My daughter and I went for a hike today on the Billy Goat Trail (Part A) in Great Falls National Park. It was somewhat challenging-- not uphill so much, but a lot of scrambling from rock to rock. And then there was this bit (at left, photo from Wikimedia). There was only this one stretch that involved actual rock-climbing, though, and it wasn't as hard as it looked.
But even before we were out traversing the rocky cliffs, when we were just walking our first half-mile along the flat C&O Canal Trail, I felt as happy as I had in months. We had our light packs, it was warm and humid but not unbearable, and there was wildlife everywhere: geese, fish, turtles, and herons before we'd even taken our first swig of water.
Why can I not remember that walking is important??
This is what the National Park Service, rather melodramatically, says about the Billy Goat Trail, part A:
But even before we were out traversing the rocky cliffs, when we were just walking our first half-mile along the flat C&O Canal Trail, I felt as happy as I had in months. We had our light packs, it was warm and humid but not unbearable, and there was wildlife everywhere: geese, fish, turtles, and herons before we'd even taken our first swig of water.
Why can I not remember that walking is important??
This is what the National Park Service, rather melodramatically, says about the Billy Goat Trail, part A:
* One of the most difficult and strenuous trails in the east. [really??]
* Allow up to 4 hours. [really??]
* Scrambling over steep cliffs, angled rocks and boulders, and climbing is required:
-- Pothole Alley is a section of trail where hikers must navigate over large boulders and jagged rocks. Good balance is required to hop over crevasses and climbing [sic] over rocks.
-- Hikers must find a way up/down a 40-ft. cliff. There is not an alternative trail around.
* Not recommended for people afraid of heights or with poor balance.
* Visitors in less than optimum health, carrying small children, or those hikers that are not experienced or properly outfitted, should consider other trail hiking options.
I'm not sure how exactly we were properly outfitted-- we had water, some snacks, hats, sunscreen, raingear, and napkins. But the part of our walk that was Billy Goat Trail A probably only took about two hours. I don't think of us as particularly experienced hikers, but I will say that my 42-year-old self and 13-year-old geeky daughter scrambled up that 40-ft. rock face pretty damn quick after standing a long while at the bottom, waiting for this fit-looking but paralyzed young woman ahead of us to be laboriously helped up by her boyfriend.
And did I mention the wildlife? Besides what I listed at the beginning, we saw lots of other reptiles and amphibians, a small heron/bittern that I'm guessing was a juvenile green heron, cormorants, hundreds and hundreds of tiny froglets hopping everywhere, and a large fishing spider (cool but alarming). I forgot to bring my camera again! So here are some more stock photos of the animals we saw.
fishing spider!! Eek! But I approached it for a closer look!
And did I mention the wildlife? Besides what I listed at the beginning, we saw lots of other reptiles and amphibians, a small heron/bittern that I'm guessing was a juvenile green heron, cormorants, hundreds and hundreds of tiny froglets hopping everywhere, and a large fishing spider (cool but alarming). I forgot to bring my camera again! So here are some more stock photos of the animals we saw.
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