Ranger-led hike at Seneca Creek

Each month, Seneca Creek offers a ranger-led hike of about four miles. I joined March's hike for the first time. It was a relaxed pace.

Plus, there is a "frequent hiker" punchcard that leads to a sticker!

Wampum section of the North Country Trail

We saw that the Wampum Chapter of the North Country Trail was doing a St. Paddy's day hike and giving out the first of four patches celebrating trail towns. So we hauled up to the Pittsburgh area for a short (under four mile) hike. And then we drove back.

That much driving was terrible, but the hike was nice. It featured a brand-new section of trail that moved the trail off of a busy road. (There was still a tiny bit of roadwalk, but on a very slow road - very little danger.) The trail goes over an underground storage facility and passes a very nicely maintained shelter.

It was also somehow a Sasquatch hike, as a cutout of a sasquatch on the hill demonstrated.

Gambrill in the fog

T and I met up with a friend and headed to Gambrill State Park on what was supposed to be a warm and sunny day. However, it was foggy during our drive up, and the fog never lifted. Even as we drove away, down into the sunshine, the ridge Gambrill is on remained shrouded.

That meant no views from the overlooks, which I had planned a route around. We detoured from our original plan a little bit, since hitting every overlook no longer seemed so imperative.

It was still a nice hike, though, walking through the mist.

Seneca Creek hike

It took me a full two months of 2026 before I managed to get in a hike of more than five miles. But on the last day of February, T needed more than six miles to finish a 60-miles-in-60-days challenge. We figured we might as well do a state park to get in our Miles for Maryland. Thus we headed to our nearest state park, Seneca Creek, and did what could be described as a wide loop around the lake, with a few spurs. 

We started at Quail Ridge, on the south side of the lake. This is the only picnic parking area open in winter, beyond the parking areas on the north side. It's also the only other open restroom, and not too far from the lake. (Good to know if you are walking around the lake, which is the most popular hike in the park.)

We followed Mink Hollow east to join the lake trail, then headed counterclockwise. Near the intersection with the greenway, we followed a side road to the picnic area and back to get some easy mileage. Once we returned to the south side of the lake, we followed the road over the highway to check out the disc golf course. The greenway passes pretty close by, but it really is a separate area from the main body of the park.

p>Our hike was 6.5 miles total, with 472 miles of elevation gain. 

It's name is Rio

Getting a little desperate to walk somewhere other than the neighborhood, without fighting through slush, we went down to the outdoor Rio mall in Gaithersburg. It has a (human-built, of course) lake with a trail around it that had been plowed out.

It's not exactly wild, but it was a nice diversion.

January snowstorm

In mid-January, we had a big snowstorm that is taking more than a month to melt out. It was nice the first day, anyway. I got to use my snowshoes, which made me miss the Catskills.

First time at Patuxent River State Park

Even though it is less than a half hour away, I had never been to Patuxent River State Park. It's a long, thin park that surrounds the Patuxent River, which is also the border between Montgomery and Howard counties.

Apparently it has a network of social trails, but there are two developed areas in the south and central sections. I went to the southern section, where the nature center is. (Important: It has a restroom, but no merch.)

My hike comprised a loop of the yellow-blazed Free Flowing and red-blazed Cemetery trails. With a few side jaunts, it totaled five miles. River views were mostly confined to the Free Flowing trail, and they are likely most visible in winter.

I would return here again; it's pleasant and has the plus point of novelty.

First day hike, 2026

T and I were just two of many people who headed out to Seneca Creek State Park for one of Maryland's first day hikes.

We hiked partway around the lake and got stickers.