Hiking In MD: Gunpowder Falls (hereford area)

Ok, so we have tried to find this specific location 4 times now and last weekend, we FINALLY found this one hike.  It promised decent elevation gain, beautiful river views and just seclusion.  I will say, we only ran into one other couple on the northern trail but the south trail seemed a bit busier, as there were plenty of cars.      This location is up off of I-83 in NW Baltimore (we actually walked under 83), between Hereford, MD and Weisburg, MD.



Once you break away from the river and hike up hill, you notice that this is different than most of Maryland and other area's we've hiked on the east coast.  The trees are tall and the understory is just ferns and maybe other small shrubs but mostly ferns.  It had an old growth forest feel to it and we both commented how much like Eastern Oregon it was.  Below is a photo of the horse trail on the south trail.  I was very impressed by the trail, now when we went back downhill toward the river, it was overgrown but only Jim walked away with a tick.

The name gunpowder falls can be misleading, there is no falls here.... not in the traditional sense but does have some down stream rapids but nothing like a giant waterfall.  The area is the fall line between the coastal plain and Piedmont in Maryland and the entire park runs from Pretty Boy Reservoir down to the Bay.  Out of the parts we have been too, this was our favorite and we were looking forward to coming back and kayaking (though the water seemed shallow).


 

I was thrilled with all the mushrooms and fungi along the higher elevation trail and the flowers on the lower part. 




we are both looking forward to another hike this way, through the seasons!

i'm so bad at this

When it comes to the thought of posting a blog or just ya know, doing nothing or lately, playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, I go with the latter!  But i do need to take some time out here and there, at least monthly, to keep up with what we have been doing most weekends, especially since we do something most weekends!  So instead of feeling overwhelmed to catch everyone up, i'll do the most recent items and when I have time i'll update for the past travels.

good luck!

Ferry Landing on the Chesapeake Bay

Jim and I are constantly doing weekend day trips to get away from the burbs and explore the area we live in. The first weekend of April, we both wanted to see the bay... which usually mean Jim says he wants to eat some seafood. I looked up a trail that is on the eastern side of the bay, Ferry Point Trail, on Wye Island, MD. The island is owned by the Maryland DNR and has a few trails. This particular trail goes to an old ferry landing. This ferry landing was the only way to Wye Island and the trail used to be a road to the ferry, to get to across the Wye River to Queen Anne's county Maryland. The island itself has been privately owned for 300 years and was used for production of wheat and tobacco. It was owned by the third Governor of Maryland and signer of the Declaration of Independence, William Paca. In the 1770's the other owner (he owned half the island) Charles Beale Bordley, was a lawyer and then quit devoting his time to making the island self-sufficient. He planted vineyards, orchards, started textile production and brick making and even tried his hand at brewing. In the 1970's, the ever expanding suburbs, forced the DNR to buy the island and keep it in its more natural state. It has great wildlife viewing (saw 2 ospreys and a fox).

the beginning of the park facing westward

The start of the trail, it was a bit muddy

Old Ferry Landing, People now use it for a local swimming hole

ferry landing

on the marshy side

sweet bi-valves

yes... I took a photo of vultures. Simply b/c Jim always thinks they are birds of prey...

a trail for short people

sweet little cubby

OSPREY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Point of Rocks

Jim and I decided to drag Gabby up to northwest Maryland to check out Harper's Ferry after hitting up Antietam the night before. Jim's boss bought him a Geology of DC, MD, and DE and I found a spot that just sounded super awesome "Point of Rocks", so using a map, we found ourselves at a northern part of the C&O canal (part of the trail we bike near us) and wandered over to an old train tunnel. A moment of courage overtook me and we all three walked into the dark tunnel, thankfully missing the dead animal toward the end. They both took some rock samples on the side of the highway and we proceeded up to Harper's Ferry, where I nerdily got some stamps in my national parks passport.

Point of Rocks from the other side of the Potomac River in Virginia

Point of Rocks Tunnel looking Northward

Deer skull outside the tunnel

Well it did get completely dark in the tunnel but this is toward the end with Jim and Gabby doing the Album cover photo

End of Tunnel looking south

Park of the canal that hasn't been dredged and fixed like the southern part

Jim and Gabby hanging out under bridges

Dudes stealing rocks

We strolled around historic Harper's Ferry, WV for a bit and then got some beers before heading back into DC. Harper's Ferry was the site of the John Brown raid, an abolitionist, who enlisted some men to take over the armory and begin an uprising against slavery. It is a considered a turning point for the case of slavery and possibly the start of the civil war. It occurred in 1859. He was executed for this act but said these last words

“I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed; it might be done.”

off the bus, this looks like a rock wall but yet like the surrounding bed rock

historic Harper's Ferry, WV

An old sign on the rocks on the Maryland side, across the Potomac river. Its known as Maryland Heights and has some civil war artifacts at the top. We plan on doing the 3-5 hour hike once the weather cools down again and the tourist leave

You can say it" awwww". in the background is the confluence of the Shenandoah river (which flows north) and the Potomac river

looking over the Potomac toward Maryland

YES, so close to Georgia!!!!!

John Browns Fort

Since it was spring, I had to include the daffodil photo, they have such a short bloom period.

We enjoyed Harper's Ferry so much we ended up going back in a few weeks to meet with Jim's parents over his 30th birthday weekend.... yes there will be more photos!

Antietam Battle Field

On a Friday off and Jim working a half day, we decided to head out of the city and with the help of Ken Burns, we settled on the civil war battlefied of Antietam. Its a little over an hour from us, so we jumped on 270 and booked it up there, we got there late in the day 5pm and ended up having the place pretty much to ourselves.

For the confederates the battle was known as the battle of Sharpsburg, but the Union referred to it as the creek that ran nearby Antietum. We drove through Boonsboro on the way there and I liked that you could buy guns and ammo while eating a burger!

I've never really been to any battlefields that I remember, but I found it odd that the entire battlefield here is scattered with monuments from both confederate and union states. They look a bit hodge podge but you can tell which ones are union, as they are bigger, nicer and more numerous. This had alot to do with the money the north had to spend, where the south couldn't afford to decorate the field especially soon after the war ended.

Antietum is known as the bloodiest battle during the civil war and if I'm correct, the bloodiest battle ever for Americans. Its astounding the amount of lives lost, 22,000 in ONE day.

Monuments scattering the landscape

Dunkard Church now

Then. Taken after the battle. The battle began nearby at 5:30 am on September 17th, 1862. The link at the beginning demonstrates the lines of troops. Stone Wall Jackson was part of this Maryland Campaign. Maryland was split state, with many slaves arriving from Annapolis and southern Maryland being confederate supporters, Lincoln felt this was a state too close to the capital to lose.

Yea, my hippie photo.

A farm where the battle took place (and is being restored... awesome blog by a park ranger there) nearby close to the North woods, where the union forces marched through in the beginning stages of the battle on September 17th, 1862. During the battle the farm was used as a morgue and hospital. Clara Barton (founder of the red cross) brought supplies here and tended to the sick and ailing.

I believe these are all Pennsylvania monuments.

I think this is a Georgia monument. I very much liked this one.

Mumma Cemetery, a historic cemetery on the mumma farm property, it has the original family members that settled but the graves are unmarked. Samual Mumma lies here and he was around during the war. The confederate soldiers burned their barn for fear that the union snipers would use it. After the war, union destroyed property was repaired or paid for by the government but this excluded those destroyed by the confederates... so they did not receive any money.

Mumma pump house, the only original structure left of the farm stead.

Bloody lane, with Jim. The fences represent the lines of battle, no more than 20 feet apart.

Bloody Lane

Bloody lane after. The road was a sunken road that was used for wagons and horses.

Antietam Creek and Burnside Bridge. This site saw the end of the battle, General Toombs from Georgia was in charge of protecting the bridge during the assault. The bridge was named after Confederate General Burnside.

I love the tree on the other side.

Burnside then. This is from the other stand point from us... I like to think the tree has been there all along.

I think this is on the same side we took our photos on

After the battle Abe himself came by. General McCellan did not follow after Lee on his retreat across the Potomac, not farm from the battle, back to Virginia. Shortly afterward he was fired.

Overall this was a fun trip, we actually drove through it again with Jim's Parents a few weeks later when we visited Harpers Ferry. We went to harpers ferry the next day with Gabby. I will update this more often when I can!