Due to the ongoing pandemic, we have been trying to get outside as much as possible, but our adventures slowed with colder weather. Then, I started reading the book, “There is No Such Thing as Bad Weather”by Linda Akeson McGurk. It is fascinating! I was struck by her quote, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothes.”
Yesterday, despite a multitude of protests, we forced the kids into their layers of outdoor gear, and loaded them into the car. We headed for the WB&A trail, and parked in the lot off of Patuxent Road, just down the street from the Patuxent Ponds Park. FYI, it is a bare bones lot, no bathrooms or portable toilets. We followed the path from the lot, and turned right onto the trail. Minutes later, we crossed Patuxent Road, and everyone seemed to be in better spirits! All 3 girls found rocks to climb on, and jump off of. Pebble also insisted on running as fast as her little legs would allow her!
When we got to the bridge that crossed the Patuxent, we had to be careful as the whole structure was a sheet of ice!
Shortly after we safely skated across the bridge, we turned left into the Piney Orchard Nature Preserve. We had never hiked here before, but had passed the trail numerous times while walking the WB&A trail. Stormy was beyond thrilled when she realized where we were going, as she had begged to explore last time we walked the WB&A.
The trail quickly turned from pavement to dirt / mud / slush, and went downhill to the Little Patuxent River. We soon discovered we needed to cross the river in order to follow the trail. I helped Pebble across, and then Rainbow attempted the crossing. She made it halfway and got stuck, mom to the rescue! It wasn’t a wide spot to cross, but deep and fast moving. If it wasn’t for the fact it was 35 degrees out, I’m sure one of my kids would have fallen in accidentally on purpose!
Past the river, the trail wound through the woods. It was beautiful with snow on the ground, and birds flitting through the bushes! There weren’t any other hikers, and, for the most part, the trail was fine, although there were a few large patches of mud that had to be crossed. Pebble laughed at the mud and proceeded to jump her way through, splattering anyone nearby with muddy water. Thank heavens she wore her boots! Both Stormy and Rainbow took delight in taking handfuls of snow to roll into snowballs that they then threw at one of their unsuspecting parents. Their giggles were worth the wet balls of slush I got pelted with!
When we came to the end of the Vernal Pond Trail, we turned left onto the Duck Cove Pond Loop. Shortly after we made this turn, we got our first glimpse of Duck Cove Pond.
Rainbow was the first to spot a few ducks and a goose out on the water, and we spotted more as we followed the trail around the pond. The trail was very wet, and the mud was both sticky and slippery. Definitely, don’t hike these trails in winter without sturdy shoes or boots, and, if they are waterproof, even better!
After circling the pond, we started our trek back to the car. We decided against taking the waterlogged Vernal Pond Trail back to the WB&A, and took the paved Lone Wolf Trail instead. It took us to Strawberry Lake Way, and we were just a hop, skip, and a jump from the WB&A trail, then.
Up until this point, Pebble had been walking and running. With the end in sight, she decided her legs were tired, she was tired, and hubby and I traded carrying her for a bit. We did about 3 miles of hiking, and had a blast! The girls are already asking to go back and explore more. I highly recommend checking out the Nature Preserve, and it’s many trails. Happy trails!
(FYI, there isn’t a website for the place, but if you check the AllTrails app, you can get more information on this place and its trails.)
