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| Maryland Countryside as seen through the trees from Sugarloaf Mtn |
I took a short trip out to Sugarloaf
Mountain, Maryland in order to escape the craziness that is Baltimore and
Washington D.C. This area is so foreign compared to the terrain I am used to in
the west that I decided I would record it in detail both in a journal and in
pictures so that when I’m way out in the desert, I can remember what the
Eastern hard wood forests are like. I drove West on I-70 almost to Frederick
where I headed south on MD HWY 75 to Clarksburg and then south on MD 355 and MD
109 to the tiny community of Comus and Sugarloaf Mountain. I wanted to see as
much of the mountain as I could in the short time I had I would link several of the trails together and make a pretty
good circuit that covered the whole mountain. Sugarloaf Mountain has been
designated a Natural Landmark as it possesses exceptional value in illustrating
the Natural History of the United States. Sugarloaf Mountain is a “Monadnock”
which is a solitary mountain that is not attached to any other mountains for
miles. It is a geologic remnant of a much larger range that used to exist there
and after millions of years of erosion, only Sugarloaf Mountain remains. A
local area Geologist – Cynthia Shauer Langstaff states that the quartzite
cliffs of the mountain are particularly beautiful at sunset or after a fresh
dusting of snow. Sugarloaf is 1,282 feet tall and it rises up 800 feet above
the surrounding terrain. The Mountain is privately owned by Stronghold Inc.
which is a non-profit that was founded by Gordon Strong in 1946. The 3,330 acre
park is open year round from dusk to dawn….but now, on to the hike. Sugarloaf
got its name because early settlers believed it resembled the kinds of
sugarloaves that were typical in that day. A Swiss explorer made the first
known sketch of the Mountain in 1707 and General Braddock of the British Empire
and his aide, a young George Washington, marched past the mountain on his way
to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) where he and his forces would be shattered in an
ambush. In order to preserve the mountain for future generations to enjoy,
Gordon and Louise Strong bought up tracts of land and created a trust so that
this natural beauty would be available to all. I followed the winding narrow
road up the mountain from the park entrance to the EAST VIEW trailhead and
parked. This is a very pleasant place with picnic tables from which you have
fine views out onto the Maryland countryside through the trees. I walked up the
“Sunrise” (Orange) Trail which was marked with occasional orange paint blazes
on the trees. It was hard to follow in a few places and quite steep. This
short, rocky trail was by far the steepest trail I would follow this day and
the footing was challenging at times. A vicious storm had dumped tremendous
amounts of rain on this area the day previous and the evidence of coursing
water and its resultant debris was everywhere. A few leaves were starting to
turn yellow, gold and deep red. Must be beautiful here in the fall. Half way up
the Sunrise trail there is a big round rock where you can see out through the
trees onto the surrounding landscape. I saw no-one along this stretch and in
short order came to the junction with the “Monadnock” (Red) Trail. I turned
right and North on this trail and descended down through the forest on the back
side of the Mountain to the junction with the “NorthernPeaks” (Blue) Trail.
There was a very thick and solitary old oak tree near this trail junction on
the north side of the Red trail. There were small areas on the Red trail where patches
of ferns nearly carpeted the forest floor. The terrain slopes up through the
boulders and oak south to the summit from here. Most quiet and peaceful part of
the mountain was on the Red trail. Very silent in the woods save for an
occasional acorn or other kind of nut loudly falling to the ground. There was a
large fallen log where a squirrel was working on some of the nuts he had
gathered in the forest and he took off when I approached. The piles of husked
nuts were evidence that he had been gorging for some time in that spot. There
were thick, hairy, ropey black vines wrapping up and around some tree trunks
from the base of the tree nearly to the top. Some of these vines were the size
of a fire hose in diameter. When I came to the junction with the Blue trail, I
headed left and south towards the WEST VIEW trailhead. The Blue trail along
this stretch is nice, wide, level and well established. It is obviously heavily
used and unfortunately I noticed the first piece of litter here. An old plastic
water bottle. Why are people so thoughtless sometimes? Would it be so hard to
take that empty bottle back out to the trailhead and put it in the garbage? I
just don’t get it. There were good views along the Blue trail of the West cliff
escarpment and boulder piles below the summit. There were boulders everywhere
all covered with splotches of light green lichens. Fuzzy green lumps or humps
of moss all over on the ground. Long, slender, tall old oak trees reaching
skyward up from the rock / moss garden for the sun. Old, tortured piles of rock
stacked precariously like a “Jenga” game, make up the foundation for the “Split
Rock” along this stretch. A breeze stirred up while I was exploring the
peaceful, quiet, cool woods that fall away to the west below the Split Rock.
Finally got to the WEST VIEW trailhead and then I headed up the “A.M. Thomas”
(Green) Trail. There is an old stone fort looking – lookout platform near the
WEST VIEW trailhead. It is said that from near this spot on September 5th
and 6th in 1862, that Union Army Signalmen observed the Army of
Northern Virginia crossing the Potomac beginning their invasion of Maryland.
Messages were sent by the Union Signalmen to Point of Rocks, Harpers Ferry and
Darnestown and then sent on to Washington by holding flags in various positions
to represent words or letters. An interpretive sign at the bottom of the
mountain tells an interesting story about how the Rebel forces captured the
Union Signalmen and that JEB Stuart himself rode up and said to the prisoners
“Gentlemen, I am very glad to see you”. I thought about this story as I stood
atop the rock fort. Sugarloaf sure was a good place for a lookout. The Green
trail is very interesting as it goes direct for the summit through the band of
ancient crumbling quartzite cliffs via a substantial amount of painstakingly
constructed stone stairs. The steps were built by a Mr. Thomas – the parks
first Superintendant. All of these trails are marked with brown pointed posts
with different color blazes on them Green, Blue, Red, Orange, White and Yellow.
When I reached the summit I sat down on a rock in the tree / leaf filtered
sunlight and took down the following notes: “Sitting on top of Sugarloaf
Mountain in Maryland and it is a bright and sunny day. I’m alone up here but I
can hear a train chugging some where down below with an occasional distant
whistle blast. Very pretty and rocky little Mountain. Most of the hike was
solitary – no one but me. Noisy on top though. Crickets and a few jet planes
and a few people jabbering about this and that from time to time. There were
half a dozen large birds of some kind circling and riding the breeze. There
were a few pines but not many. There were acorns everywhere on the ground. You
almost need a helmet here in the fall as various nuts are falling from the
trees. They fall from way up high ripping through leaves and make a “Thud”
noise if they hit dirt; A “Crack” noise if they hit rock and a loud hollow
“Knock” noise if they hit a log. I even heard one do all three – Knock, Crack,
Thud! I imagine if one hit your head you would have a nice knot to show for it.
A breeze has stirred up and I can hear it rushing through the trees. Thinking
about the Indians who must have loved this place hundreds of years before the
white man came. They are all gone now………merely ghosts in the woods. There is a
big smoke stack / power plant on the edge of the Potomac. Must be Virginia
beyond that. Rocky, sunny summit area falls away in jumbled cliffs and piled
rocks to the south and west. Fantastic views of the Maryland Countryside
through the trees. Musty, moist smell of forest decay in the woods and piled
brown old leaves. Some hollowed trees and clefts in rocks where no doubt
varmints make their homes. I found one brass USGS triangulation disk that read
“Sugarloaf” on it even though it was much chiseled and vandalized. On the
highest point of rock “FF” is chiseled. Black, Brown, Yellow, and Green acorns
scattered everywhere. This is a great escape from the madness of Baltimore and
DC, not very far either. Love this place, glad I found it.” There were
fallen logs in areas of the mountain, some of them fairly covered with bright
green moss. Approximately ¼ Million people visit the park each year and the
park relies on donations to keep the trails and facilities maintained. To this
end a local author – Melanie Choukas-Bradley, has written two books on
Sugarloaf Mountain. If you donate $50.00 you will get a copy of her book “Sugarloaf:
The Mountains History, Geology and Natural Lore”. If you donate $200.00 you
will get a copy of “An Illustrated Guide to Eastern Woodland Wildflowers and
Trees – 350 plants observed at Sugarloaf Mountain. Both books are
illustrated by Tina Thieme Brown and are published by the University of
Virginia Press. Donate to help out the worthy cause if you can. Sugarloaf
Mountain is a treasure. There are 500 species of plants here with the forest
primarily made up of Red and White Oak, Black Gum, Black Birch, Tulip Poplar
and Eastern Hemlock. You may see White Tail Deer, Squirrels, Chipmunks, Red
Fox, Raccoon, Great Horned Owls, Woodpecker, Wild Turkey and Hawks. There are
also Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperheads. It is such a great thing that this
mountain, though privately owned, is open to the public. Respect the rules and
don’t litter so it will remain open. Visitors must be out of the park by
sunset. No picking plants, littering, removing rocks, fires, camping or
disturbance of wildlife. Please stay on established trails, keep dogs on
leashes at all times and pick up after your dogs. For more information contact
Stronghold Inc.7901 Comus Road,Dickerson,MD,20842. You can call them at (301)
874-2024.
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| Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland as seen from the east. |
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