Hidden Trails: Exploring Beyond the Pathways

With more than 100 miles of paved pathways weaving through our town, there's lots of territory to explore on foot in Columbia. There's so much that we almost forgot about some of the great trails just behind our back yard that we used to explore—way back when we first moved here, before the bicycle pathways were even installed.

That was 25 years ago! I remember exploring these trails—many of which were probably first forged by horses from the nearby Columbia Horse Center. I even remember a pack of beagles running past us on a fox hunt (!), of all things. The area was especially great for bird-watching. We were thrilled to find Indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, and many spring warblers on our walks here.

Recently, I've taken to venturing off onto some of these old trails and was very pleasantly surprised to find that very little had changed. Who is still using these trails, I wonder? Do they still exist because the deer use them? I do recall a pack of Maryland Mountain Club folks charging through a few months ago. But I rarely see other hikers. I mostly see fishermen standing in the middle of the river, catching trout.

Anyhow, it's wonderful to walk along the Patuxent River and feel like we're far, far away from civilization.

On one of our future walks, Richard and I must remember to take a trash bag along. There is actually relatively little litter, but a few remnants here and there. We won't be able to do much with the abandoned washing machine, however. That thing was there when we first explored here all those years ago. Maybe little animals are using it for shelter.