This past weekend we joined the Mountain Club of Maryland for an eight-mile hike in the National Arboretum. Much of the hike, although not all, was on paved surfaces, with modest hills. It did include Mount Hamilton, one of the highest points in DC. (I do feel that calling it mount is a bit of an exaggeration. With 150 feet of prominence, it's not that high!)
This hike was notable for two things: One, it was ten miles after work, before dark. Two, I picked up a tick.
Otherwise, it was an unremarkable spin around Black Hill and Churchill Lake.
T and I spent our Saturday exploring the Calvert Marine Museum and Solomons. The museum manages two lighthouses, one of which is on the museum property.
Drum Point lighthouse was moved to the museum in the 1970s, and is available to tour. It is a screwpile lighthouse, where the keeper and family lived on several floors.
Cove Point lighthouse is actively in use, and the former keeper's house is now available to rent through Airbnb. It is located along a beach, with a nice view of Calvert Cliffs and a not-so-nice view of an LNG platform.
Neither one requires hiking or boating to reach, although one could certainly make a side visit to Calvert Cliffs.
With only the morning to hike, I decided to head back to the C&O for some more easy miles. Starting at Monocacy Aqueduct, I headed north as far as the camping spot - the aqueduct is too nice to skip if you are there. I then walked south to Lock 26, before returning to the parking lot, for just over six miles.
The section between the Dickerson parking lot and the Monocacy Aqueduct lot is quite a nice section. Much of the canal is watered, with stone cliffs creating by cutting into the hill for the canal. It includes a lockhouse and a power plant (maybe not scenic, but interesting).
This hike wasn't particularly notable - I have done these trails quite a few times - but it did exceed five miles. My original plan for the day had been to join the Cabin John end-to-end hike, but I had to be available in case a roofer came by. And indeed, I was recalled home, or my hike would have been longer.
The lake was looking nice though, and I had great weather!
