Mountains

I had Monday off for the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, and I hoped to get out and ride. The day dawned quite warm, but so foggy I was not motivated to get going. By about 12 PM I knew I had to get going or give up, and the fog was lifting, so I decided to ride. I drove to Emmitsburg, which seemed to be back into the fog, to begin my ride.

The fog really closed in at the base of the mountain, giving the stream valley I was climbing through a wonderful otherworldly feel. I climbed above the fog just as I reached Rainbow Lake, it's perfectly still surface reflecting the surrounding trees and hills. Soon enough I was at the pass and thinking I was done with climbing for a bit, I put on my windbreaker. If I had looked closely at the topo map, I would have seen the climbing on this section was only half finished. I soon figured it out, and the windbreaker went back into the camelbak as I turned off of Eylers Valley - Flint Rd. onto Debold Rd. and the gravel leading to the top of Wertenbaker Hill. Once over the top I was glad of two things; the decision early into the ride to flip the wheel to its freewheel side, and two good brakes. The west slope of the road is a wild descent down to Sabillasville Rd.

A quick zig up to complete an unridden section of 550 (Sabillasville Rd.) and a zag back further down towards Thurmont. A passing car beeped and waved, and I was pleased to note it was my friend Joe, returning from some MTB riding at Micheaux, up in Pennsylvania.

I soon had to turn off for more climbing, heading back up the 8% grade of Eylers Valley - Flint Rd, this time turning onto Black Rd. and following it all the way to the bottom at Kelbaugh Rd. Retracing my path again up the steep part of Black, I made it back to Three Springs Rd, and a short steep drop to Eylers Valley Rd. This again was a part out and back section, first following it up to the intersection with Hampton Valley Rd, then back down. The section between Three Springs and Kelbaugh is currently under a request to the planning commission to be closed. I hope not, it is a very picturesque section of road, halfway up the wall of a steep sided, narrow valley, with great views of the stream below. It has also been recently re-graveled, and I'd hate to see the county throw that expense away.

Once down, I took a moment to flip the wheel back around to the fixed side, because I was done with the real climbing for the day. I went south to one end of Kelbaugh Rd, then back on Franklinville and Orchard, and finally on Kelbaugh again to its end at St. Anthony's Rd. A quick pass through Mt. St. Mary's campus and back to the truck in Emmitsburg.

Unfortunately for all of us, the camera batteries were dead the whole ride. Here are the shots I would have taken had they not been.

• The screen of my GPS as I climbed Hampton Valley Rd. Super steep contour lines in three directions.
• The dissipating fog and reflected sky on the mirror still Rainbow Lake.
• The steep gravel climb up Debold Rd.
• An absolutely wonderful view of Sabillasville, taken from high on Debold Rd.
• The stacked stone walls on the upper section of Eylers Valley Rd. Miles of them visible through the woods, dating from when most of these local mountains were denuded of trees during the 19th century. Some ramps and structures defy explanation.
• The gravel road through lower Eylers Valley. Few roads around here can be said to cling to the mountain wall, this is one of them. The small building and numerous foot bridges across the creek far below were neat too.

	Today's Map.
	Today's Profile.

Roads Completed 1/15/2007.

	Road Name			ADC Map Grid	Subdivision
	BLACK	RD		2-J-13	N/A
	DEBOLD	RD		1-K-9	N/A
	EYLERS VALLEY	RD		2-K-12	N/A
	EYLERS VALLEY-FLINT	RD		7-A-1	N/A
	FRANKLINVILLE	RD		7-F-3	N/A
N	FRANKLINVILLE	RD		7-G-3	N/A
	HAMPTON VALLEY	RD		3-D-5	N/A
	KELBAUGH	RD		7-E-3	N/A
	ORCHARD	RD		7-H-2	N/A
	THREE SPRINGS	RD		2-H-12	N/A

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