Of course I coordinated this effort with considerable help all along the way from a lot of fellow club members, whose help I could not have pulled this event off without. Thanks to all of them! You truly helped make this a rewarding experience for me and to help make the event be as good as it could be on this inclement Saturday for the 50 participants who did come out and experience this brand new trail in the Kentlands development in western Gaithersburg.
The trail consisted mostly of sidewalks and roadways through the planned community of the Kentlands, a mostly upscale mixture of elegant townhomes and single family houses of various sizes and styles. To gain some distance and variety we had to walk out on some busy highways and into the shopping area adjoining the residences, and on this day with snow not being removed from the sidewalks, great care had to be exhibited by walkers forced out on the roadways due to the still snow and ice covered sidewalks. Also some of the sidewalks that looked clear had a clear ice cover on them, especially those made of brick, so the roadways were the only option to safely walk on. Roads within the community were quite lightly travelled by cars on this Saturday morning, so the trail could be negotiated safely.
The trail circumvented Inspiration Lake, one of a series of 5 artificial lakes that I believe were created years ago when the adjoining property was developed by National Geographic in a campus like setting for their operations. Unfortunately that famous organization left this area a few years ago. But the lake trail was a nice diversion from walking around neighborhoods, and provided more sweeping vistas of the area. The Kentlands Mansion, right off this lake, was also found in this area. This huge house is used for public meetings, weddings, receptions, parties, etc. and is well known for its great design and tremendous functional variety.
There was some duplication of trail route along the way, allowing for some social interaction between walkers. I easily developed a shorter 5 km trail at the request of last minute callers inquiring about the availability of a shorter trail. Since I am doing all the statistics for the after action report, I know we had 41 10 km walkers and 9 5 km walkers, 46 credit, 4 free. I was assured by all walkers coming in that this area was definitely worth coming back another time, probably best suited for a spring walk. I am sure that we would have had several hundred walkers if the weather had been better, as this was the only event in the DC area this whole weekend and this was an entirely new area for a volksmarch. And I know when I walked the trail beforehand during development that many local residents are avid walkers and were very interested in what we were setting up on this day.
Once again, thanks to all who helped out; I stayed at the start/ finish, which was at Rachel Carson Elementary School, which despite the fact that it was closed on Friday due to the snow, was open for us when my daughter Robin and I came to set up at 8:30. The window for registering was between 9 and 11:30, and by 2:30 to finish, but we were all finished and packed up by 2, when the last walker came in. The parking lots were not plowed, but since the temperatures warmed, the snow was soft and there was plenty of easy access. Thanks also to all who braved the elements to come out and enjoy this new area, sorry about the wet conditions, but hopefully we will revisit this area sometime in the future and have better luck with the weather so we can further explore and enjoy this beautifully landscaped and designed area!
Seneca Valley Sugarloafers
Upcoming walking events in Maryland
Volksmarch and Walking Index Web page
About.com DC/Annapolis
US National and State Parks
