Hiking Monocacy Aqueduct

Yesterday I visited a part of the C&O I had not been to previously, Monocacy Aqueduct. Where the C&O Canal crosses the Monocacy River, an elegant aqueduct was built over the river. The aqueduct is dry today, just like the canal on both sides of it, but it was otherwise restored about 20 years ago to its original appearance.

From the aqueduct, I first hiked east to the nearest lockhouse (about half a mile), then back. From there I headed west to Nolands Ferry. In between, the only real landmark is a camping spot close to the aqueduct. The Potomac is visible through the trees on one side. On the other, the canal is dry, with fields or forests beyond. A train track runs parallel and somewhat close by - never close enough to be visible, just close enough to be audible.

Round-trip, this was seven miles, almost entirely flat. There is parking at both the aqueduct and Nolands ferry, plus restrooms (with an additional port-a-potty at the campsite).

The best part of the hike was views from the aqueduct. You can see the Monocacy flowng into the Potomac to the south. To the north is a railroad bridge. It's not far from Monocacy Natural Resources Area - although you can reach it by boat or car, but not on foot.

Purdum and Lewisdale

This past weekend I did another hike of some new-to-me trails in Little Bennett. Both are ones that start at the edge of the park, only connecting to other trails about a mile in.

I started at the Purdum Trail, which runs north-south most of the park's length. The southern portion is great for connecting loops. The northern part is not, but it is a pleasant enough journey. From there I got onto Browning Run, a segment I have done a few times. Then, finally, I did the Lewisdale Trail. It ends at a horse trailer parking area - not a place I would like to park a car. This trail feels like it was farmland somewhat recently; it is quite open and would be hot in summer.

Then, I did the same thing back to the car, for a round-trip of six miles.

Upper Rock Creek

I've been idly planning to do a series of hikes following Rock Creek from its source to the Potomac. I finally did the first of these earlier this month.

The creek starts just north of Laytonsville Golf Course, then flows through some residential neighborhoods. It then runs through the Agricultural History Park. I have no intention of playing the course, ever, but I probably should go back at some point and follow the creek through the neighborhood and into the park, just for completeness. But on this hike, I started in the Ag History Park and followed the stream south to the southern end of Needwood Lake.

A lot of this hike is parallel to - but not close to - Rock Creek. It is often out of sight. It is also a trail that is primarily used by cyclists. As always, people share the trail nicely as long as you stay alert. There are two road crossings as well that demand attentiveness.

Once the trail hits Lake Needwood, it changes dramatically. Here the creek is dammed to form the lake, and the trail follows its edge. It is also pedestrian-only and very heavily trafficked. I chose to follow the eastern side of the lake, then round back up the west side before retracing my steps back to the start of my hike.

At the southern tip of the lake, the trail turns into a paved greenway for 14 miles to the DC border. Most likely, I will wait until cool weather to do this (or at least an overcast day). Then, of course, it heads into Rock Creek Park. South of the zoo, it follows a narrow green corridor to the Potomac. The trail itself continues past the creek to end at the Lincoln Memorial.

My hike was 11 miles, but since it was an out-and back, I only covered about five miles of creek.

Bluebell season

It's bluebell season, so we went down to Bull Run Regional Park to see the Bluebell Trail in bloom. This hike was on the shorter and easier side - but the views were great.

There are lots of places locally to see Virginia bluebells; this one is very popular because the name makes it obvious what you are in for. It's also entirely flat, with the biggest challenge being mud from rain. So no solitude, although we didn't expect it.