My plan was to do the Western Piedmont Trail, round-trip, but it was shorter than I thought. Thus, I added on Prescott Road and part of the Kingsley Trail. As old roads, these are probably the flattest trails in the park.
With the water very high, I was glad for stout bridges - there were no wet stream crossings. And the trails themselves were damp, but generally not muddy.
I am trying to up my mileage and endurance this year to what it used to be, so one of my goals is to do at least one hike of 10 or more miles each month. For January, that ended up meaning doing 10 miles in the snow. The roads were clear at that point, so I chose a hike that was nice and flat - the C&O Canal from Great Falls.
I intended to go east towards DC for five miles, then turn around. A few miles in, though, I hit a detour and turned around. Back at the start, I went west, which was less traveled. I looped back on the River Trail - not flat but well worth it for the views of the icy Potomac. However, I still ended up having to kill about a mile by touring around the parking lot and visitor's center. Full disclosure, I was wiped out!
But it was a beautiful hike and worth seeing in the snow.
On the last day of the year, T and I drove to Monocacy Battlefield for a short loop hike on the Worthington Ford Trail. This was our final hike for Hike with PATC in 2023.
This was my second time there. Neither of us are Civil War buffs, and the hike itself is not more interesting on its own than similar forests and fields near our house, but it's still a pleasant little walk. It's mostly flat, so it's an easy hike.
