Catoctin Mountain Hike

We've been very lucky with the weather out here. I often have to stop hiking once November hits but it's been nice enough to still get out there. We were supposed to do this hike during the Government shutdown, but some lame people decided that we shouldn't trespass. Ended up still hiking in a national park that weekend, so it's funny that we moved this hike, but yeah.

I'd been up near Catoctin Mountain many times, just this spring actually. But there's a lot of hiking in the area so I hadn't done this trail yet. Fall hiking offers some challenges, mostly the leaves often cover the trail. This means you have to pay more attention to blazes and sometimes you trip on hidden rocks. We managed to stay mostly on track, but it does slow you down a little. Still, the fall colors always make it worthwhile.


First up, Chimney Rocks. I was very sad that I couldn't find a safe way over to this one set of rocks. There's so much to play around on. But I could not safely leap over this huge crevasse so I had to hold back. I was ready to go scrambling down the mountain to find an alternate way up, but there were some people in the group who aren't fans of rock play so I didn't want to keep them waiting. Ahh well, next time.

The second cool spot was Wolf Rock. Even more rocks to play on! Someone asked me recently how I choose my hikes. Ones with rocks to play on most certainly win over some others. Waterfalls also win over straight strolls through the woods.

The rest of the trail had some overlooks and a few ups and downs. We did a short run over to Cunningham Falls, but since everyone had been there we didn't stay long. Overall this trail wasn't too steep, had a lot of amazing views, and the weather was right on our side. Definitely need to do it again.