Gathland State Park to Rocky Run Shelter - MD Appalachian Trail

Decided to complete the section of the Appalachian Trail between Gathland State Park at Crampton Gap, South Mountain in Maryland to Rocky Run shelter near Boonsboro, Maryland. The total section distance was 5.4 miles.  We hiked this as an in and out with some blue blaze for a total of 11 miles and one night at Rocky Run shelter. Gathland State Park is a beautiful park with public restrooms, piped water available in winter, and a picnic pavilion.  There is a neat museum there and the War Correspondent’s Arch.  Information about the park can be found here: http://dnr2.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/western/gathland.aspx

The trail starts north near the remnants of a large stone foundation and is marginally steep. Once up on the ridge, the trail is relatively flat until you reach Lamb’s Knoll, where there is a slight ascent up to the site of the old fire tower which has been torn down and replaced with a commercial tower that is not accessible to the public.   As the AT passes to the south of the summit, a side trail that the maintainers try and keep covered with fallen limbs leads to the peak and the tower facilities. Also at the summit is a really neat “former” Federal military microwave communications facility and concrete tower, now used by the FAA.

Some interesting history on the facility may be found here: http://blog.historian4hire.net/2010/07/15/coldwarsites/

http://www.coldwar-c4i.net/Corkscrew/index.html

The paved access road is used by bikers and hiker shortcut to Reno Monument Road. Nearby is a wonderful view from White Rocks.

This time of year, the hike is very beautiful, with oodles of May Apples that look like Smurf umbrellas growing everywhere. Just past the peak, the trail winds down, crosses the access road, and then descends steeply and eventually meets with the Rocky Run Shelter side trail (blue blaze).  The shelter is quite nice and fairly new.  Down further by the water source which was very plentiful during this hike as well as last fall, there is the old shelter that is still functional. The privy at the new shelter is far better than the one at the old.  Lots of space for tenting in this area. During our overnight, we met up with Flip Flop hiker “Travelin’ Tom”, who was very interesting to get to know, a die hard hippie from years gone by with a knack for playing the recorder. We also passed another Northbound flopper “shoelace” who was moving along at a quick pace.

Watch my other hiking videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

Visited Harpers Ferry for the 2016 Appalachian Trail Conservancy Flip Flop Festival.  There were a bunch of great talks discussing everything from beginning hiking to through hike strategy and tips. A lot of great people with a bunch of experience to talk with made for a great time and we learned a bunch.  There was food, music, and a few local vendors with tents set up.  It took place behind ATC headquarters on the grounds of the Odd Fellows Lodge #1. After lunch during a long break, we decided to take the blue blaze down to the AT and hike to Jefferson Rock, just a few tenths of a mile away.  On the way back we walked through historic Harper Cemetery. 
As always, be on the lookout for the Yeti! 

Watch my other hiking videos:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

Snickers Gap to Raven Rocks

Had a free day and after seeing the great videos posted by Smell N Roses and Peakbaggers for Cancer (RidgeWalker), I decided to hike from Snickers Gap north to Raven Rocks and back. This is a great portion of the trail with lots of places to camp as well as great views at Raven Rocks. There is a nice spring in the second valley on the way up to the peak and also some cool rock formations and under-rock water noises. I had originally planned to stay overnight up towards the PA border and tick off that portion of the trail, but the forecast is for 22 degree weather and 2” of snow which I don’t really feel like doing for my first overnighter of the year. This hike has a couple of steep switchback sections with nice flat portions in-between. There is pretty good parking right at the base of the trail on the westbound side of Rt. 7. Also, there is a cool bar/restaurant, the “Horseshoe Curve Restaurant” very close to the trail on Rt. 679. It's only like 15 miles to Harper's Ferry, so I think I'll definitely be able to fill that part in this season.

Watch my other hiking videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...I5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

Check out these other great channels by RidgeWalker and Smell-N-Roses:
https://www.youtube.com/user/PeakbaggersForCancer
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmP...6jtRkfA3Dx4zmg

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms 2016 - Hike Around the Tidal Basin

Decided we would do a little urban hiking and visit the Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin in Washington DC.  24 March 2016 was predicted to be the peak and it looks like the guessers came pretty close.  The weather was beautiful and the blossoms looked great.  We took a bunch of photos along the way from the Metro at Washington Reagan National Airport to the Smithsonian stop and our “hike” around the Tidal Basin. On our way around, we stopped at the Japanese Stone Lantern Plaza, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. I was most moved by the FDR Memorial and it’s definitely worth the walk off the main drag to see that one.

The walking distance from the Smithsonian Metro stop to the Tidal Basin, counterclockwise around the Basin, and back is 3.5 miles. There were a bunch of people there and more were piling out of the metro when we left at noon.  Made for a great morning walk after we dropped our son off at the airport to go to Japan.  Although there are no Yeti here, you should beware of them anyway!!

Watch my other hiking videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

2011 Ford Taurus Clicking in the Dashboard – Repair of the recirculation door motor (easy)

This is a quick video showing how to change the air recirculation actuator motor assembly on a 2011 Ford Taurus.  This is a common failure in the 2011 Taurus where the embedded actuator sensor stops working causing clicking noises in the dashboard.  The clicking is caused by the motor trying to turn past the stop points and allowing the gears to jump. The part number from Ford is AA5Z19E616C and costs $32.  The number on the package is YH-1779 AA5Z-19E616-C MOTOR. In this case, the motor failure was for the fresh air recirculation door, which fortunately is easy to get to right behind the glove compartment. Because the repair was so easy, I posted a real-time video. There are two other motors, one for the hot/cold blend door and one for the vent settings, both of which are much harder to get to, but not impossible.

Watch my other hiking videos and gear reviews:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

Check out these other great channels:

https://www.youtube.com/user/PeakbaggersForCancer

https://www.youtube.com/user/wmwood2001

https://www.youtube.com/user/sintax77

Silkman Method Bear Bag Hang - Similar to PCT Method

This is a quick demonstration of the Silkman Bear Bag hang method. It is similar to the common PCT hang method except it uses a pair of shackles to create a 2:1, making it easier to haul heavier bags up the tree, when done right it also avoids the line running over the branch with weight on it and cutting into the branch killing it, and it also makes it easier to insert the block stick and it comes back down half as far.
It's tricky to get the top part to stay up on the branch when you pull it up. I ended up using a piece of soft tubing I had laying around at the top of the line just to prototype...it worked well enough to see that with 2:1 you can get a higher hang than with the straight PCT method and can lift heavier objects more easily. There is a risk if you have a 'senior' moment and rig it incorrectly, you will permanently affix one end out of reach in the tree!! (don't ask me how I discovered this... ). The Yale Ultrex 12 (1.75mm SK-75) is easy to splice using standard 12 strand methods. I used brummel lock loops on each end and looped around the Antal rings. The Antal rings are rated to 1700lbs SWL and the Ultrex is rated at 800lbs break. 80' of line, brummels on each end, a pair of 7mm Antal rings, and a slice of the line taken for a continuous loop shackle was only 45g. That's about half the weight of 50' of 550 paracord I was using, not including the carabiners that I don't need with this. I used a folded guitar 'e' string as a fid for splicing the small line.
Beware of the Yeti!

Silkman method:  http://www.downworks.com/downworks/Bear_Hitch.html

Watch my other hiking videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

Check out these other great channels:
https://www.youtube.com/user/PeakbaggersForCancer
https://www.youtube.com/user/wmwood2001
https://www.youtube.com/user/sintax77

Tea Light Stove and Toaks 450ml Titanium Cup Cook Kit

This is a quick overview of my lightweight small stove setup.  It consists of a tea light stove that weighs only 2 grams including the integrated cup stand, a Toaks Titanium 450ml cup (70g), Batchstovez 450ml Lid (15g), carbon felt windscreen (27g), small lighter (11g) and fuel bottle (37g full)  - 162g total for the setup and fuel for 3 boils! The stove will typically bring a cup of water to a boil in 5 minutes and is perfect for making oatmeal, a cup of coffee, or cup-o-soup.

Watch my other hiking videos and gear reviews:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa