Most times I ride up here in the mornings or early afternoons on the weekend, but I procrastinated and let the month run out on me. So on the last day of September, late on a Friday afternoon, I started up the roads to the overlook.
I was quickly into the shadow of the mountain, and the fall weather was quite pleasantly cool. Perfect for climbing. My goal was to make it to the top while there was still enough light to take the panorama. I made it in time and then relaxed for a while before adding some warmer clothes for the ride down.
| Heading towards the hill. |
| Hey! Looks like somebody stole the sign! |
| Climbing on Mountaindale Rd. |
| In the stream valley, the sun is behind the ridge line. Things are getting cooler, but I have 1200 feet of climbing to keep me warm. |
| Castle-like rock outcroppings. |
| Blurry "from the bike" shot. |
| I could take the trail from here, but opt to do a bit more road climbing before joining the trail further on. |
| Topping out at over 1600ft, the sun is still shining. |
| There is a huge flock of crows flying above me. Really noisy. |
| I finally turn onto the trail to the overlook. |
| Goldenrod growing on the rocks. |
| Panorama of the Monocacy River Valley. |
| Some leaves are already turning here. |
| This evening's snack. |
| I was surprised when the auto flash went off taking this picture. |
| Here is what it is like with no flash. |
| Silhouette. |
| As I headed down the road the gathering twilight suffused the woods with and unreal green glow. Ferns like this one seemed to be almost florescent. Couldn't capture it with the camera though. You'll just have to ride out and see it yourself. |
| About halfway down the mountain, darkness was there for real. Since there were no cars around, I left my lights off and took my time, going slowly in the darkness. Very Relaxing. When I got back to Mountaindale, I turned on the lights for the ride back to Lewistown. |
| Today's Map. |
| Today's Profile. |