Billy Goat Trail A - C&O National Historical Park

So, for the last few weeks I have been thinking and having a lot of dreams about jogging. I've never jogged in my life. My husband says they are not dreams but nightmares because he knows that the words jog and run fall under "exercise" and that word is not in my vocabulary. Last week some friends decided to go hiking and invited me to go along. I thought long and hard about it before agreeing to go. They promised that the trail we were going on was going to be easy and short and they were certain I would survive. I went, I survived and I could actually move the next day, so when they mentioned the Billy Goat Trail for this week, I was like, "Forget jogging, hiking is my new thing. Bring it on!".

Then she sent out the confirmation email with this attached http://www.nps.gov/choh/upload/Are-you-prepared-for-Billy-Goat-Trail-A-edit.pdf , talking about escape routes if we couldn't handle the 5 mile, 3-4 hour hike! I immediately went into panic mode. Did I seriously think that because I survived a little hike in the woods last week that I could handle this monster? I tried to back out but my friends insisted I could do it and they would be there to help me. So I prepared myself mentally, dressed in my brightest orange shirt (so that if by chance I fell off a cliff somewhere, the helicopters could spot me quickly) and headed off to meet the ladies.

After a short walk on the towpath and a quick pep talk, we reached the starting point of the trail and it immediately turned to a rocky, root laden path. My first thought was that my daughter would love this! She always finds the rocks in every park to climb on and this was an entire path of rocks! The rocks and hills got progressively bigger and the views became more and more breathtaking.

 
 

After hiking for quite a while, we came to the dreaded 40 foot rock climb. Turns out that all that anxiety I had about it was for nothing because it was actually pretty easy for me to climb. (The fact that I am tall didn't hurt). We stopped halfway up to take a picture and that was a little scary getting back up and balanced to finish the climb.




Once we got to the other side of that climb, the hike started to get progressively easier. Parts of the trail went from rocks and roots to dirt and grass. We found a beautiful "beach" spot by the river where we sat for a spell, ate snacks and chatted for a while before getting back on the trail. Because we went during the week, it was absolutely peaceful with just the sounds of nature.

 
 

As we started to hike again, scenic spots became more lush, and wildlife started to pop up all over the place. Once you finish the trail, you have the option to take the towpath back to your starting point, leave through Old Anglers Inn, or continue on to Billy Goat Trails B and C. The view on the towpath is also beautiful but the kids may find it boring because it's a flat path with not much to do except walk. This part did me in. I survived the rocks fine but my sciatica kicked in as soon as I hit that towpath! Some people park one car at the Old Anglers Inn on MacArthur Blvd and park another at the park entrance, which I have to say will be the option I choose the next time.

 Keep your eyes open! Don't kick leaves or turn over fallen trees or rocks. Don't stick your hands in any place dark. We came across two Copperhead snakes on our hike.  The first one was clearly visible, down in a hole that was filled with water. The other I didn't notice until I was looking through the pictures I took and was shocked to see that the snake was in plain sight but we were all so focused on a nearby frog that we didn't notice the snake right there about to prance on the frog! Can you spot the snake in the picture? Needless to say, as excited as I was about this trail, my future hikes will keep me to nice open trails until snakes go into hibernation again.  

Things to note:
Entrance to the park is $5 but you can get an annual pass for $20
Trails are less crowded during the week
Wear good hiking shoes
Stay on the trail (look for blue paint on trees and rocks)
Hike with a buddy
I don't suggest kids under 10 try this hike and even at 10, they should be fairly athletic.
Bring LOTS of water and a snack for energy

If you like hiking, I highly recommend the Billy Goat Trail A. Beautiful scenery combined with a challenging hike and climb. Looking forward to doing it again with the family......when it gets cold.

http://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/upload/greatfallstraildescriptions.pdf