Walking Emmitsburg, Maryland

My daughter Robin joined all three dogs and yours truly on a cold, blustery Sunday morning to walk the 10 km trail the Piedmont Pacers Volkssport Club laid out in the quaint town of Emmitsburg Maryland. Nestled at the foot of the Catoctin Mountains just south of the Pennsylvania border, this 1+ rated walk had a little bit of everything. We walked on Sunday instead of Saturday due to inclement rainy weather on Saturday; there is plenty of history for the Piedmont Pacers early spring walks; blizzards, floods, cold waves- you name the adverse weather, they have had it. One year the walk was postponed due to a blizzard, only to have floods on the make-up date! So this day, though cold and blustery with sub-freezing wind chill temps and the upper reaches of the surrounding Catoctin Mountains clad with a fresh mantle of white, wasn't too bad to walk in compared with previous years and even yesterday.

I had some unfortunate delays getting going this morning, so my plans on meeting my friend Jack Thomas for his first volksmarch didn't work out- he got there much earlier and left on the trail just before Robin and my gang of canines got there. The National Emergency Training Center (NETC), the Nation's focal point for delivery of emergency management and fire protection training, proved to be a warm, comfortable start/finish point, with plenty of parking, but at a bit of a distance, which as I understood it, was counted in the 10 km trail distance computations.

It was great to see so many of my Piedmont Pacer friends at the start point, and after exchanging pleasantries, information and the necessary fund transfer for AVA/IVV credit, we were off on our way. The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial was an impressive site that peaked my interest, and in a moment of reverence and reflection, on this tribute that was dedicated by then President Reagan back in 1981. An eternal flame burns bright in the memory of our many firefighters who have died in the l ine of duty to help their fellow mankind.

This was Cosmo's first regular event; his two previous volksmarches were year-round events. We got a bit tangled up at times, and there certainly were a lot of fellow canines out on the trail, both on the yards along the trail and also with fellow walkers.

Robin had a rough go of it at the start, as we exited the start area and walked around the NETS, then out the back onto a rural road through a field, with lots of open area and great exposure to the wind. Robin was wearing a lined raincoat, and should have worn a heavier coat to keep warm. The hood didn't work very well, either. She was tired from not enough sleep from the night before, and was quite unhappy during the first few kilometers. But she hung in there, a tough trooper, and once we got into town and out of the wind her spirits chipped up, helped also by my encouraging words.

We followed Lincoln Avenue on our first pass through town, passing an interesting antique mall, and later with great views of College Mountain to our Southwest. We missed a turn walking out of the western part of town, but I realized this and turned around. We had a map and directions, but pink streamers guided our way, and when I have a choice, I would rather follow streamers. Sometimes you miss a marker when you are distracted looking elsewhere or intently talking and not paying 100% attention. But no big deal, and we were back on the trail in no time. We then walked back into town along Main Street, into the main intersection at Federal Ave where we turned at the light. The town streets were lined with lots of grand old houses and businesses, along with many historic churches and other sites.

We headed north out of town, reaching the one and only checkpoint, a staffed one, at a nice spot that refreshed all of us. The lady staffing the checkpoint made a special effort to greet all the doggies, and made sure they all got water. They even had a few animal cookies! We turned back towards town after this checkpoint, but on a different street at a different angle, on an uphill trek. More alley turns, with close in land plots of plenty of barking doggies, exchanging pleasantries with my canine trio. We eventually wound back up on Main Street, and reached that major intersection from the east this time, after hitting it earlier from the west. Picture taking time, at the K-9 unit police car, and at the turn marker with the Ott House Pub sign in the background!

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