| July 12, 2005 |
|
Leaving Devils Racecourse at 7:45am.
It looks like a pretty day, the sun is beginning to peek trough the
tree tops a little bit. The woods is open and the trail is
fairly smooth this morning. A lot beautiful fern patches along
the trail |
|
The trail from Devils Racecourse to High
Rocks is about 2 miles. This is the highest point in Maryland.
I hear a big wood pecker off in the distance. I'm getting into
a section where there's a lot of white pine mixed in with the
hardwoods. Also it's like an old roadway that I'm hiking on
with some big boulders in it, but they are all flat. |
|
I'm back down to one foot path of crushed
stone. Well this is it, the beginning of the boulder area.
I think I'm going to go down it mostly. The trail now has
started being on some switch backs, still through the rock slides.
It is literally a mountain built of rocks. It's amazing they
can build a trial through here. |
|
Coming down the trail from the top, it was
so steep that your toes push right into the front of your boots,
regardless of how you've got them tied. That is where the
extra length in boots comes in, keeps your toes from being mashed.
I made it down from the top without breaking an arm or a leg or
looking like Rudolph! |
|
The trail is flatter, but still really
rocky; easier to travel. Also there's blue berries in this
area still blooming. It must be very damp in this area, a lot
of mosses growing along the trail. A trail whistle went
through a small town, and broke the silence of the woods. I
was just thinking, I'm not seeing any animals at all. |
|
It appears that we coming into the Pen Mar
County area. I'm going to take a long break there. I
think they have a snack bar and get a snack of some kind to eat. |
|
What I hiking look a firebrick road, it
down hill, some gravel and some rocks, but you make pretty good
speed on it. The woods is really open through here. Any
place you look there's rocks and more rocks. |
 I just passed the Mason-Dixon Line and in
in PA. Your are walking on the old Trolley Line just in back
Jim's Popcorn Stand, hot and cold sandwiches. Beside that was
the trolley station and also Pen Mar post office. This was in
the early 1900's. I just passed the Pen Mar Rd. into the
village of Pen Mar.
Crossing the Rockwell Fence over the trail, we're
going straight up the hill, the trails is fairly decent, but rocky.
A lot of rocks laying around on both sides of the trail. The
forest is open and very hilly on both sides. Crossing a road,
the trail now is very narrow, rocky, and going around the side of a
mountain. |
|
It looks like I'm hiking now on the ridge
line. This is a very immature forest. A lot of shrub
trees, a lot of oaks, maples, hickory, and cherry. Another big
huge rock pile to my right. It's really a beautiful open area
on top of this ridge here. Big patches of beautiful green
fern, many blueberry bushes. The man's voice is Tom
Ritchie from Atlanta. He was the person I stayed with last
night at the shelter. |
|
We crossed the new high way #16 The
Buckhannon Trail and a lot tornado damage in this area. Going
across Mackie Run Gap. Getting into a lot of hemlocks.
Stopped at Deer Lick Shelter, grabbed a bit to eat, signed the guest
book, and we're on our way to Tumbling Water Shelter which is about
3 miles up. Getting closer to the Antietam Shelter. The
trail has been wonderful coming from the county park Pen Mar.
after we got up over the hill and started on the ridge line. it's
been basically level wit a little bit of descent. Rocks in the
trail, but space to put feet in between. The woods now is
completely open, there are some big tall trees. A lot of ferns
growing in the area. The trail looks like a trail that would
be through a park, very wide, no brush, no weeds hitting your feet.
Just a very light area. |
|
Stopped at Old Forge County Park and got
some water out of their spigot and going on to Tumbling Waters
Shelter. Going through a partial stone fence, also
hiking in more of a white pine forest. The is also little park
area, I'm not exactly sure what the park is called, but it's been
really level since we cam fro #16. It's also been like walking
in a park. One of the locals said that it's Michaux State
Forest. |
|
Swing'n Jane and
Simon |
|
Back To Top |
Next Page |
