Maryland Heights

fullsizeoutput_2676

Mount Vernon, VA; Harpers Ferry, WV; Shenandoah National Park, VA, October 24 – 26, 2019. — This was a good week. It opened with a quick trip to Annapolis Rock in a drippy drizzle and closed with similarly soggy weather in Shenandoah.

In between the sunshine was brilliant when we came knocking at George’s house. Mt. Vernon hasn’t seen my shadow since 1985. What a difference 34 years make.

Last visit, there were a small number of tourists, much of the house was undergoing restoration and few outbuildings that had been reconstructed. Other than a mention, there was next to nothing about slavery or the other people and infrastructure that made the plantation economically successful.

This visit, we found a huge visitor center, plenty of docents, museum and hoards of tourists and herds of school kids on field trips. The house is looking good too.

fullsizeoutput_269f

Mary Thurman occasionally visits and we explore the region. She’s a member of the Cherokee nation, so last summer we visited the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian. This visit we had a choice of Mt. Vernon or the Spy Museum. Our choice was a good one.

The spits, hooks and other kitchen paraphernalia reminded me of torture tools that might be found in a medieval dungeon. The audio tour was excellent and downloadable for future use.

Fall Colors in Harpers Ferry. The church is antebellum as is every building in the photo.

The next day Mary returned to her ridgerunning duties while myself and two other PATC volunteers led 20 Northern Virginia Community College students on a hike to the Maryland Heights viewpoint.

Great idea: The college parks a bus in front of its student center on Fridays. Nobody knows where it’s going until they board. This day the destination was a rendezvous with us at John Brown’s fort. The fort is in its third reconstruction and location.

This photo was taken from the fort’s original location which was elevated for a railroad bed (no longer used) after the civil war. The foundations of two buildings that were once part of the pre-civil war federal armory are visible.

fullsizeoutput_268b

Not sure why people feel free to vandalize national parks, in this case the fort which was originally a fire house.

Perfect time to visit Harpers Ferry.

fullsizeoutput_2681

Maryland Heights was crowded in addition to our students.

fullsizeoutput_268d

The view is worth the effort.

Maryland Heights.

Stephanie is using a professional model electric chainsaw. It’s power and longevity was impressive as was its light weight. Dear Santa …

In the predawn murk I slammed down a coffee and hightailed it to Shenandoah for chainsaw sawyer recertification – required every third year. Chairsaws are no joke and the park service pays attention to safety.

The information on which certified sawyers are tested is at this link: Sawyer Handbook

fullsizeoutput_2696

After passing the test, my intent was to refresh the white blazes on my trail section. Several of them are peeling. Unfortunately Mother Nature and her liquid sunshine suggested other ideas. So I simply took a stroll looking for work that will need doing in November after the leaves are down.

fullsizeoutput_269b

The spring is barely flowing.

fullsizeoutput_269c

The tread is in good shape.

fullsizeoutput_2695

Nature’s art.

fullsizeoutput_269a

Northern Red Oak.

Another view of the overlook. Shenandoah to the left. Potomac in the town foreground.

Next week: Final Road Scholar hikes of the year and the end of Mary’s ridgerunning season. Stay tuned for the blog.

Sisu

Friends from my days in the White House/National Security Council Press Office.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. July 7, 2018 — The auspicious press room at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is just off the West Wing, constructed over what was once the inauspicious presidential swimming pool.

As life would have it, my favorite journalists swam in the deep end of that former pool, now known as the press room basement.

You could say this invisible nether region was reserved for the less pyrotechnic news broadcasters such as Bloomberg, the Voice of America, NPR and the like.

I wish I’d taken photos of these down-under denizens who were literally schmooshed into their phone booth-size working spaces.

Believe me, ya hadda be there to appreciate it, especially the irresistible treats they’d bring from home each day. I was soon food-conditioned and grazed almost daily. It was an irresistible trap of sorts. In return for treats, I’d respond to questions. Hope my answers were as good as the brownies.

After my time at the Executive Mansion expired, keeping in touch was precarious. This was the mid-1990s when the Yahoo search engine was revolutionary and long before social media.

Two decades passed. Then our friend Tina thought we should meet-up at a baseball game on July 4. Catching up, we realized some of us had in common a previously unknown love of nature.

Impulsively I offered to organize a hike and BOOM, there we were, three days later, munching (this time my homemade blueberry muffins) in a Harpers Ferry parking lot preparing to assault the Maryland Heights overlook. Maryland Heights Trail

The iconic view from Maryland Heights is spectacular. The Shenandoah River is top left. The Potomac River is bottom center.

The weather was unheard of for July in the mid-Atlantic region. Our 7 a.m. departure featured low humidity, a light breeze and a sweat-free temp of 60 F. Up we chugged, skidding to a stop at the featured overlook in well under an hour. We toured the 1862 civil war fortifications on the mountain top before finishing the 10 km loop before lunch time.

Along the way we took selfies like giddy teenagers.

Showing off my thru hike photo from 2014.

With time to spare, we toured the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Visitor Center, then we stopped for burgers and beers in town before moseying down to John Brown’s fort.

Railroad tunnel and bridges over the C&O Canal and the Potomac river.

Ruins of a lock keeper’s house on the C&O Canal.

Jefferson’s Rock. The props were added in the mid-1800s to preserve the balanced rock formation.

The view from Jefferson’s Rock.

After exploring the lower town and crossing the river over to the C&O Canal, we marched up to Jefferson’s Rock, then through the ancient cemetery and back to our initial rendezvous point where we hugged all around and agreed to hike again soon.

Upon reflection, I’m thinking food history might be repeating itself. I’ll keep baking blueberry muffins and other treats, as long as they keep coming.

To those from that era who weren’t there: We’ve got plenty of roster slots, lots of fresh hikes, and all the freshly baked muffins you can eat.

Sisu

A fork in the road

Yogi said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." So I'm following the white blazes.

From George’s House to the Daughter of the Stars

Hiking Maryland Heights with Old Friends