I love hiking

So, I went out hiking yesterday. It was great fun. I drove out north to a place called Catoctin Park. Actually, let me start at the beginning.

First, I hopped on my motorcycle for a ride. I love riding my motorcycle. Then I drove about 20 minutes north to Catoctin Park. Parked the motorcycle and went for a quick 1 mile hike up the Furnace Trail (called that because that is an iron furnace (where they made iron) along it). It was great. Got to read about making iron during the revolutionary and civil wars.

So, I get back to my bike and start off towards the falls. From what I could gather, the falls were about 10 miles away. That's a rather large hike (10 miles there, 10 miles back) for just a day. So I'm going uphill for the first 40 minutes, and EVERYONE and their mother decides to call my cell phone. So after the first 7 calls, I turn that sucker off.

After that though the trail was much more gentle. I drank a lot of water on the way there, and was soaked in sweat by the time I reached the falls. Once there I took a dip in some of the pools. The water was soooo cold. It felt good. After about 5 minutes I was slightly numb (I'm from Alaska, so I like cold water).

After my dip I got out and read some translated Beowulf (after this I get to translate it myself). Went for another dip and packed up ready to get back. On the way back I think I either pulled or overworked my hip-flexor, but oh well. The bugs also got to me at first, but after a while we developed a harmonious relationship. I told them that the only thing that annoyed me was their buzzing, and they told me that they just wanted my sweat. So I asked if they could just ride along on my shirt. They complied. It was sweet after that.

Ended up getting back to my bike about 5:30 exhausted. I parked next to a creek, so I took another dip before hopping on the bike. Then I rode back into Frederick. It was wonderful!

So yes, you may all be jelious. Here are some pictures of my hike:














This is the creek I parked my bike next to.













Here is a picture of the furnace.












And here is a picture of the Furnace Master's House.