Mini-Hike on Sugarloaf Mountain, MD

(Note: all current and new posts from uptorun.blogspot.com can now be seen at runbuffet.com)

For a while, my family and I have been waiting for the weather to get nicer so that we can go out and do some more fun outdoor excursions. One of the things on our to-do list was to go hiking, and some hiking that we all enjoyed in the past was on Sugarloaf Mountain. Since it was very close to the Frederick / Montgomery County borderline, it was a relatively close and accessible mountain.

We got there around 12:00 PM on one of the parking lots higher up on the mountain - not at the base. This was because we didn't have a lot of time, and although we had a late breakfast, we wanted to be done early enough so that we still could have lunch.

We decided to up the 1/4 mile green trail. It was the one closest to where we were parked. We started walking up the stone-slate-laden path until the slates disappeared into some dirt, some roots, and some rocks. My little brother was eager to scramble up to the summit, and, according to him "Wow Sugarloaf Mountain is really fun!"

There were people on the trail, but it wasn't ever congested or ever really empty. We went up and up and up until we reached a series of stone stairs. At this point, he started breathing harder and saying something about his knees. I advised him to take it slower, but stairs were stairs, and four-year-olds were four-year-olds. Finally, we reached an area of level ground and decided to proceed to the summit. After walking through some rocks, we were there!

Going up took less than 12 minutes - quite a while for a quarter mile, but we had fun. The views were nice, overlooking lots of farms and trees and what I believe was the Potomac River. We hung around for a little while and relaxed for a little bit before heading back down. 

The stairs were steady as we headed down, but just in case, I told my little brother to stay behind me. If he fell on me, I could brace myself, but if I fell on him, we'd both get a face-full of stone. We went down and down the steps, down and down the dirt, and down and over the large rocks. We climbed over a few small boulders and jumped down steps made by the roots. 

As we neared the end, we saw again the stone-slate path and walked back to the parking lot. Overall, the mini-adventure took about an hour, including time spent enjoying the top of the mountain and time spent pondering whether we should go down yet or not. It was pretty nice now to go out and take advantage of the summer-like days after what felt like a really long winter.  :)

Hiking In LA (Hollywood Sign)

(Note: all current and new posts from uptorun.blogspot.com can now be seen at runbuffet.com)

I've had a stress fracture for 2 months now, but it's finally starting to heal, and the podiatrist (who I met with and talked to for all of 10 minutes) said that I can start walking normally now. In fact, I might even be able to run by mid-April.

I started following his advice. Although my left foot felt pressure walking barefoot, and I had random pangs at random times when I was resting, I felt a lot better. This encouraged me to do some hiking during my trip to California this spring break.

I did some research and immediately felt compelled to do the hike to the Hollywood sign. Well, it wasn't really a hike - more of a tedious walk, but it was outdoors and some form of exercise. My sister and I arrived at the trailhead in Griffith Park lacking sunscreen and cell phone reception, but nevertheless excited for what was to come.

The hike began in the shade with trees and green things surrounding us. The lighting was nice, and there were hills and mountains surrounding us on all sides. Soon, we reached what was the rest of the hike - open sunlight and no shade. We started taking photos of the nice scenery. However, we realized that that was slowing us down and made a pact to significantly limit our photo-taking.

We continued to climb. I knew from the beginning that no sunscreen was a big no no and started to notice the effects not too long out of the shade. I decided to keep my arms inside my t-shirt in order to prevent them front getting sunburned. Only my hands were sticking out, and even though I looked like a deranged T-Rex holding 2 bananas and a bottle of water, I decided that this would be worth it in the long term.


The climb was continuous. However, at one point, the incline did start to ease off. There was horse poo and whatnot at various points in the path, but the view and the good workout was nice.

The trail was pretty easy to follow. Eventually, it turns into pavement at a 3-way intersection. We started to head towards the right (the supposed path to the top of Mt. Lee and the closest you can get to the letters), but my sister had some house-hunting to do, so we chose the left turn instead. I assumed that this way would be shorten. However, we would only reach a yellow gate a ways away from the Hollywood sign. The only upside would be that that is the best place to take direct photos of the front of the sign - that is, unless you disobey the yellow gate and continue. It's probably against the law, though.

We turned around and headed back down. I discovered that I did have a slight fear of heights (and that going down is less fun than going up), but we made it to the trail head aright, and we had a good hike. It took us 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 38 seconds, but we took a few stops for photos and for phone calls (near the top, the reception is better).

And so concluded my time getting to do a full hike in LA. Next time, when I have more time, I'll turn right and summit the mountain. Outdoors and athletics aside, I got to meet famous people, touch an Emmy, and went to a concert. It was a really nice trip.

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EDIT (04/27/2013)
I found some pictures!