This was another of our long weekend trips, this time around the Baltimore area.
The original plan was to try to get back out to West Virginia to cover some ground, but there was way too much snow accumulated and bad weather forecast I recall.
I had been looking at plenty of trips to do that wouldn't be too tough for Jillane, but still give us some significant mileage and put us in places where we could stay at hotels.
I had put together a plan that would bring us back to the last hotel we stayed at when we did our backpacking trip to Baltimore from on the Mason-Dixon Trail in PA.
On that trip, we headed north on the Mason-Dixon, cut to the west into York, then followed the old Northern Central Railroad to the north of Baltimore, followed by roads and the old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad into downtown. We then walked streets to the Landsdown section of south Baltimore.
On that trip, we had reached the Beltway Motel, which was a sort of dude ranch looking dive motel. It wasn't terrible, and it accommodated us when when were there.
After our last far out trips, with stays in Wellsburg and before that McDonald PA, I would have thought most anything would be good enough, but Jillane didn't want to stay at the place.
We ended up getting to Baltimore late, and then driving around looking for a hotel that was satisfactory. It seemed like every hotel was a huge party inside. Not the kind of place we wanted to be.
I had hoped to go from the motel to the Patapsco River Greenway to the south, and follow it upstream which looks absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen, so when Jillane found a hotel, I had to come up with a close by plan.
Thinking fast, I figured on Gwynns Falls Trail.
A short distance from the hotel she picked was the abrupt eastern terminus of Interstate 70. Residents in the Franklintown section of northwestern Baltimore fought and won in the 60s and 70s having the highway completed through. Now, the end of it is commuter parking, and we'd be good to leave a car there for days.
DAY 1
I had brought a crowler of Weyerbacher to enjoy on this trip, because as of late I had been getting a lot of milestones in.
I had finished the Juniata Valley series the previous week, and Jillane and I had broadened the reach of the hikes to the farthest west we had ever gone the week before that. This time, we would hit the farthest south inland we'd ever done (Cape May Point in NJ is actually farther south latitude than where we ended up, but there is nowhere else to go from there walking!)
Overnight while we were asleep, there was an enormous bang.
My crowler had exploded due to the pressure! Fortunately, only the top had blasted up and off of it, and I was able to put it into a different bottle and drink it.
We drove over to our starting point, and got right on the Gwynns Falls Trail from there.
The trail went back along the highway route heading west a bit, then north along Security Blvd, and then right on Ingleside Ave.
There was some snow on the ground, but it wasn't terrible and we could still walk through it very easily. It turned out to be the right choice to make coming to this trail.
The trail followed Franklintown Road for a little bit after we came out to it here.
The little settlement was really built out as Franklintown around 1832 when local politician William H. Freeman laid it out. There was an old inn from the 1800s on our left that served horse race enthusiasts.
We walked down the road a little bit, and on the left was an abandoned grist mill in a sad state of decay. The Franklintown Grist Mill it was, which served the community from 1761 until 1934.
The strea parallel with us was called the Dead Run. It is a tributary of the Gwynns Falls.
It is important to note that the Gwynns Falls is not a waterfall, nor are most of the streams that are referred to as "falls" in the state of Maryland. There, instead of using "river", "run", "creek", "kill", "brook", or the like, they simply refer to the entire tributary as "falls". It doesn't really make any sense, but it's what they do.
The trail took us along Franklintown Road, which had a path built onto the side of it for the trail. At first, it looked like this wouldn't be great if someone were to judge a picture by its cover, but pretty soon the trail turned left up away from the road.
It skipped a bit of a turn on the road, and then had a major switchback before returning to the roadside again.
Soon, the trail turned away into Leakin Park and and then crossed Dead Run on a foot bridge.
Immediately on the other side, there was a side path that led to an enormous old water wheel.
This was the waterwheel of the former Crimea Estate, created by Thomas DeKay Winans about 1856.
The water wheel pumped water from the Dead Run, a tributary of the Gwynns Falls, up to Winans' mansion, which is known as Orianda House.
Water was held in attic cisterns so that the Winan family would have running water.
There are few examples of such water wheels remaining in America.
Winans established the country estate after returning from Russia where he helped to build the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railroad.
More of his estate is still accessible through the trails in Leakin Park, and the area we were in was called Winan Meadow. But we didn't have the time to be doing all of that if we wanted to get to a hotel room in a reasonable hour. We saw some cool stuff anyway, and I would like to go back and see more.
The park is named Leakin for James Wilson Leakin, who upon his death left several city properties to the city so that money for those could be allocated for parks.
Things got set behind because of the Great Depression, and there were disagreements on whether there should be a smaller, inner city park, or a larger woodland type of property up the Gwynns Falls on the outskirts.
At the recommendation of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, they went with the outer area forest park and acquired the Crimea Estate. The park was named Leakin Park in honor of the benefactor.
"This valley ... is considered by all who view it as one of the very best bits of scenery near Baltimore" - Olmsted Brothers, Report and Recommendations on Park Extension for Baltimore, 1926. Interestingly, Leakin Park had a name before it had a place.
The trail continued to follow the Dead Run on its south side parallel with Franklintown Road until finally crossing to the north side and reaching now closed Wetheredsville Road.
The old road could not have been close to vehicular traffic all that long because it still had the double yellow line visible on it in many places.
We passed the Hutton Trail on the left and continue north parallel with the Gwynns Falls stream. The official trail crosses over and then heads south at the former settlement of Windsor Mill on Windsor Mill Road. Here, the trail turns right on Windsor Mill Road and then apparently follows the historic route of an early 1800s mill race.
The trail ahead to the south was quite nice. We were high above the Gwynns Falls, and there were often snowy views through the trees to the valley below. There were other side trails as well, foot paths I would love to have followed, but the snow would make it difficult, and we had a destination vicinity set for this one.
There were awesome giant trees on the route and lovely narrow shelves the trail went along. Some of the views as we continued were unobscured and quite beautiful. I noted that there was some sort of utility line work being done down along the Gwynns Falls as we walked.
The trail finally emerged from the woods onto Morris Road, turns left, and then follows Franklintown Road beneath the Hilton Parkway. We went up to the left and took a break under an overhang of the bridge in this area.
We crossed the road and then skirted Gwynns Falls before turning right into Leon Day Park.
There were some old brick ruins I checked out along the right side of the park here.
Ahead, the trail passed beneath the deck girder bridge that carries the former Western Maryland Railroad. The trail crossed a small bridge under the bridge and then continued down to a spot where there was a bunch of equipment parked. The trail turned hard right to stay along the Gwynns Falls and we passed several pipes and such laying along the trail.
Soon, we reached the construction area where a new bridge was being erected for Edmundson Avenue.
One of the decks appeared to be finished while the framework for the eastbound was only in place. Beyond that, portions of concrete arches with exposed rebar was all laying along the trail. We skirted this inventory tightly to the left, and then continued on the trail to the south. There were some lovely cascades below us to the right in this section.
The section of trail we were on in this section was just a former street, closed off and turned into a trail, just below Western Cemetery. It was complete with curbs and gutters.
We continued and reached Baltimore Street, with its bridge completed over the Gwynns Falls in 1932 to the right. Just beyond the viaduct of the Pennsylvania Railroad over the Gwynns Falls stood. This was a replacement bridge in 1914 for the original deck truss bridge that stood almost on the same site. There was an abandoned tower that looked nice on the far end of the bridge I could see.
In this area, we found disturbing pieces of old tomb stones discarded along the left side of the trail. There was even a grave that read "MOTHER MARY C. 1857-1928" right next to the trail. I had walked ahead of Jillane but had to go back when she wasn't catching up. It was because she had found this grave stuff.
We passed under the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge, skirted Baltimore Ave briefly, and then the trail turned right onto the Ellicott Driveway.
This section of roadway was devised in 1904 by the Olmsted Brothers to showcase the natural Contours of the land, built on top of a former Mill Race route and completed in 1917. Today, the road route is open only to pedestrian traffic as part of the trail. The road is named for the Ellicott family who built the raceway on which the route is superimposed.
The Ellicotts also built the original Baltimore and Frederick Turnpike which crossed over the Gwynns Falls at its narrowest point. It was intended to connect the area to the mills and wheat fields. When the National Road was built over the Appalachian Mountains (we had followed some of this road on our way into Cumberland a couple years back), the Frederick Turnpike became part of it.
As we walked, we could see some abandoned buildings up the slope from us.
We continued on the Ellicott Driveway to the south until we came to Frederick Avenue, a later incarnation of that old Frederick Turnpike which crossed the narrows on a short span below.
The trail turned and crossed the Gwynns Falls on the bridge, and then turned left on the other side, near an old school house and row houses.
The trail comes out to the intersection of Wilkens Ave and Hurley Ave and crosses the Gwynns Falls again on that bridge to the left. It then turns right and heads downstream along the tributary. It crosses over it again on a foot bridge, and within sight of it downstream was the deck girder former Western Maryland Railroad bridge.
Just ahead, we went uphill a bit and passed beneath giant stone piers that I assumed were another former railroad bed, but it turned out it was once a road bridge that carried Brunswick Street.
The trail went right by the south abutment to the Brunswick Street bridge, and then crossed over the former Western Maryland Railroad on a foot bridge.
The trail ramped down to the right on the other side and followed the stream. The next major point of interest was a sort of tunnel underpass of the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, part of the amazing Carrollton Viaduct.
It was built for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Work began on it in 1828, and it was completed in 1829. It is one of the oldest railroad bridges in the world still in service.
It was also considered to be the first masonry bridge built for a railroad in America.
The bridge was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, and at the time of signing, the wealthiest man in the thirteen colonies.
The archway used by the trail was designed as a carriage underpass at the time of construction.
Amazingly, the bridge was designed right from the start for double track width.
We continued from here downstream, and then crossed the Gwynns Falls again on another foot bridge. The trail then skirted the Carroll Park Golf Course on our left until we eventually came out on Washington Blvd.
We went left on the road for a few blocks, and then the path went through Carroll Park on the east side of it.
I think we turned right down Bush Street from this area, which is the route of the trail further into town.
We crossed Russell Street, and then continued straight across onto the next bit of paved trail.
We had been on this big before. We had walked through Carroll Park to the north a bit, and we had gone through this section. In fact, this was the section where we found the dead guy laying in the middle of the bridge years ago.
We crossed the first bridge over an inlet of the harbor, and then there was a closed section at the end due to construction. I recall we got across the bridge anyway and just headed out to Warner Street, followed by Stockholm Street to the right.
There was a lot of steam emanating out of the manholes along this stretch of road which was pretty cool looking. It kind of makes you want to assume a ninja pose on top of it.
We went until Rt 395, and then turned left on Sharp Street. Checkerspot Brewing Company was on the corner, so I ran in to see what kind of selection they had.
I ended up finding something called Strongman Ale which was something like 12% abv, so I took the chance and purchased a crowler of it.
We continued on Sharp Street to its end, and then a paved trail skirted Solo Gibbs Playground to the north.
We came to where there were hotels downtown, but we needed to book something. Calling a couple of them led to none being available. I don't recall which one we ended up at, but we had to use an app to sign up for the room online, and then went in to let them know we had already purchased the room and got in.
It was a relief to finally be in for the night, and interesting to be right in the very middle of Baltimore. There were a whole lot of people in the lobby looking to get rooms and we sort of were able to sneak our way in by doing the online thing.
It was good to get a good nights rest after the bit of fear that we weren't going to find a place.
DAY 2
This was the day that we'd push on in the direction I was originally planning for. We would have to push south through Baltimore and then get to the Patapsco River, and I went over the maps trying to concoct some weird thing I would normally put together for the night hikes, only for us to walk so it wouldn't be boring.
The first bit of trajectory was to get south to the Hanover Street Bridge over the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.
We left the hotel and started meandering with some nice views of the buildings.
We saw a nice clock tower to our right as we headed south. This was the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, originally the Emerson Tower, the tallest building in Baltimore Maryland when it was completed in 1911.
Built by Captain Isaac Emerson, inventor of a headache remedy known as Bromo-Seltzer.
Until 1936, a giant blue Seltzer bottle adorned the top of the tower.
Built by Captain Isaac Emerson, inventor of a headache remedy known as Bromo-Seltzer.
Until 1936, a giant blue Seltzer bottle adorned the top of the tower.
The still operating clock is the largest four dial gravity-driven non chiming clock in the world.
Today, and since 2008, the tower is used as studio spaces for visual and literary artists, as well as the Emerson/Maryland Glass Museum.
We continued south and passed through Wheel Park, developed in 1981, which has an old wheel once used to work the pulley system of the cable cars around the city.
Today, and since 2008, the tower is used as studio spaces for visual and literary artists, as well as the Emerson/Maryland Glass Museum.
We continued south and passed through Wheel Park, developed in 1981, which has an old wheel once used to work the pulley system of the cable cars around the city.
The giant wheel, or "sheave" was once underground as part of the pulley system of Baltimore's cable car network from 1891 to 1898. Before 1891, the trolleys were horse drawn, and after 1898 they switched to electric.
The 2,290 ft Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, also known as the Hanover Street Bridge, over the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River in Baltimore Maryland.
It replaced the original 1856 "Long Bridge" in 1916, and is characterized as a Beaux arts style reinforced cantilever with bascule lift center span. It is known for its beautiful arches and classic towers.
It replaced the original 1856 "Long Bridge" in 1916, and is characterized as a Beaux arts style reinforced cantilever with bascule lift center span. It is known for its beautiful arches and classic towers.
The bridge carries five Lanes of traffic and has two pedestrian walkways that provide beautiful views of the middle branch.
We opted to keep to the left side of the bridge as we crossed, and it provided us with some great bay views. We could see in the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the distance.
One of the things that struck me about the Baltimore area was how there were homeless people just about everywhere. It was cold out, and they were laying all along the sidewalks on Hanover Street, huddled up by the hot air coming from some of the ground vents. There would be tents set up just about anywhere.
As soon as we got across the bridge, there was a prominent hill to the right, and someone with a tent was on it, very obviously.
To the left of the bridge, there was a set of concrete steps that led down to the Gwynns Falls Trail again.
The steps were really slippery with ice, and at the bottom there was so much water that people had laid out pallets to be walked on over the wet areas.
There were really nice views of the bridge down there. We took a break under the bridge a bit, and then moved on along the Gwynns Falls Trail to the east.
We passed the Broening Boat Ramp and then continued along the waterfront, which took us past a hospital campus. The trail remained pretty nice until we got to a large parking lot before the Hanover Street underpass.
Here, the trail got to be a little more beat looking. There were some fishing piers, but people don't seem to go much further on it. We passed beneath Hanover Street.
As we approached the bridge for Potee Street, there were old lamp posts and the placed looked apocalyptic. The trail beneath the road was flooded out and closed.
The park area on the other side was no more. It was fenced in and the entire area was under construction. We had to make our way over the rocks beneath the bridge, and then up the other side parallel with Potee Street to a left on Reedbird Ave.
We followed this a bit, then a path to the right that cut a corner. We crossed over Cherryland Road and parralell with Seagull Ave we entered an apartment complex. A series of sidewalk paths passed through parallel with Bethune Road, so we basically just followed these through that area.
At the end of the development, there were a series of footpaths. One of them went south to cross over the very active 3 tracks of the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Jillane was a bit behind me as I descended to the tracks. A group of teenagers were approaching on the path from the other side. I was drinking my strong beer from out of the metal Strokesound bottle my buddy Jack had given me.
The kids all approached, and a taller black kid came forward from the group and said "Yo you gotta give it up". I looked at him with a smile and said "give up what?". "Yo whatever you GOT!" he asserted more forcefully. I started laughing hysterically at him and said "I don't got anything!"
Maybe in a different state I might have been afraid. I doubt I'd pull my wallet out or anything. I probably looked homeless in my beat green jacket and backpacking pack.
Maybe in a different state I might have been afraid. I doubt I'd pull my wallet out or anything. I probably looked homeless in my beat green jacket and backpacking pack.
But the group paused for a moment, then all started laughing as well as they continued off in the other direction. I waited on the tracks to make sure Jillane was there behind me, and they didn't even say a word to her.
We came out on Patapsco Ave, and across I had wanted to take Klunk Drive into the Southwest Area Park for the next leg.
Unfortunately, Klunk was completely shuttered by chain link fences with barbed wire. We had to instead go up to walk Baltimore Street. This ran parallel to the light rail line. We followed this and passed the Baltimore Highlands Station. Then, we turned to the right on Virginia Ave a few blocks to Annapolis Road where we turned left.
Unfortunately, Klunk was completely shuttered by chain link fences with barbed wire. We had to instead go up to walk Baltimore Street. This ran parallel to the light rail line. We followed this and passed the Baltimore Highlands Station. Then, we turned to the right on Virginia Ave a few blocks to Annapolis Road where we turned left.
At that corner was a 7 Eleven where I was able to run in and get us some drinks and snacks.
We headed down the road to the bridge that carries it over the Patapsco River, and a service road turns off to the right. This is where we turned to begin following the Patapsco River. I was really looking forward to tracing this river for miles.
Unfortunately, it was very wet. There were enormous puddles along the river which overflows regularly. We had to skirt the edges and Jillane was hating it. I could handle it fine, as it was only kind of a drag, but it was just too many puddles.
We continued and passed beneath Rt 295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and I cracked open my Strongman Ale. The views were quite nice through this section, and other than the little bit of mud, I really loved it.
Soon, we passed beneath Hammonds Ferry Road, and then the problem arose before the I-698/Baltimore Beltway Bridge that there was a tributary that flowed into the Patapsco between.
There was no way across it without getting soaked this far down. We would have to follow the stream to the right, upstream, and cross at the soonest opportunity.
Aerial images came in very handy here, and we made our way up to where that stream goes under 895. There, there was a pile of stones in the stream in an erosion deterrent formation that we were able to climb down to and cross somewhat easily.
On the other side, there was a bit of a berm that led us along the stream and immediately under Rt 695. It was nice and dry. Just a very pleasant walk.
Soon, we passed beneath Hammonds Ferry Road, and then the problem arose before the I-698/Baltimore Beltway Bridge that there was a tributary that flowed into the Patapsco between.
There was no way across it without getting soaked this far down. We would have to follow the stream to the right, upstream, and cross at the soonest opportunity.
Aerial images came in very handy here, and we made our way up to where that stream goes under 895. There, there was a pile of stones in the stream in an erosion deterrent formation that we were able to climb down to and cross somewhat easily.
On the other side, there was a bit of a berm that led us along the stream and immediately under Rt 695. It was nice and dry. Just a very pleasant walk.
Once we were to the other side of the highway, there was a path that gained elevation up to where I was planning, near Halethorpe. The road came out at a truck area, but we could pass right through, because there were signs along the trail, which was now following power lines, that we had entered Patapsco State Park. It looked like it was going to be easy from here on out. One of the trucks read "lucky dog" on the side and I figured we were.
We did have one more wet area to contend with, but overall this section wasn't nearly as bad. There were very nice views of the wide wetlands around the Patapsco River.
We were parallel with Rt 895 pretty much this entire time somewhat closely, but it felt kind of secluded. It was getting darker all of the time, but we were still doing well up until we came upon the unexpected Herbert Run.
This stream passed beneath Interstate 895 and joined the Patapsco River, but I figured there would be a bridge or at least some reasonable way across it. There was not. It threw a major wrench into the plans. I had wanted to get at least out to the Patapsco State Park main entrance, but this set behind.
There was a path following the Herbert Run to the right, under the interstate, and then upstream. At least we could attempt to follow that and maybe get to where we wanted to be.
Ambient light from commercial buildings mostly shone the way for us along the informal path heavily used by ATVs.
The path emerged on Hollins Ferry Road. It was the wrong direction from where I wanted to be, so I would need to figure out how to get over there. We walked down that road to the east a bit, and then turned left on Halethorpe Farms Road.
Here, the former Baltimore and Ohio Railraod crossed over the road on a bridge. An industrial spur led up to the main line on the far side of the underpass. I think Jillane went up that way. I planned to skirt the tracks to the west, and then cut left on the siding to the Guinness Open Gate Brewery to finish the trip and get a ride back.
Here, the former Baltimore and Ohio Railraod crossed over the road on a bridge. An industrial spur led up to the main line on the far side of the underpass. I think Jillane went up that way. I planned to skirt the tracks to the west, and then cut left on the siding to the Guinness Open Gate Brewery to finish the trip and get a ride back.
I went up the steps and had a look inside, and it was pretty cool. It's a shame that this tower, wasn't preserved in some way, but they probably have dozens of them on this system in similar condition.
There was no one inside, and I quickly had a look out the windows to survey the land and track line the way workers would have done in the past.
Jillane called me while I was up there wondering what I was doing. I told her to follow that spur up to the main line and I would meet her just up ahead.
We walked to the right side of the tracks for a bit, crossed over the Herbert Run, and then crossed over another active southbound line.
Around this time, we could se the lights of a train coming so we got as far off to the side of the right of way as we could, sat down, and watched it pass by.
This was a four track line, so I figured more of them would probably be coming by at any time.
Once we were across the other active line, we crossed the four tracks and made our way onto the siding that went over toward the Guinness place. I actually wouldn't have minded having dinner there, but Jillane wasn't into it.
Truth be told, I'm not a big Guinness fan except the barrel aged variety I've only ever had at one location at Lake Iliff in New Jersey.
Anyway, we headed through the parking lot to where there was a good view of the building and stopped. I got on my Uber app and tried to find a ride back to where we started.
There are a lot of hotels just to the south of this point across the Patapsco River, and that line that we had crossed leads close to them. If we had only climbed down to that and gone a little over a mile, we could have continued on the next day. Part of me wishes we had tried it, but I wasn't sure how much room there would be on the rail bridge over the river, and that was the only way to connect to that spot.
Rather than do that, I figured we could always come back and then hike up the river from where we left off more easily than trying to continue this time. Unfortunately, at this writing we haven't been back.
Anyway, we headed through the parking lot to where there was a good view of the building and stopped. I got on my Uber app and tried to find a ride back to where we started.
Rather than do that, I figured we could always come back and then hike up the river from where we left off more easily than trying to continue this time. Unfortunately, at this writing we haven't been back.
Patapsco State Park has trails along it that stretch well over twenty miles more from where we left off with outstanding scenery. I really want to do it one of these days, but it would have to wait.
We stayed at another hotel that night, and then headed home the next day.
If I don't get to it sooner, I'll make these trails part of my side trip stuff to go along with the 911 Trail as I get closer to there.
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