Hiking Cabin John Regional Park

Our next hike for the Hike with PATC 2023 challenge was Cabin John Regional Park, which we chose primarily for its convenient location. As a park, it was not particularly interesting. It is very close to 270, and the road is always in earshot. Generally either houses or the highway are visible, and there are no scenic vistas or spectacular features. It's a great park for people who live right in the area, but it's not park I would make an effort to return to.

The most exciting part was a stream crossing near the north end of the park. Several smaller crossings are bridged, but not this one!

Hiking Gambrill State Park

This past weekend, we decided to visit Gambrill State Park, which was new to both of us. It's only half an hour away, and I wasn't sure what to expect.

It turned out to be quite a nice park. The southern portion has a lot of scenic vistas (even more in winter, when the leaves are off the trees), and many of the trails are lined with laurel. It's probably a good place to visit when the laurel is in bloom.

It was also heavily used, with some parking lots filled to capacity. So get there early or be willing to choose a less popular lot. 

I hike five miles, and T slightly less. There were a several surprisingly steep hills, but the trails were in good shape.

First day hike

Our hike of Jan. 1, 2023 won't go down as any kind of record for distance or challenge, but it was a nice start to the new year. We hiked a little over three miles in Black Hill Regional Park. The weather was unseasonably warm (see the short sleeves!), but there was still ice on the lake from the ice storm over Christmas.