Adventures in Suburban Hiking
I've been hiking for a while now, driving halfway across the state or further to
walk trails crowded with hikers. That's all right, especially along the Appalachian Trail.
But solitude is nice sometimes, too. And I am willing to do without dramatic heights and sights
for a chance at exploring new territory.
That is why I've started hiking locally, right here in Germantown. I had lived here for five years
before looking at a traffic map and realizing I had some primo parkland right behind my development,
not more than a city block away. It's called the Great Seneca State Park and aside from public
roads and the occasional gun club, it is a nearly unbroken stretch of parkland all the way to the
Potomac. It also heads north, albeit in a broken pattern only 50% parkland.
So I have begun to hike it. There are no real trails, so I stick to the banks of the stream itself, and disturb as little of the plant life as possible. I haven't found a place to ford the stream yet, so I plan to access the other bank by hiking in from another direction.
Suburban hiking IS a tad different. There's no small amount of recent artifacts, or as
most people call it, junk. Junk cars, rusty bikes, submerged air conditioners all provide
homes for snakes, amphibians, and squirrels. All of these animals are safe, as are
deer and ducks, since the surrounding housing rules out any hunting.
Since these areas are never far from
civilization, the only safety equipment I need is my cellphone. And a hike can end the
minute I lose interest. As the brush and leaf cover thickens, I easily forget that I am walking within a hundred or so yards of family homes and schools. This is rarely hiked territory.
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