Winter has arrived and the temps are about where we expect them to be for mid January. Temps are somewhere in the 20s(F), and there is snow forecast for later in the day. Still I want to get going on my first ride of the year to the overlook
| Today I was on the single speed. I knew I'd prefer the lower gearing for the long climb. |
| Heading north parallel to the mountain. |
| | A view of the creek valley I'll be climbing. Catoctin Hollow Rd. |
| Usually this low water bridge is dry, with the creek in a culvert below. We've had a lot of rain this week. It was shallow and slow moving enough that I crossed with no problems. |
| | The Historic Marker for Catoctin Furnace. |
| A restored and partially reconstructed stack for the furnace. |
| | To get to the climb into the mountains, you have to cross a very busy Rt. 15. An alternative is to cross at the pedestrian bridge (in the distance) by Catoctin Furnace with several sets of steps and a fence to cross. |
| Early in the climb, you intersect with the Catoctin Blue Trail. |
| | If I head up this way I'll go right to the overlook, but I'd be hiking not biking, so I keep to the road. |
| Looking down to Hunting Creek. |
| | The creek rises to meet me again, and the road will cross back and forth several times. |
| After the turn onto Mink Farm Rd. and a STEEP hill, the road turns to gravel. It keeps climbing though. |
| | Mosscicle. |
| | Finally up to Gambrill Park Rd. and an upper entrance to the Frederick Watershed. |
| | The highest point of the ride, on top of the watershed. It was colder up here than down below. I saw the only other rider seen today up here. |
| | Approaching the overlook. |
| | Panorama of the Monocacy River Valley |
| | The trail back to the road. |
| | I took no pictures during the long descent back down the gravel, but near the bottom I stopped for a picture of the reservoir. |
| | The bottom entrance to the 'Shed, at Mountaindale. |
| | Back in the flats, aqua culture is alive and well in the fish ponds. An easy spin took me back to Lewistown and my truck. |
| | Today's Map |
| | Today's Profile |
Roads Completed 01/16/2005
| Road Name | ADC Map Grid | Subdivision | |||
| ACER | CT | 13-E-9 | N/A | ||
| BROWNS | LA | 13-D-8 | MT PROSPECT ESTATES | ||
| FIRST | ST | 13-E-8 | MT PROSPECT ESTATES | ||
| FISH HATCHERY | RD | 13-C-10 | N/A | ||
| MINK FARM | RD | 6-D-13 | N/A | ||
| PROSPECT | DR | 13-D-8 | MT PROSPECT ESTATES |