Welcome to Battle Creek Cypress Swamp in Calvert County Maryland! This is the northernmost stand of cypress trees in North America. There is a nice little county park with a Nature Center that is a fun place to visit. The boardwalk trail is very easy and only about 0.4 miles round trip. There are some stairs descending to the main boardwalk trail that people with knee or walking issues may have difficulty with. The cypress here are Bald Cypress. There are quite a few in the swamp and their knees are very cool to look at. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Creek_Cypress_Swamp http://calvertparks.org/bccss.html http://calvertparks.org/Resources/Documents/ParkMaps/BattleCreekCypressSwampMap.pdf
We took a trip to West Virginia today to claim another one of the peaks on our State High Point list. This peak is Spruce Knob, at 4,863 feet above sea level. The trees here are stunted in growth and tend to be full on one side and bare on the other from the prevailing winds. The road is windy and skinny to get to this peak. At first I thought it was a one-way road, but it is indeed two ways. Be careful, as there is quite a bit of traffic on it and when cars meet, both need to borrow a bit of the shoulder (if there is any!!). There is ample parking up top, many hiking trails, a privy, garbage cans, picnic tables with grill boxes, and a picnic shelter. Also, of course, is the Spruce Knob Observation Tower about 0.2 miles down a very easy trail. This is a great, east to climb, steel and stone tower with a huge viewing platform up top. Views are excellent in all directions. The trails are well worn and scented with spruce that remind me of some of the trails on the top of Cannon Mountain in NH. We did the easy, 0.7 mile, loop around the summit. Although a long drive out to the “middle of nowhere, WV”, it was a pleasant one. On the way there (and back), we did stop briefly to photograph Seneca Rocks. Very Cool! We’ll save that for another day. 😊
At 3760 feet, Bushytop is an easy hike from the parking lot at the Amphitheater at Skyland. If you follow the service road to the top where it dead ends, you can meet up with the Millers Head Trail. There is also a trail that pretty much parallels the road and is accessible from the parking lot. Atop Bushytop is a microwave relay and the trees have been cut down to prevent blockage (while providing limited views). Although clearly marked, we somehow missed where the trail head was. Either way, it is about 0.2 miles to the top of Bushytop. The Millers Head viewpoint is an additional 0.6 miles down a rocky trail with switchbacks. The viewpoint at Millers Head is nice and provides a good view of the surrounding valley. This trail is fairly easy and only 1.6 miles out and back. That being said, it is a bit steep and the closeness to the road and easy access may entice people with health or physical issues to attempt it. Remember, if you go down, you need to come back up!! The elevation loss between Bushytop and Millers Head is about 400’. https://virginiatrailguide.com/2009/10/01/millers-head/ https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/skyland_area_2013.pdf
This was an overnight hike that we did this weekend to finish filling in some parts of the trail that we missed. This is the section from VA 522 to the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. We ate a hearty breakfast at the Apple House Restaurant (AWESOME) and then hit the AT parking along 522. The lot will hold 10 cars if people play nice. The hike is straight forward, with the 1st section being an easy ascent of about 1000' over 3 miles. The Mosby Campsite is 3.6 miles from VA 522 down a clearly marked blue blaze trail (about 400'). Mosby is a primitive campsite site on ten acres of land donated to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) in 1965 by Mrs. Mary H. Keyser. PATC donated the land to the National Park Service in 1987.The Tom Sealock Spring is co-located at the Mosby Campsite and clearly labeled. There is NO privy at the Mosby site. There is a good fire pit and a couple of nice benches that were donated by Front Royal Cub Scout Pack 112 in 2007. It is about 1.8 more miles (600' descent) to the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. J&M Shelter is super nice and should not be missed if camping along the AT.
Thank you to "Dump Truck" for saying hello along the trail and mentioning that you watch my videos and found them helpful. That made my day! I hope you enjoyed the rest of your hike! :)
