Harper's Ferry
Some friends of mine and myself just completed a successful hike of the entire Maryland Heights trail this past Saturday (11/19/16). The entire hike is 5.3 miles and you rise in elevation by 1,600 feet! In hindsight, I'm shocked that I came up with the idea to hike this as I'm not in the best "hiker" shape, and this was a pretty intense hike.
There are two separate, but linked trails that you can hike. One is shorter and leads to the overlook that I took this shot from. Then there is a longer, more challenging trail that leads to the top of Maryland Heights where there are the remains of a Union Army fort there. We hiked to the extreme top first, then on our way back down, went to the overlook. By the time we went down the overlook trail, my gas tank was running on empty and I barely had enough power to hike back to where we started. Numerous breaks were necessary!
When I took this shot, the overlook was being assaulted by extreme winds. I was being pelted in the face by dust, dirt, pebbles and even leaves. Almost all of it stung when it impacted skin. It was also a challenge to stay still to take some shots. This one I snapped with my phone, but I plan to upload more that I took with the Nikon soon.
Harper's Ferry
Some friends of mine and myself just completed a successful hike of the entire Maryland Heights trail this past Saturday (11/19/16). The entire hike is 5.3 miles and you rise in elevation by 1,600 feet! In hindsight, I'm shocked that I came up with the idea to hike this as I'm not in the best "hiker" shape, and this was a pretty intense hike.
There are two separate, but linked trails that you can hike. One is shorter and leads to the overlook that I took this shot from. Then there is a longer, more challenging trail that leads to the top of Maryland Heights where there are the remains of a Union Army fort there. We hiked to the extreme top first, then on our way back down, went to the overlook. By the time we went down the overlook trail, my gas tank was running on empty and I barely had enough power to hike back to where we started. Numerous breaks were necessary!
When I took this shot, the overlook was being assaulted by extreme winds. I was being pelted in the face by dust, dirt, pebbles and even leaves. Almost all of it stung when it impacted skin. It was also a challenge to stay still to take some shots. This one I snapped with my phone, but I plan to upload more that I took with the Nikon soon.