Tag Archives: outdoors

Looking back on 2023

Posted on January 2, 2024 by John M

During 2023 our hiking group went on 92 hikes for a total of just over 400 miles, averaging about 4.4 miles per hike. The distance per hike was similar to last year’s, but the reduced number of hikes inevitably lowered … Continue reading →

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Looking back on 2022

Posted on December 31, 2022 by John M

During 2022 our hiking group continued to burn up the trails! We went on 108 hikes for a total of around 500 miles; averaging about 4.6 miles per hike. That’s not much different overall from last year, but this year … Continue reading →

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Looking back on 2016

Posted on December 30, 2016 by John M

Looking back, it has certainly been a busy year for hiking! Our hiking group grew by 1,779 members, from 6,796 to 8,575, and we met for 103 events during 2016, hiking a total of 450 miles at locations throughout Virginia, … Continue reading →

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Walk to National Harbor

Posted on December 8, 2016 by John M

Last weekend we walked across Wilson Bridge to visit National Harbor in Maryland, starting from Jones Point Park in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s about a 6-mile (10-kilometer) paved walk both ways, and it is so gently inclined that it may as … Continue reading →

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Lake Frank and Meadowside Nature Center

Posted on June 30, 2016 by John M

Last Saturday I took a day off from group hiking to explore Lake Frank, in Montgomery County, Maryland, for a hike our group is doing this coming Saturday. Lake Frank is only about 10 miles from the I-495 Capital Beltway, … Continue reading →

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Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary

Posted on June 17, 2016 by John M

On Wednesday I drove out to Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary to take a look around for a hike we’re doing this coming Saturday. Jug Bay is due east of Washington DC and very close, only 12 miles from the I-495 … Continue reading →

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Two Falls

Posted on May 22, 2016 by John M

This past Friday I drove out to Shenandoah National Park to reconnoiter an upcoming hike near the Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center, in the Big Meadows area of the park. The planned hike is a counter-clockwise loop, about 5 … Continue reading →

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A hike in Patapsco Valley State Park

Posted on May 13, 2016 by John M

Last weekend we took a nice hike up in Maryland, at Patapsco Valley State Park, just south of Baltimore. For the first part, we crossed the river on a suspension bridge and hiked a 1.25 miles upstream on the Gristmill … Continue reading →

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Potomac Overlook

Posted on March 11, 2016 by John M

Last weekend we took an urban hike in Arlington County, Virginia, starting from Potomac Overlook Regional Park. The hike was basically a 5.1-mile counter-clockwise loop, boxed in by Donaldson Run, the Potomac River, Gulf Branch, and North Glebe Road. It … Continue reading →

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Escape from the cabin

Posted on February 1, 2016 by John M

This past weekend I was getting really anxious to escape from the confines of my “cabin” after the blizzard of the weekend before. While the streets were cleared off fairly quickly, in Virginia at least, most of the sidewalks weren’t … Continue reading →

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