Hiking and Camping

My wife and I have been getting more and more interested in our new hobby. This all started about a year or so ago when we decided to hike the Grand Canyon. If you have any interest in doing this, my recommendation is to plan well ahead and send your request in very quickly. We hoped to do the hike in April and could submit our itinerary on the first day of January.

Big Mistake!! By the time we submitted our itinerary, all the camping sites were full. Since water becomes more scarce as the summer goes on, we have had to postpone our trip until 2009.

Some Recommendations

If you live in the DC Area, we recommend checking out the Montgomery County Parks website. We highly recommend Little Bennett Park in Clarksburg, MD. We also enjoy hiking at Catoctin Mountain, close to Thurmont, MD. Be aware that many of the trails close with little or no notice. Catoctin Mountain is also home to Camp David, the Presidential Retreat.

Not to overlook Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail. If you are in the area and are not a member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, or P.A.T.C., I recommend that you join. You don’t have to be a AT hiker or even that serious about hiking. If you enjoy the outdoors at all, you should be interested in P.A.T.C. membership. These folks do amazing work, over 1000 miles of hiking trails in the area. They are responsible for 240 miles of the AT.