack strap pockets that are either too big or with an attachment system that will not match my Osprey Kestrel pack straps. So, going back to Nite-Ize, I picked-up a Clip Case Cargo Holster for a mobile phone. This holster comes in various sizes to fit mobile phones with a protective case and worked exactly as I want on my pack strap. Unfortunately, it is fairly heavy (3.2 oz) for backpacking purposes; however, since I cannot find an acceptable ultralight option, I will have to pay the weight penalty. If a company like REI, ULA, ZPacks, or Gossamer Gear made a pocket with ultralight materials and this mobile phone holster design, I am certain it would be a profitable effort. Hey, free idea; all I ask is to get one free! The Appalachian Trail has been the focus of this website. As is well-known, the AT is one of three National Scenic Trails that make up the Triple Crown of Thru-Hiking; the other two, of course, being the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. There is actually a total of eleven National Scenic Trails. National Scenic Trails are also one of three groups of trails that make up the National Trails System. The other two groups are the National Historic Trails (19 trails highlighting U.S. history) and the National Recreation Trails (almost 1300 local trails). See: National Park Service - National Trails System Living in Maryland means that many of these various trail systems are close-by and provide an interesting framework for preparing for my eventual thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Technically, a thru-hike is not possible on most of these trails since most are really just a series of historic landmarks or other points of interest. However, many provide actual trail routes that can be used for day hikes. In some cases, there are even opportunities for overnight backpacking trips such as the 26.6 mile Catoctin Trail located along the eastern portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western Maryland and just east of the Appalachian Trail route through Maryland or the 71 mile Massanutten Trail several miles west of the AT as it passes through Shenandoah National Park. Other aspects of the National Trails System overlap with my other interests. For example, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail combines both my interest in boating and in history. So, I have decided to start tracking and chronicling my hikes on the National Trails System as part of my AT thru-hike journal. While not the magnitude of a Thru-Hike Triple Crown, this still feeds the thru-hiker urge to click off miles, sections, and milestones. |
Quiet Man
I don't have a bucket list. At 61 years old, I have already had the adventures of a lifetime, especially after a 30-year Army career, five years of teaching high school, and a 37 year marriage still going strong. But I still have this deep desire to complete the Appalachian Trial. Archives
February 2022
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