Trail Review...As Promised...Just a Little Late.

For Christmas I stopped by REI and picked up two booklets of local hikes to stuff in Jess' stocking. A mountain man working at the store advised me on which booklets to buy. On my way to the check out I cheerily exclaimed that I couldn't wait for warmer weather to hike the trails.

The mountain man looked shocked and deeply saddened. He encouraged me to hike in the winter too. I made a lame excuse about not being able to take our baby out in the cold but frankly I'm the baby who doesn't like the cold.

On Saturday I woke up and the sun was shining. The weather was above freezing and I knew it was the perfect day to hike. Jess found a trail in his book and I packed us a lunch and filled the thermos with hot coffee. We went to Catoctin Mountain Park in Thurmont, MD.

Winter hiking has the advantage of more solitude on the trail but requires more logistical planning. We had to bring layers of clothing and back up clothes in case we got wet. I packaged JAC in three sweat shirts, two pairs of pants, a hat and mittens. His eyes bulged as we deposited him into the baby backpack but he was a good sport.

We hiked a circuit of about six miles. The trail was crusted in ice and very slick in places but the air was fresh. It felt good to be outside. We stopped in the middle for lunch on a big rock. We let JAC walk around and he found a big stick to play with. He cried when we took it away and put him back in the pack but he eventually settled in for the walk home.

We were all pretty chilled by the time we made it back to our car. I strapped JAC into his car seat, gave him his bottle and turned the heat on high. He was asleep within minutes. Walking in the woods was lovely. It was a great day of hanging out with the two guys I love the most and worth braving the cold. Here's a couple more pictures.