Birthday Hike

December 10,   2014         

                                                                               

I spent my birthday doing my favorite thing:  being outside! It fell on a Wednesday this year, so I took the day off work and hit the road early for Harpers Ferry.

 

The town was all decked out for the holidays, but I was headed for the hills.

I pulled into an empty parking lot at the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park Visitors Center. Where is everybody?       The place was deserted. But then I had to remind myself that it was 27 degrees on a Wednesday. 

There were four park rangers working the desk....seemed like overkill. When I told Ranger Dan I was here to hike the Maryland Heights trail, he whipped out a map and outlined the route in his happy voice, and then gave me his Serious Ranger Dan face and cautioned that MH is a difficult trail, rocky and steep and so on and so forth. Did I have the right supplies? Enough water? Does a friend or family member know my plans? Am I an experienced hiker? Sheesh! I resisted the urge to tell him I've been up Kilimanjaro. This was a mere 6 mile hike.

Ranger Dan instructed me to board the shuttle bus and it would take me to town (yep, had the whole shuttle to myself). From there I would walk to the end of the road and take the footbridge across the river...

...go down the spiral stairs and make a left on the towpath...

...walk about half a mile and look for the trail sign.

Cross the road and you're there! Funny thing is, there are parking spaces right there at the trailhead, so all the shuttle nonsense was unnecessary.





 

Starting up the trail I was debating whether to do the full 6 miles or a shorter 4 mile route. Ranger Dan's warnings about the trail being "difficult" were reinforced by a large sign where the green trail intersects the blue trail. The blue-blazed Stone Fort Trail is the 2 mile loop that would take me higher up the mountain. But I  had to wonder, how bad could it really be? No one really thinks of the hills out here as mountains anyway, right?

 

But the first task was to make it to the red trail that would take me to the Overlook Cliff.

What a view! The cliff overlooks Harpers Ferry. You can also see where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers intersect. Selfie time!

From the Overlook I doubled-back up the red trail and then it was decision time. Do I take the supposedly difficult Stone Fort Trail? Or head back and make it a four mile hike.

I started up Stone Hill, figuring I could turn around if it got too bad.



I kept hiking....wondering when I would hit the difficult part. What was Ranger Dan talking about? A little bit of uphill, a few rocks -- no scrambling-- how was this difficult?

 

Brrrr, it was cold enough for icicles! And here's the view from the top at Stone Fort:

 

The path down wasn't as rocky as the trail on the way up and I ran most of it.

 

Made it back to town and had lunch at the Town's Inn.

 

 

Another birthday in the bag, doing what I want, when and how I want to do it. Just me. Had the whole "mountain" to myself too --not another soul in sight.

 

Maybe next year I'll hit a spa? ;)