Liberty Reservoir - Morgan Run Section

Today I hiked ten miles around this arm of Liberty Reservoir, west of Rt. 32. I didn't intend it to be ten miles, but it turned out that way. I took a few unintended detours. The trail is not poorly marked. It isn't marked at all, and a lot of forks in the trail, often a fire road, can send you on a loop, or down a dead end.
So, if you do hike there, get a good map with detailed directions. GPS wouldn't hurt either. That said, the weather was good and the scenery pleasant and shady. There was one ford across a stream that required wading shin deep. If you hike in boots, carry hiking sandals for that passage. You'll be glad you did.

This view came near the start of the hike.

                   This view of the Rt. 32 bridge, looking east, came near the end of the hike.
                                  More photos from the trail can be seen at this link.

Brighton Dam - Tridelphia Reservoir

Hiked a few miles along the shoreline of the Tridelphia Reservoir today. Only sounds were the birds singing, the fish jumping in the coves, and the water lapping at the shore. Very peaceful, not many people, which surprised me since it was so nice out. I also saw a big deer.

                                                                   Fishing camp

Back Alley Annapolis

Cryptozoology

                                       Beached rock whale eating a pine sapling.

Big Gunpowder Falls

                                        Somebody is up the creek without his kayak.

Beautiful day for hiking this park. Cool temps in the 60s made the steep trails tolerable.

The Scent of a Woman, the Scent of Life

I walked early today along the Patapsco River. The first Mothers Day since my mother passed away last year. It was one of those perfect spring mornings bursting with life that fills your senses. Green had completed its takeover of the forest. The river current rushed swift and deep, fed by last night’s rains further west and upstream. The air smelled of moist damp earth and the river had a hint of the salty scent of the ocean. The life giving energy of the river and the soil was in my nostrils, the freshness of new growth mixed with the muted scent rotting fallen trees and brush, enriching the soil that once gave them life. I tasted it on my tongue, heard it in my ears, as birds sang, small streams burbled and the river current splashed over rocks. I saw it in the small flitting birds, the swimming ducks, ducklings and geese on the river, the majestic blue herons. I felt it in the air on my skin. It was beautiful complex and sensual. But all the other senses were trumped by the scent of Mother Nature and life.

Every woman, mother, lover, or daughter, has her own distinct scent, absent any added perfume. It is the scent that is embedded in a man’s head, and remembered like a name whenever he smells it. It is the scent of life that only women have.

Loch Raven

                  A perfect, cool, partly overcast, spring day for hiking the shore of Loch Raven.

Sunrise

I think the sun is finally rising on spring. Someone must have finally driven a stake through this winter's heart. I'm ready for a cup of coffee while sitting out in the sun.