Just a quick post to show some photos of the incredible cloud inversion I saw on a recent hike up Maryland Heights.
My original plan was to hike the Stone Fort loop, but as I crossed the river through the cloud and then climbed higher on the trail, I knew there was a good chance of seeing a cloud inversion. So I skipped the Stone Fort loop and headed for the lookout. It was spectacular and there was no one else around!
Harpers Ferry rose out of cloud like an island, with thick fog clinging to the river valleys of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.
It was a stunning morning!
Panorama from Maryland Heights overlookView of Harpers Ferry from Maryland Heights overlookView looking upriver of the Potomac River, with the cloud creeping up the side of Maryland HeightsI was a tad excited with the views on this occasion!As the sun rose, the cloud thinned and Harpers Ferry lower town emerged fully, bathed in sunshine.
Day 1: Home to Harpers Ferry Campground, 2.5 miles, 8/22/21
I’ve wanted to take the boys camping for a long time but never quite gotten around to it. Something always came up or the weather didn’t cooperate. This time however, the stars aligned. I had a gap in the schedule, the boys haven’t started school and the weather forecast was stable (although rather hot!).
This is sad to say, but it’s been years since I’ve camped (something I plan to rectify!). I had fun digging my old camping gear though and packing for this adventure. Everything looked like new again. That’s the thing with good quality outdoor gear — it lasts a lifetime if you look after it.
In my pre-kids life I did a lot of camping so it was easy to plan what we needed and get everything together. The boys carried some of their clothes and water bottles in their bags.
We set off around 3 pm, full of excitement! The boys were embarking on their first camping adventure.
Leaving home!
Lexi walked with us for the first quarter mile to Nash Farm. Owen didn’t believe us when we said that mom was turning around here. “You’re joking right?”
All smiles as we passed Nash Farm, about quarter of a mile from home 😉
We strode on, down the trail from the back of Nash Farm to the river. Owen face planted twice on the way down, the poor guy. No harm done, just muddy knees. At the bottom of the hill I led the boys through the river tunnel under the rail tracks rather than crossing the tracks. It was almost bone dry.
We stopped to explore the Canal Headrace and enjoy views out to Maryland Heights. At this age, the boys are mostly indifferent to pretty views though. They prefer bugs or interesting graffiti.
We arrived at the campsite around 5 pm. I couldn’t find the caretaker, so we picked the furthest tent site and set up camp. The boys helped put the tent up, and then proceeded to trip over the tent pegs every 5 minutes 😉
The boys were super interested in how the tent went together
The tent is a 7 year old Mountain Hardwear Skyledge, which is a lightweight 2-person tent. It was comfortable with me and the boys, if a little cozy. I’ll consider taking the 3-person pyramid tent next time.
Our home for the night!It’s a nice campground! We got the end tent site which was nice.
Once we’d set up camp, we wandered back to the river shore to explore for an hour or so. We built sandcastles and hunted for shells. It’s serene and beautiful in the evenings. Again, the boys were digging in the mud whilst Dad was admiring the view.
The Potomac River is beautiful in the eveningsAnother dreamy view on the Potomac RiverCooking dinner!
Back at the tent we had dinner. I brought the MSR Pocket Rocket stove to heat up a camp meal for myself. The boys had sandwiches, fruit and muffins.
That night I had my work cut out! They were excitable and wanted story after story. All good fun and they fell asleep around 9.30 pm. I was nodding off by then too.
But sleep didn’t come easily because it was so hot in the tent. I ended up keeping both fly doors open and cracking the inner doors too. Thankfully there were no bugs so that wasn’t an issue. I eventually fell asleep properly sometime after midnight. I was woken up a couple more times but overall it was a relatively good night.
Stories before bed in the tent
Day 2: Harpers Ferry Campground to Home, 2.5 miles, 8/23/21
Morning of day 2 as the sun rises over the river
It was a beautiful morning when we woke up, with the sun rising over the river and pouring through the trees. We were all awake by 6.30 am when the tent got light.
Our first job was to retrieve our food bag that we hung last night. We didn’t hang it to protect from bears (low risk here) but I wanted to protect from rodents in the night. It was also a fun experiment to do with the boys. It worked a treat.
We hung our food bag in the trees to protect it from rodents.
Then it was onto breakfast. I had this hot granola, which was surprisingly good, and a cup of tea.
Making breakfast for Dad
Another family with young boys was camped a few sites down from us (the rest of the sites were empty at this end of the campground), so we stopped and played with them for a while before setting off on the trek home. We stopped for a paddle in the river too.
Last look at the river from our campsite before we began the trek home
We went a slightly different way home and met Lexi along the Armory Trail.
We took the trail that cuts up to East Ridge St, and then home from there. It was another super hot day so I was relieved it was only a short day!
Passing the canal headrace on the way home. Hot already!
Overall, this was a fantastic mini adventure. It wasn’t easy but it also wasn’t too hard. I’m looking forward to more trips with the boys in the future!
I left Harpers Ferry around 7.30am, slightly later than I’d hoped for, given the forecast was for a scorching day. Today’s route was north along the Appalachian Trail, turning around at the Edward Garvey Memorial Shelter, a trip of around 17 miles.
Most of my hiking trips these days are out-and-back hikes, rather than loops, since I live next to the Appalachian Trail. I’ve always enjoyed them. You get to see all the cool scenery again, but from a different perspective.
The view from the point of Harpers Ferry – the confluence of the Potomac (left) and Shenandoah (right) rivers – was majestic, as always. My route took me over the bridge into Maryland and out along the C & O canal, parallel to the Potomac River.
The miles along the canal were relaxing. Surrounded by trees, with glimpses of the river to my right, it’s a good walk to do some thinking. I was in a reflective mood this morning, perhaps because I’m 40 now, or because I had space to think without my kids absorbing all my energy (editor: no ground-breaking insights were discovered though 😂).
The Appalachian Trail turns away from the C&O canal after a few miles to head north up Weverton Cliffs, which I’ve climbed a few times before (incl. with Lexi and the boys).
Weverton Cliffs has tremendous views over the Potomac River, and across to the mountains of Short Hill Tract, Loudon Heights and Maryland Heights.
Looking west up the Potomac River towards Harpers Ferry. Mountains left to right: Short Hill Tract, Loudon Heights and Maryland Heights.Short Hill Tract from the top of Weverton Cliffs
After a brief rest at the lookout, I continued hiking north along the AT. It climbs for a further 20 minutes or so, but then levels out along the top of the ridge for a relatively easy walk.
Again, the easy miles were conducive to deep thinking. I lost myself in a trance like state. I passed no other walkers and had this whole stretch of the trail to myself.
The shelter is spectacular, perhaps the best lean-to type shelter I’ve seen. It was two story, with a fantastic upstairs. There were plenty of picnic tables and benches, fire pit, latrine, bear box and bear pole, and numerous tent sites.
Definitely need to come back here for a night.Room with a view! The upstairs was lovely.Edward Garvey was a former president of the PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club)
After lunch I played around with the new Hennessy backpacking hammock that Pete bought me for my birthday last year. I wanted to practice the setup, so I can spend a night out soon.
It was a little close to the ground but it was super comfortable!Nice and comfy 😉
I recorded a quick timelapse of the setup:
The return trip was uneventful and considerably hotter and busier than the outward leg this morning.
Of course, I stopped to enjoy a refreshing dip in the Shenandoah river, by the 340 road. Always a great way to finish a long hike (like this one!).
Looking out at the confluence of the Potomac (L) and Shenandoah (R) rivers early in the morning, as the sun was peaking out from behind Maryland Heights (mountain on the L). The mountain already in the sun is Loudon Heights.
There are three mountains that surround Harpers Ferry: Loudon Heights in WV/VA, Maryland Heights in MD, and Weverton Cliffs in MD. I’ve previously climbed each of these peaks separately but never linked them together into multi-peak hikes. On this occasion I linked up two peaks. In the future I’d like to try the full 3-peak challenge (update: completed the 3-peaks hike).
Remains of the old road bridge across the Shenandoah.
The most obvious link-up is combining Loudon Heights and Maryland Heights, being the two closer mountains. They’re also both more substantial hikes.
The day before Lexi completed this same circuit on a similarly hot day, so I knew what the conditions were like and how much water I’d need. I took 3 liters of water, which was just enough.
When I set out that morning, at 6.15 am, it was beautiful, in the 70’s F (about 21 C). By the time I got home at lunchtime it was around 93 F (almost 34 C), which made for tough hiking conditions.
On the top of Maryland Heights on the Stone Fort loop trail. Getting hot!
Thankfully you cross the Shenandoah river on the way home (by the 340 bridge) so I jumped in for a swim before home. Glorious!
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on the top of the Stone Fort loop.Views downstream of the Potomac River (towards DC) from the top of the Stone Fort loop.The CSX trail passed by as I crossed the pedestrian bridge back into Harpers Ferry after completing the first peak.I walked the Appalachian Trail through town, which passes by St Peter’s church in lower town.A fawn on the trail up Loudon Heights.Looking across to Maryland Heights from the Loudon Heights trail. Hard to believe I’d been on top of that mountain a couple of hours earlier.Harpers Ferry from the lookout at Loudon Heights. Love this view! I chatted with a section hiker who had just completed Georgia to Harpers Ferry, to complete his hike of the entire AT. He had a couple of days in town before catching the Amtrak to Chicago.At the lookout 🙂Crossing the Shenandoah river on US 340. It was hot as hell by now because it was the middle of the day. There was only one thing for it…Post-swim photo after a refreshing dip in the Shenandoah river. 20 ft out from the bank was a waist deep pool that was perfect for splashing around in. The river flows fast! From here it was a last 15 minutes to home. It was amazing how refreshed I felt after the dip in the river. I powered home.
A week ago I planned a long walk from home to the David Lesser Memorial shelter, but torrential rain and flash floods curtailed plans that day and I settled for a shorter walk to Keys Gap and back (well, almost…).
So I had unfinished business and wanted to attempt the longer walk again. Lexi suggested I go all the way along the Appalachian Trail to Raven Rocks trail head where she would pick me up, which was a great idea.
It was a 21 mile walk, the furthest I’ve gone since before we lived in Florida (when I did this long run). My knees survived and they felt great until the downhill in the last mile when they started to ache.
The scenery was typical of this area: thick forest punctuated by magnificent vistas from the handful of lookouts. It’s the exact opposite of walking in the UK where you have views from the moment you step out the car (since the mountains are so open there) and it’s just the perspective that changes as the walk progresses.
Here, the views are hidden. You progress through a tunnel of green until you’re surprised by a lookout that reminds you the world exists beyond the trees. The views from Raven Rocks, near the end of this walk, are fabulous.
I set off in the rain around 9.30 am but remembered to take my rain pants this time, so I stayed dry for a little longer. An hour later, with the rain still coming down heavily, I was wet through again, although not quite as wet as the flash flood walk day. The rain persisted until lunchtime, stopping just as I reached the halfway point of the walk at the David Lesser memorial shelter. I dried off, wrung out my socks and chatted with another hiker backpacking this section of the AT.
I enjoyed a dry afternoon along the top of the ridge, passing many thru-hikers, on my way to Raven Rocks.
Fantastic day out!!
Moody skies as I left Harpers Ferry and crossed the 340 bridge on the Appalachian Trail.Can you spot the white blaze to mark the way? There’s something magical about hiking in the forest in the rain in summer. It’s so verdant and teeming with life. Leaves of all shapes and sizes, and all shades of green, shine in the rain. Wet and misty at the powerlines break, between Harpers Ferry and Keys Gap.Keys Gap, 6.5 miles into the walk. Notice the water canisters left by a trail angel for passing thru-hikers.The David Lesser Memorial Shelter on the AT, where I stopped for lunch and to dry out.It’s a great shelter and a fine spot for lunch.The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) maintains a lot of the trails and shelters in this areaLeaving the shelter to continue my hike south on the AT.One of the intermediate lookouts, slightly off the AT, somewhere above Shannondale.Lichen on bark.The magnificent Raven Rocks lookout.All smiles at Raven Rocks lookout. It’s a fantastic spot with an amazing view south towards the Shenandoah.The best self-portrait I could do without a tripod.Raven Rocks reflection.
Ben Collins Outdoors 