Walking Jug Bay Maryland

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Walking

Walking with the Walrus

JUG BAY MARYLAND USA - 10 KM VOLKSMARCH
SAT MAR 28, 1998

by Kevin Shaw

U nder warm 80 degree sunny skies, I headed south to the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary on the Patuxent River in south central Maryland for the 10 km walk there, sponsored by the Freestate Happy Wanderers in cooperation with the Friends of Jug Bay and the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary. A beautiful pristine place, it is just starting to wake from its wintertime dormancy with the past few days of springtime warmth. Due to sanctuary regulations I had to leave my beloved pooches home for this walk.
I met my friend Marty Brumback at the start point, a big lodge at the main sanctuary headquarters. Superb nature displays about what kind of wildlife you might expect to see are all over, along with information on what research projects are currently underway within the wetlands sanctuarcy boundaries. The start/finish table was outside on this very warm (temps in the 80s) and sunny day. There was a stiff breeze that kept the air fresh, but after a cold March we still felt the heat. The trail was rated a 2+ I believe, though the rating wasn't listed on the brochure. We walked on mostly natural surfaces, and the rating would vary widely depending on the trail conditions. Luckily we had had a dry week, with warmer temperatures, which dried out most of the trails, though near the end of the walk we did have to slog through some boggy conditions.
We registered and paid our fees at the start point, then off we went. Leaving the Center we followed a few trails through the woods for a km or so, then headed out the Railroad Bed trail with great views of the muddy marshland and tidal flats (it was low tide) out to the River Pier and our first checkpoint. Great views of the wetlands, and a beautiful day; it just doesn't get any better than this! We had to identify a structure out in the river channel for the first checkpoint question. Lots of walkers out there to meet and greet, as this part of the trail was an out and back. Lots of waterbirds too, highlighted by an osprey sitting on her nest near the River Pier checkpoint.
Coming back to higher land, we headed south on the Otter Point trail, passing a water spot (and as warm as it was, we needed every water spot they had for us today) and a "swamp blind" out to Otter Point. We turned onto Two-run trail, following the Two run Creekbed, until we crossed this creek on the Farm trail. On this trail we opened up out of the woods and saw some glimpses of an old working farm, but with some of our first closer views of the actual Jug Bay. At Farm Point a staffed checkpoint with the necessary water and candy and a great view of Jug Bay to the south was enjoyed.
Then we followed the Pindell Bluffs Trail, which followed the shoreline of Jug Bay, meandering in and out of some great views of Jug Bay. After a km or so of following the shoreline, we headed east into the Pindell Creek watershed, and away from Jug Bay itself. We were in the woods again, and started going up and down some short, steep hills that taxed my weaker leg at times. We stopped and noticed a bright red tiny spider, one we had never seen before. With the leaves not out yet, the shade of the forest wasn't there to keep us cool, so we really worked up a sweat.
We picked up the old railroad grade after the Pindell Creek ran out, at the last checkpoint. This pleasant flat part of the trail gave us a break from the more up and down parts earlier, but after a while this trail became more difficult as we were so warned by a trail sign. Evidently what happened is that the trail was built over the old railroad bed, which included the rails and ties, lending to a bumpy, uneven trail. We hit a stream crossing so we had to drop down and cross over on a bridge, then ambled up on the other side onto the forest trails in the last section of the walk. These trails started off dry, but then became wet as we approached the finish. Finding a path that didn't get us bogged down was an interesting challenge.We emerged from the woods and there was the parking lot and the finish. Marty and I took some time out to check out the weather station just off the parking lot.
We got our start cards turned in, our event and distance books stamped, and spent a few minutes to socialize with many long-time fellow volksmarchers. I believe there was a total of about 400 volksmarchers for the one day event; a great turnout. There seemed to always be plenty of people walking on the trail; it was such a great sight on this glorious day. Thanks to the Freestate Happy Wanderers for hosting this event along with the Jug Bay folks; a superb location, superb trails and a superb day. There was food and drink at the finish, supplied by the Jug Bay staff. I even picked up a neat Jug Bay tee-shirt they had for sale!

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