On Saturday October 14th I joined a group of hikers from the Maryland Outdoor Club and the Catholic Alumni Club (CAC) for a four mile hike up Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf is owned and managed by the Stronghold Corp. in Dickerson, Md. The main attractions of the mountain are its close proximity to DC, the easy accessibility of the summit and the outstanding VIEWS. Geologically the mountain is known as a monadnock, a mountain that remains after the erosion of the surrounding land. At an elevation of 1282 feet Sugarloaf stands at an elevation of 800 feet above the surrounding farmland.


The hike was led by Bob Cianflone, who is also a kayaker and member of Chesapeake Paddlers Association where he is known for his very humorous and sometimes sarcastic comments to the CPA listserve. Bob really loves rules, regulations and most of all liability waivers.

After dispensing with the waivers, Bob gave the group a short history of the mountain and a detailed description of the various types of snakes one might find on the hike as well as descriptions of the types of spiders which reside in the port-a-potties. Black widows seemed to predominate in the port-a-potties while copperheads seemed to be the most prevalent snake in the mountains. Fortunately we didn't see any snakes ... or lions or tigers or bears. But we did enjoy commanding views of the Maryland countryside.

We had the first frost of the season that night but the sun came out in time for the hike and we enjoyed perfect fall weather. Crisp and cool. It was a perfect day for a hike.

Unfortunately I only have a dozen or so photos from the day. The memory card on my Olympus was damaged the previous weekend during a kayaking to Chincoteague, Va. But here are a few photos ... Sugarloaf Slideshow .

-Susanita