Wolf Rock and Chimney Rock Trail

There is something about sleeping in cold temperatures (i.e. 35 F) and being in a warm sleeping bag. It impacts your sleep in a positive way. I slept for 12 hours and woke around 8:00 am. I woke to blue skies and the sun lighting up the yellow leaves all around me. I took a short walk to the restrooms and was pleasantly surprised that they were heated.

I took my time making my aero press French Roast coffee followed by blueberry pancakes. The air was warming by the minute as I ate and listened to the trees crackling. It was my sister’s birthday so I gave her a call and we chatted for a while.

Catoctin Mountain: Owens Creek Campground

I did some organization around the site and was surprised that I had 5G cell service. That rarely happens in a campground. It makes sense though, Camp David is right up the hill. I was able to setup a hotspot with my cell and do some things online. I read about the area and planned my hike.

I realized it was after 2:00 pm and I thought I better get moving before I run out of time for my hike. I decided to do the AllTrails Wolf Rock and Chimney Rock Trail at Catoctin Mountain. This seemed to have the best opportunity for photographs. AllTrails says it is a 6.4 mile hike.

I hadn’t gone very far on the trail and I noticed some rocks with an overlook. I climbed up on a rock to get some photos and kept meeting people. I learned that most of them worked for the government and were at various points in their careers or retired. The sun light was a little to direct for good photos. I would return to this spot on the way back.

Continuing on, the trail leads downhill for some distance and I knew I’d have to hike back up on the way back. I met Jay and Sue from Chambersburg, PA. Jay had a bright orange Illinois University tee-shirt on. I asked him if he went to school there and he said yes. We talked a little bit about football. We talked about the Catoctin Mountain park and agreed that it is very special.

I came to Wolf Rock on my left in the middle of the woods. The rock was formed around 500 million years ago at the sea bottom. The rock was exposed 200 million years ago when the Appalachian range was formed. The ridges are made of Quartzite. See the plaque image “Geology at Wolf Rock” below.

The rock nicely runs down to the ground making access very easy. I hiked across the ridge almost to the end. There was a 4+ foot gap I had to jump across and I didn’t want to take a chance and get hurt or worse. I looked down and thought, there was a time when I would have jumped this gap. There’s a note on the plaque, “Be careful if you climb to the top of Wolf Rock. The surface is split by deep crevasses.”

Walking from Wolf Rock, the sun was hitting the trees at just the right angle to produce very vibrant fall colors.

The trail remains fairly flat until just before Chimney Rock where there is a nice climb to the overlook. When I got to Chimney Rock, there were two woman standing on the furthest point eating trail mix. They were enthusiastic and after saying hello, asked if I wanted some trail mix. I told them that would be nice. I offered to take a photo of them, which I did.

When I got close to them, I realized there was a pretty wide gap that I’d need to jump across to get to the rock they were on. They commented that there were two vultures sitting in the tree above. I looked up at the two vultures and said to them that they are hoping I don’t make it across the gap.

I took off my hat, backpack and camera and set it to the side. It took me a minute to dig deep and find some courage to make the leap. Heather, the taller woman had come down to grab me incase I didn’t make it across. Finding my self on the other side, I had to climb up on to the rock. Emily told me where to place my feet to get up. I told them that I had rock climbed at one time but that something happened to my psyche as I was getting older.

Once on the rock, the views were spectacular. We took a few selfies together and chatted a little bit. They are traveling nurses and talked about their experiences traveling. Emily practiced rock climbing indoors somewhere nearby. They both seemed very comfortable climbing down off the rock and jumping to the other side. I took a few more photos and then gingerly made my way off the rock. I was about to take a running leap and another woman behind them told me it is better to go to the edge and just jump. I guess there is less chance of tripping.

I headed back and realized I had left my hat back on the rock. I returned to fetch it adding some more distance to my hike. On the way back, I met a FedEx driver that took the day to hike the same trail. I told him I was headed back to get my hat. He told me he had seen it and laid it on top of one of the large rocks. When I finally got back to Chimney Rock, I couldn’t find the hat and asked another guy if he happened to see it. He told me, he too had move the hat and where it was. Hat back in my possession, I headed home. I was hoping to get back to the car before dark.

About half way back, the trail takes a turn downhill requiring switchback much of the way. Two older guys coming up the hill asked me how much further they had to the top. They wanted to get to Chimney Rock and back before dark. I told them I didn’t think that was possible, but they continued on. About ten minutes later, I could see them coming back down the hill. I had made it to the bottom, but now had a steep hike back up to where my car was parked.

I reached the original overlook, and as expected the light was more spectacular. I stopped and watched for about 10 minutes as the color changed. I headed back to the car and I was the last to leave the forest.

Driving back, I pulled over to check the trunk. A dash light indicated the trunk was open. I had pulled into an entry way with signs that read, “Do not enter. US Government Restricted Area.” I realized this was the entrance to Camp David. A black vehicle pulled in behind me and down the road.

On the way back to the campsite, the sun became even more brilliant, hitting the trees at The Caboose Farm perfectly.

The campground has the unique distinction of providing precut oak firewood. I agreed with a guy that said to me, he wished all campgrounds did this. We both would be willing to pay a little extra for that.

I caught the tail end of the light show back at the campground. I made a fire and started dinner. It was getting close to 7 pm when I started dinner. The temperature was going below 30 F this night, so I made an extra large fire and stayed warm before turning in around 11:30.