This past Monday on Martin Luther King, Jr. day, Mark and the girls had off school and work, so after I finished teaching in the morning, we packed up and headed to the Harpers Ferry area to do the Maryland Heights hike. It was a cold day, but the ascent of the hike was pretty strenuous, so we warmed up very quickly!
Hiking in the winter might seem kind of bleak, but it acutally offers opprotunities to see views that might otherwise be obscured by all the leaves on trees. It’s a nice time to check out locations like Maryland Heights where the bare trees provide a nice view of the landscape below (pictures aren’t doing much justice though).
What made this hiking location unique was that it was actually a Union Army campground for three years during the Civil War. From the “Heights” they could shoot a cannon 200 miles and their position was strategic for defense of the troops camped out there and attack of the enemy below.
As always, Cayenne loved being with us on the hike. It doesn’t matter if it’s freezing, she’s just happy to be with the family and be along.
Even though there was some complaining from the girls about the tough ascent up the mountain, they were impressed enough once we got to the top and saw the view and the rock walls that the soldiers used to prop the cannons up on that they admitted they were “so happy” they toughed out the climb to make it to the top.
On the way back down they collected some pretty cool icicles that were hanging from the rocks, and obviously couldn’t take them home in the car, but they were cool while they lasted! Nina and I particularly got a good laugh out of this picture. Holding the icicle up to her eyes made for quite an interesting look!
We really enjoyed the hike and the chance to get out and enjoy nature and some family time on a day off.
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