Bringing in 2015 on the Trail

I love to hike. I always have, ever since I was back in Boy Scouts. Texas hiking, where I really got a taste for it is one thing, but I live in Maryland now, where there are tons of state and national parks all over the place. Sadly, though, I really haven't been taking advantage of what's around me. My trusty boots, which carried me all throughout the trails of Texas and the mountains of New Mexico had kind of given up the ghost. So I took the some of the gift cards that I had gotten for Christmas and bought myself a new pair of boots, and decided that it was time to get myself back into hiking.

I'm lucky that I live less than two minutes from one of the entrances to Patapsco State Park here in Maryland, so the same day that I bought my new boots (Dec 31st, 2014), I was able to get on to a trail. I went up the Bull Run Trail, which takes you away from the creeks and rivers, but is a gorgeous view of Patapsco.

Patapsco is gorgeous in the snow, as well. After the terrible weather we had been having over the past few days, it finally got back above freezing briefly, so I got back out on the trail this weekend, headed up the Soapstone Branch Trail. I gotta say, I rather like hiking in the snow.

Although the snow was beautiful, all the creeks were frozen over, which makes for some difficult crossings.

I intend to make more of these posts over the course of the year. It's been too long since I've been hiking seriously.