I met my friends Marty and Cheryl Brumback and Dan Hanson at the Community Center start point just after 9 am. I had to leave my pooches home as this woodland walk went through recreational park areas where dogs are not allowed. They would have loved it, but I deferred to the rules and regulations as described in the club's brochure. The Community Center was a great start point with plenty of room. Everything was quite well organized there, with plenty of eager volunteers to handle all the walkers that had to chose between the Woodland Trail and a neighborhood 1+ rated trail.
The Woodland trail started out of the Community Center and briefly out onto the road. We were all talking, and missed the turn from the road onto the grassy path along the edge of the woods. We walked down the road a ways then when we didn't see any markers, figured we went wrong, and headed back. We also led a few other walkers "down the wrong primrose path." But we retraced our steps and found the turn without further incident. The trail was really quite well marked with pink ribbons in its entirety.
We got out in the country quickly. The route in the fields and edge of the woods made a few turns out in the open and then plunged into the woods. Lots of walkers out on the trail, trees just starting to change into their fall splendor of yellow, orange and red. Then we entered the woods. Ups and downs started innocently, just teasers. Then we came out briefly on a road, entering the recreation area surrounding the T. Howard Duckett Reservoir, one of the watershed holdings of the Patuxent River.
The trail then followed along the shoreline of the reservoir. Flat at first, then the ups and downs started, and got serious pretty quickly. Also we had to really watch the ground frequently due to numerous roots on the trail. The ups and downs of course created some great scenery, superb views out over the water and in the woods in canyon-like relief. I was really huffing and puffing, and giving my legs a real workout.
I just kept plugging away, and eventually at the top of one of the steeper hills (as we had turned away from the reservoir) we reached the first and only checkpoint at about the 7 or 8 km mark on the trail. Great break, even a porta-potty at the end of a street, but still at the edge of the woods. Water and candy sure helped give us a boost at this point. We were all starting to get weary from the numerous up and down significant hill work.
The big hills were behind us now, but we still were on a rolling trail in the woods, however with views of houses and fields becoming more prominent. Then a turn at the high tension lines made a real change on the trail. Walking under high tension electric lines in open fields, we cut right between two horse grazing areas with plenty of trotting equine action, with even a lamb lying on the roof of a small shed.
We exited out of this section and into the woods for a little more, then out on the last field but with the Community Center in view. We returned our start cards, got our books stamped, picked up future brochures and visited with numerous volunteers of the club. I finally got a new Walk Maryland T-Shirt, where you color in the counties you walk in on the shirt. Also picked up a sweat shirt for the coming cooler weather, saying Walk MD Treasure the Chesapeake. There were well over 200 walkers on our trail, and probably almost 200 on the neighborhood trail. A beautiful day, a beautiful trail and a great experience. Many thanks to the Freestate Happy Wanderers for putting on a class event in all aspects. I look forward to returning here again this time next year.
Seneca Valley Sugarloafers
Upcoming walking events in Maryland
Volksmarch and Walking Index Web page
About.com DC/Annapolis
US National and State Parks
