| Monday, October 10, 2005 |
| The Holy Grail |
It rained Saturday. We're talking rain of Biblical proportions. Needless to say, my drive 3 hours west to Deep Creek Lake was slow and unnerving. Upon arrival however, I was greeted with a fire in the fireplace, the kids running around, a game of Monopoly in progress, soup on the stove, and life was immediately perfect.
Sunday, we awoke to lots of mountain fog and drizzle. We managed to take the kids to the local "corn maze" to let them run around in the mud and dead corn, and then after lunch, the entire family embarked on a hike to Potomac State Forest. We hiked the "Lost Land Trail: Very rocky with many steep sections and stream crossings. Potential for muddy conditions when wet." Yes, yes it was. Pretty damn technical, especially after 3 days of rain. We parked one car at the top of the gorge, and another one at the bottom so that we could caravan out after the 3.5 mile trek. Luckily, we had an SUV and a van, because the road was just an unpaved logging road into the state forest.
If you've ever done the "Billy Goat Trail" at Great Falls National Park in DC, then you'll appreciate the Lost Land Trail. It was tough. A lot of rock scrambling in wet conditions. There are 11 of us in total, ranging in age from 67 to 9 years old. Everybody made it, and made it in pretty decent time and shape. Yeah family! The kids found lots of brightly colored newts in the wet leaves, and the views were spectacular.
The Holy Grail of any trip to Western MD wilderness is to see black bears in the wild. We saw them once off the deck of our house one evening, and before I got to the house on Saturday, 5 deer walked casually across the front yard, and we've come across many a pile of bear scat on any number of hikes over the years, but until now, no close encounters.
Since there were 11 of us, we had to make two trips up out of the gorge and back to the main road in the car. We sent the kids and a couple of parents out in the first load, and my Mom, sister, myself and my and sister-in-law waited patiently for my Dad to return with the SUV and collect us. We knew we had about a 1/2 hour wait ahead of us, so we started hiking up the logging road knowing we would meet him on the way. By this time, it was getting to be dusk, and we joked about a survival plan in case no one came back for us. We had a shelter all picked out, and luckily, my sister had matches with her (the only time I may have been glad she smoked).
Of course, my Dad finally came to the rescue and we piled into the SUV, exhausted, but happy, and were looking forward to a giganormous meal of my sister's homemade meatballs, sausage, and spaghetti with lots of wine, bread, and salad when we got home.
About 1/4 mile from where my Dad picked us up, we suddenly saw a large black shape emerging from the woods and crossing the road about 50 yards ahead of us - a BEAR!! But it wasn't just one bear. It was FIVE. Two large adults and three half grown cubs. We immediately cut the headlights and tried to creep closer in the car. They looked at us and scampered up the hill on the other side of the road, but not before we got a good look at them as they disappeared back into the woods. FIVE BEARS - they were really something.
Gotta run, my brother is bugging me to get in the car so we can go to Swallow Tail Falls and hike some more. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 11:15 AM   |
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| 1 Editorial Opinions: |
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I haven't been to Deep Creek in years. My family has always been more beach people than mountain people.
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I haven't been to Deep Creek in years. My family has always been more beach people than mountain people.