TR: Clifford Hollow Loop, Frederick, MD

In keeping with M.R.HYKER's tradition, five of us did this nine mile hike on New Year's Day.  The weather really cooperated, cold, but nice and clear and sunny.  The kind of day that's real comfortable walking in the woods, but you don't linger too long in any one place.  This loop starts in Gambrill State Park at the southern terminus of the Catoctin Trail.  In my opinion this four mile section is the most scenic part of the Catoctin Trail, with steep hills, open hardwood forests, and the pretty brook with lots of ripples and miniature waterfalls.  Several crossings but everyone stayed dry.  Turning west off the Catoctin, the loop follows a network of mountain biking trails.  Pay attention to the trail notes as there are several places to get off course, but in general staying to the left keeps you on track.  Pass two abandoned lawn mowers and a communication tower complex, and then head due south along a power line cut toward a second tower complex.  We took a lunch break here, taking advantage of a sunny protected spot with conveniently placed fallen logs.  The turn at the 2nd tower complex presents the most challenging navigation problem of the entire hike.  Taking a sharp left just past the last tower (do not take the power line cut) leads to a short connector back to Gambrill State Park, Yellow Poplar Trail.  This trail leads all the way back to the parking area.  We stopped at the North Overlook, which has a nice view of Frederick and points east.

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At this point we took a detour from the trail notes; instead of heading back down the hill to the parking area, we followed the Black Locust Trail to the Middletown Overlook.  Real nice views to the west, with South Mountain in the foreground, and other mountains in the background.  Looking southwest shows the drop-off into Harpers Ferry, and more mountains in the background.  And Sugarloaf Mountain to the south.

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4:15 total time, including breaks.  We moved right along!