Blue Ridge Center Backpacking Trip
Saturday-Sunday, February 4-5, 2012
Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship
Purcellville, VA
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$20 members, $25 non-members
Level: 7 miles
Advanced beginner and above.
Interested in backpacking in the winter? Join us for this short trip at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship. The center is near Harpers Ferry, WV. The total distance of the trip is 7 miles and has minimal elevation gain. For more information about the park, see http://www.blueridgecenter.org/.
WWO has a limited amount of equipment that can be loaned, so don't let a lack of equipment stand in your way.
Registration Deadline: Saturday, January 28, 2012
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Crampton Gap/Harper's Ferry Day Hike
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Burkittsville, MD
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 8, 9.8 miles
The 9.8-mile stretch of Appalachian Trail leading from Crampton Gap to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is one of the most popular and rewarding AT day hikes in this region. It features a secluded forest ridge top, an exhilarating vista pitching straight down into the Potomac River, and the historic C&O Canal Towpath.
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 3, 2012
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Gold Mine Loop Half-Day Hike
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Great Falls National Park
Potomac, MD
10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 3, 5.1 miles
This hike strings together 5.1 miles of several little used trails east of the C&O Canal. We will stroll through the woodlands over gentle hills, with a stop at the Great Falls overlook. We will return again through the quieter, shaded side trails.
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 10, 2012
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Rachel Carson Conservation Park Half-Day Hike
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Brookeville, MD
10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 3, 6 miles
We will hike about 6 miles through the meadows and oak hickory forest of this large conservation park in northern Montgomery County. This hike follows the trails along the Hawlings River, part of the future Rachel Carson Greenway, where we'll see the remains of an old mill.
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 24, 2012
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Annapolis Rocks AT Day Hike
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Myersville, MD
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 5, 5.0 miles
This is an out-and-back hike on the Appalachian Trail. It starts near I-70 with a steep incline. The mid-point is Annapolis Rocks, an overhanging cliff with an excellent westward view that includes Greenbrier Lake.
Registration Deadline: Friday, March 2, 2012
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Old Rag Day Hike 
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Shenandoah National Park, VA
8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 11, 7.0 miles
This perennial favorite is a challenging 7-mile hike, with 2200 feet of elevation gain. It features scrambling over and between boulders on the trail, as well as some hand-over-hand climbing. The reward at the top is a 360-degree view of peaks, valleys, and towns.
The park charges $8 per person for this hike. Please bring this fee with you on the day of the hike. If the weather is not appropriate for Old Rag, our back-up hike will be White Oak Canyon, another Level 11 hike nearby.
Registration Deadline: Friday, March 16, 2012
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Monroe Run Beginner Backpacking Trip
Saturday, March 24, 2012-March 25, 2012
Savage River State Forest
Grantsville, MD
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$20 members, $25 non-members
Level: 5, 5.2 miles, Beginner and above.
This one-night trip is perfect for an easy one-night escape from the city. The hike is gentle and tree-covered with multiple stream crossings.
We'll meet Saturday AM at a Metro stop, then carpool to the trailhead near New Germany State Park in western Maryland. Novice and beginners are welcome. WWO has a limited amount of equipment that can be loaned, so don't let a lack of equipment stand in your way.
Registration Deadline: Friday, March 16, 2012
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Ellicott City/Banneker Historical Park Half-Day Hike
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Ellicott City, MD
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 3, 3.0 miles
The hike starts on a boardwalk that becomes pavement as the trail winds uphill through the woods with a stream on your left. We will take a nature trail through the Banneker Historical Park. The park has nature trails, archaeological sites, and living history areas re-creating the Colonial farm life of Benjamin Banneker, an African-American astronomer and farmer. This is an out-and-back trail that starts and ends in downtown historic Ellicott City that includes shops and the Baltimore & Ohio Train Museum, which highlights the history of the nation's first railroad.
Registration Deadline: Friday, March 30, 2012
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AT Crescent Rock/Ridge to River Day Hike
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Appalachian Trail
Bluemont, VA
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 8, 11.0 miles
This is an 11-mile, out-and-back hike along the Appalachian Trail and a side trail in Virginia and West Virginia, with a lot of up and down. We will hike alongside the mountain, with a lovely view of the Shenandoah River Valley for much of the hike. We will stop for a first lunch at Crescent Rock and enjoy the rock cliffs and view. We will then continue on the AT toward the Devils Racecourse and pick up the Ridge to River trail. That path descends about two miles through the private property of the Rolling Ridge Foundation before coming out at a lovely waterfall of a side stream that flows in to our turnaround point, the Shenandoah River. When we come back up from the River, we will stop for a second lunch at Crescent Rock before continuing back to the trailhead.
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 13, 2012
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Rock Creek Park Wild Northern Section Half-Day Hike
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Washington, DC
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 3, 7.0 miles
The northern section of Rock Creek Park is the largest chunk of unspoiled woodland in the park. This 7-mile loop takes us through upland woods and stream-side flood plains. We'll primarily follow the Western Ridge and Valley trails to explore DC's version of Central Park.
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 20, 2012
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Buck Ridge/Mary's Rock/Buck Hollow Day Hike
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Shenandoah National Park
Luray, VA
8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 10, 9.6 miles
This 9.6-mile hike takes us up a very steep initial ascent along Buck Ridge, across Skyline Drive up to a stretch of the Appalachian Trail that leads to the amazing rock overlook of Mary's Rock summit at 3,514 feet, then turning back for several stream crossings across the Thornton River as it descends through Buck Hollow.
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 27, 2012
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Shenandoah Summit Sampler Day Hike
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Shenandoah National Park, VA
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 7, 7.0 miles
Bring your cameras because we are hitting new heights! We will first travel to Mary's Rock and hike 3.7 miles (1.8 miles up) with a 1,710 foot elevation change. This out-and-back hike offers views of hardwood forest, mountain laurel, ferns, a man-made shelf of rocks, rock monoliths, and a vista of Thornton Gap. We will drive 10 miles down the road to the Stony Man Overlook for a glimpse of the Stony Man formation, then on to the Stony Man Nature Trail, the second highest peak in the park, for a fairly easy 1.6-mile circuit hike with a 350-foot elevation change.
If there is time, we can sneak in one more hike. We can drive to the lodge and take a 1.6-mile out-and-back hike to Millers Head Lookout. This hike is fairly easy with some moderately steep sections on the way back. Our destination is an observation platform with a spectacular, nearly 360-degree view.
There is $8 fee per person to get into the park. Please bring this with you on the day of the hike.
Registration Deadline: Friday, May 4, 2012
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Soapstone Valley Trail Evening Hike
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Rock Creek Park
Washington, DC
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 3, 4.0 miles
This area was named "Best Place in Rock Creek." This is an evening hike in the middle of the week... why not! A good break from the hectic work week. It descends to a riffling creek, a tributary of Broad Branch that looks positively unpolluted in the right light. The trail follows the creek for a bit and then you cross it by hopping the stones (probably granite, since most of the actual soapstone was quarried out some time ago). You'll crisscross the creek seven or so more times as the valley grows deeper, greener, and more dense. After a last bit of stone-hopping, Soapstone Valley and the trail ends, spitting you out at Broad Branch Road after a mile-and-a-half.
Registration Deadline: Friday, May 4, 2012
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Scott's Run Half-Day Hike
Sunday, May 20, 2012
McLean, VA
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 5, 4.0 miles
Scott's Run Nature Preserve is only a few miles off the beltway, but offers woodland solitude and magnificent views of the Potomac River. This will be a short but hilly morning hike. A perfect way to spend the weekend!
Registration Deadline: Friday, May 18, 2012
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