Waterfall for summer's last blast - get out and enjoy September!

This is your friendly reminder that this heat you're feeling in the Mid-Atlantic states right now, well, it's not going to last. Remember that September offer's summer's last blast of what feels unbearable but that which we long for during many of the colder months of the year.

Fun in the falls at Rickett's Glen, Pennsylvania

If you live in Pennsylvania, consider yourself a lucky so-and-so, because you have access to more recreational falls just beyond your front door than many would-be outdoors-people.

Now, wake me up when September ends. I'm patiently awaiting those cool and sunny days of October.  

Best (Short) Kid-friendly Shenandoah National Park Hikes

These are three of my favorite short hikes in Shenandoah National Park. Hiking SNP is always a good time. And all these SNP hikes are all pretty epic in their own way - and two of them will take you along the mighty Appalachian Trail and its white blazes, at least for a bit.

These hikes are great for kids, but not all kids. If your are klutzes, stay away from Bearfence. But they should be fine with Stony Man and Buzzard Rock Overlook.

Sunset as Shenandoah National Park - No better time to hike SNP!

Stony Man

A busy trail due to its proximity to Washington, D.C. and the striking rock feature that give this hike its name, Stony Man has been my favorite Shenandoah National Park hike ever since I was a kid. There are a couple of ways to hike this trail. You can do a quick out and back from the Little Stony Man parking area on Skyline Drive. On this trail you will reach Little Stony Man rock outcrop first – and many stop here. But a little farther on you will reach the highest point on the trail at the Stony Man summit. If you want a longer hike, make a loop via the Stony Man Horse Trail and Passamaquoddy Trail. The longer loop hike is epic and still do-able for novice hikers, so long as they have packed plenty of food and water for an outing of several hours with the possibility of weather changes and winds.

Bearfence Mountain

This is my go-to hike due to its amazing rocky ridgeline and above-treeline 360-degree views. Start the hike on Skyline Drive at the Bearfence Mountain parking lot. The first part of the trail is steep, but brief. Then, most of the hike is going up and down several rock outcrops that make up the rock “fence” that the mountain is named for. At the end of the rock fence, continue onward and the trail loops back around to the parking lot after connecting with the Appalachian Trail. This is a great winter hike because about half of the two-mile stretch of it is above treeline. There is also an amazing viewpoint that you will want to spend a bit of time at. It is a great place for a little picnic, sun worship, or mediation. Be careful taking selfies here as the fall from the ridgeline would likely not be a survivable one.

Buzzard Rock Overlook

This hidden gem of a hike is off route 340 east of the town of Grottoes that takes you to an incredible view with just the right amount of effort. There is a side entrance to Shenandoah National Park at the end of Horsehead Road. Here you will find the Paine Run Trailhead. The Buzzard Rock Overlook Hike. is a two-mile out-and-back with about a half a mile of a 350-foot incline, just enough to get your heartrate up. You can find the trail on the 2014 PATC Map 11.

Improve Hiking Endurance with this Medicine Ball Core Exercise

Exercising with a medicine ball can make you feel super strength in your core. For hiking, a strong core is essential.  This video shows how to do the medicine ball core exercise the wood chopper.

Medicine ball core exercise the wood chopper is one of the best if you really want to feel the burn. It also has aerobic qualities, which is good for the heart. 

Keep your core tight when you do this exercise for best abdominal tightening results. Shop for your medicine ball here. 

Orlando Travel: Come along on a day trip to Cocoa Beach

 We all wish we could vacation more. But unless you are independently wealthy, work calls. And sometimes you don't even get a weekend free from responsibility. Sometimes all you get is a day.

Days like this call for a road trip. YouTuber Brianopolis shows how relaxing a simple day trip to the beach can be, even if there is little time to splash around. And if you don't have time for a road trip, live vicariously through Brianopolis by watching his day-in-the-life below, in Orlando Travel.

Hope you enjoy!

Honest High Mileage Subaru Crosstrek Review

Here is my honest review of my high mileage Subaru Crosstrek. After putting 180,000 miles onto my 2017 Subaru Crosstrek in just five years, I guess you could say I am qualified to make a truly honest and informed review of this incredible little car.

I purchased my Subaru Crosstrek in July 2018 when my 10-year-old Subaru Outback finally conked out as it was pushing 300,000 miles. It probably could have run longer if I had been the original owner and been able to take care of it since its very first mile. Knowing this, I made sure to trea my 2017 Subaru Crosstrek with kid gloves from the beginning.

2017 Subaru Crosstrek in Hyper Blue

Well, that is not exactly true. To be honest, from day one I used my Subaru Crosstrek as an Uber and to give passengers tours of a mountain resort near my home. Lots of hill driving and frequent stop-and-goes was the norm from the get-go. But I made sure I kept up with the Subaru Crosstrek maintenance schedule, and that kept the car in tip-top form.

Three years into ownership I had put on nearly 100,000 miles. Then the pandemic hit. Most people stayed home during the first six months of the pandemic. But three months in, I lost my job and my home. So I decided to set out on a cross-country adventure. Here we are, two years and 80K miles later, and I am happy to say my Subie is still running strong.

Subaru Crosstrek adventure in Valley of the Gods Utah

My adventure took me to all corners of the United States. I set out from Virginia and darted across the middle states to Colorado, then up to Montana, across the Continental Divide, and over to Washington State. I toured around Olympic National Park, and then I took the coast south through Oregon and into Northern California.

I slept in my car the entire way. Yes, a humongous, 6 foot 1 inch, 400-pound man slept in the driver's seat of his compact mini SUV the entire way.

I slept among the Redwoods and along the Pacific Coast Highway, waking in the middle of the night to crashing Pacific waves that so loud they felt like they would swallow me up. I slept in a misty parking lot overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. And I slept in the desert mountains of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Subaru Crosstrek camping Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains

The best part of the journey in my trusty Hyper Blue Subaru was when I experienced nightfall in the darkest place in the country - just north of the Grand Canyon - and I awoke to a dazzling display of the Milky Way emblazoned across the sky. Then I turned south and slept on a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande River along the US-Mexico border. I even slept along the sandy beaches of Florida and along the rocky coast of Maine.

Now that I'm getting settled once again, I have had my Subaru looked at by the dealer, and have been catching up on maintenance. By keeping the car maintained I have avoided major expenses that I might have incurred otherwise. It needs a bit of service at the moment. But overall, my Subaru Crosstrek is still running strong and I plan to keep relying on it as I plan my adventures for many years to come.

Best Hikes in Philadelphia Fairmount Park Wissahickon Gorge

These are the best hikes in Philadelphia Fairmount Park Wissahickon Gorge. Philadelphia is home to some truly spectacular hiking. In fact, some say the city's public transportation links and impressive scenery make Philadelphia one of the most hiking friendly cities in the country!

Wissahickon Gorge Trails

Wait, what? There's a gorge in Philadelphia? That's right! Wissahickon Creek, a tributary of the Schyulkill River, cuts through the pristine preserved landscape of northwest Philadelphia from Chestnut Hill to Roxborough. The best time to hike here is early in the day. Enter the silent gorge on a misty morning and leave the city sounds behind.

There are three primary trails that run the entire length of the Wissahickon Gorge. The Orange Trail and the White Trail are on the north and east side of the gorge while the Yellow Trail snakes along the remarkable land feature's south and west side. 

The Orange Trail

The Orange Trail is the most rugged trail through the Wissahickon Gorge. It is a 7.5-mile mostly single-track trail that runs low along the creek. It is used to access fishing points and swimming holes. It is a stony route with complicated root systems that make navigation a bit more strenuous. There is some interesting history to be discovered along here, including a unique caged pedestrian bridge and a spot where the first baptism in Philadelphia took place. 

Statue of Lenni-Lenapi leader at Council Rock, White Trail 

The White Trail

This trail is about 4.5-miles from start to finish and it takes the high route along the gorge. The views from here are spectacular, particularly in the winter months when the leaves have fallen leaving the bones of this impressive land form bare. Along this route you will find several unique features, such as statues, historic points, lush landscapes, and exposed old-city infrastructure.

The Yellow Trail

This trail is a particular favorite of many as it passes by the old Valley Green Inn, a spot where you can stop and have some ice cream or even tuck in for a delicious meal mid-hike. It also boasts one of the most impressive viewpoints of the gorge, and passes through some pretty incredible historic locations. One such location is the home of a hermit and long defunct doomsday cult.

These best hikes in Philadelphia Fairmount Park Wissahickon Gorge are sure to please any hiker, from avid hikers to novices alike. In fact, because there are so many different access points along these trails they can be broken down into smaller hikes ideal for young families.

Make sure you leave a comment if you find this blog helpful!

Best Hikes in the Baltimore-Washington Area

These are the best difficult-rated hikes in the Baltimore-Washington area. For the best hiking you cannot beat the northern Blue Ridge Mountains in the United States Mid-Atlantic area. The hikes close to Baltimore and Washington are found in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

1. I'll start with the absolute best hike: Old Rag Mountain. This hike is in Shenandoah National Park and is just over an hour's drive from the nation's capitol. In fact, it is super close to Dulles Airport, which makes it a convenient hike if you want to add on a day to your business trip to DC.

Old Rag Mountain is a prominent peak in the central section of Shenandoah National Park. Head west from the city on Interstate 66, then follow signs for Route 211 West toward Luray. The trailhead is just south of Sperryville, a great little town with the incredible Copper Fox whiskey distillery and an innovative brewery called Pen Druid.

View from Old Rag Mountain

The unique feature of Old Rag is its bald summit. This is a major rarity among Mid-Atlantic hikes, which have wonderful overlooks but do not often feature 360-degree views like Old Rag Mountain. It's an eight-mile loop hike with significant elevation change, and it gets super crowded, so arrive early and be ready to do some scrambling as you make your way to the top.

2. Sugarloaf Mountain in the Maryland Piedmont is another of the region's best hikes. Sugarloaf is a monadnock type of mountain, meaning it is a stand-alone mountain, not linked to other mountains in a range. Still, this monadnock, with two prominent summits, feels like a small range in itself.

This means the views from this hike are pretty stunning as you make your way up to experience the incredible pastoral views. Do the five-mile loop and enjoy both the north and south summits and experience plenty of elevation change.

View from Sugarloaf Mountain

3. Big Schloss and Tibbett Knob are actually two separate out-and-back summit hikes that each start at the same point - Wolf Gap Campground. While either of the summits is sufficiently worth the two-hour drive from the DC-area, doing them both in the same day or split among two days will ensure you are not left with any degree of FOMO. 

Big Schloss is a great warm-up, as it is two miles out and two mile back, with only the first mile of the hike featuring a steep ascent. The views from this one are incredible. The rock formation itself is fun to climb on, and it is multi-tiered, which means you may be able to find yourself a private nook where you can lay out and catch some rays or just enjoy a quiet picnic lunch with a view.

Tibbett Knob is significantly more difficult that Big Schloss, though it is only about a mile longer. This is because the trail is a much more intense grade that only gets more strenuous as you reach the top. In fact, most people are crawling for the last portion as the trail gets incredibly steep and boulder strewn.

4. Catoctin Mountain in Maryland is a great place to hike if you want to experience multiple views. You can create your own loop among as many as five great summits - and there is even an incredible waterfall hike where you can cool off at the end. 

Cat Rock, Hog Rock, and Wolf Rock are among the best overlooks. With lots of ups and downs, this hike has plenty of elevation change. Then cool off at the base of Cunningham Falls before heading home.

5. South Mountain is just north of the Mason-Dixon line in South Central Pennsylvania, and it is home to several shorter hikes that can be done in succession to make for a great day or weekend getaway. Chimney Rock, Pole Steeple, and Sunset Rocks are three of the major hikes you will find here.

While South Mountain is the smallest of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range, it is no less beautiful. These rolling hills rise up out of a rural pastoral landscape that makes hikers feel they are experiencing a simpler time. 

Enjoy these best difficult-rated hikes in the Baltimore-Washington area. The northern Blue Ridge Mountains in the United States Mid-Atlantic area have unique features you will find nowhere else but here.