Hiking 2026

I took a lot of time off from work in late December and early January. I planned to do an overnight trip with Daphne somewhere along the Atlantic Ocean if I had at least two consecutive days with sunny weather and light wind. But that never happened. So instead, I did short, local trips when the weather was nice.

I was almost done with

replacing rotting boards on the garage

rebuilding the closet under the stairwell, and

fixing up the stairwell

I figured it would reward myself by getting out on the trails at Terrapin Nature Park. This is a great place for winter hiking because you can stroll along the beach and catch some vitamin D without having to deal with crowds. Of course dogs are supposed to be on leash but unless there was someone else around, I let Daphne run freebird.

We saw some waterfowl at the Tidal Marsh looking south, but the sun was not at a good angle to get good photos. I think the afternoon would have been better for that. But the lighting was great for taking pics of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
At the south side of the park, we walked parallel to Highway 50, which was just a few feet away. After completing the south loop, we walked back along the beach again, retracing our steps.
I'm guessing we walked about three miles.

Upon arriving home, I finishing my house projects.

In the autumn of 2025, my office was affected by the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, lasting 43 days. Some of us worked reduced hours while others were told to not come in. During this time, we were not paid, though we did eventually receive back pay. People were not happy with all the uncertainty. To try and boost morale, I led a couple of local hikes. One was at Wincopin while the other was on the Savage Mill Trail and through the historic section of Savage. For the latter, I included a lot of information from my Savage 7k run and one mile historic walk. Both hikes were well-received.

December and January ended up being cold, windy, and dark. The short days and long nights were not good for anyone's morale, including my own. So I planned another hike, this one for the WatersEdge Kayak Club. I wrote up a detailed description and then posted it on the club's Meetup page, under Historic Savage Hike. It filled up quickly. I guess a lot of others were also looking for ways to beat the winter blues.

I knew my route well but I figured I'd do some scouting just to make sure. Here's Daphne and I on a blustery New Year's Day.
One reason I chose the weekend I did was to take advantage of the Santa Heim display at Savage Mill. The following is from the Mill's website:
Harry Heim purchased the mill and turned it into a year-round Christmas village! He owned two ornament factories, one in Baltimore and one in San Diego, and was one of the country's leading Christmas ornament manufacturers. Heim always wore a Santa suit while in the mill. He wanted to change the name of Savage to Santa Heim, Merryland. Some local families still have some of the original ornaments!

Unfortunately, the display was taken down early, despite my request to leave it up through the weekend.

As the day of the event approached, I noticed that heavy rain was forecast so I moved the event to a day later. Many had to drop out but in the end, I still managed to have 20 participants!

We met in the New Weave Building at Savage Mill. I deemed this is good meeting spot because there is plenty of parking in the Big Lot, a restroom, and it is warm.

I had folks introduce themselves and then I took them through the Mill to the Paymaster's Office. There, I pointed out the vault (shown below) and told them about the jail under the conference room floor that is now used for storage. The vault is now the staff coffee mess.
I led my group across the recently painted Bollman Truss Bridge and then to the start of the Savage Mill Trail where I spoke about the train line that ran from Savage to Guilford.
I took people to The Falls of the Little Patuxent River (shown below) and told them how the land near it was owned by Commodore Joshua Barney. He gave it to his son-in-law, Nathaniel Williams, who, along with his brothers, built Savage Mill using money borrowed from John Savage, our town's namesake.
Continuing along the trail, we came to a vertical rising sluice gate used to control the level and flow rate of water back when the river was dammed.
We walked to the water where I pointed out steel rods once used to support the Savage Mill dam. I said they are like the "Sword in the Stone" in that if someone could pull any of them out, they would be deemed the "King of Savage." Nobody was successful.
The legend of the Sword in the Stone, central to Arthurian lore, features a magical blade stuck in an anvil/stone, foretold to be removable only by the true, rightful King of Britain. Young Arthur famously pulls it out, proving his destiny and divine right to rule.
- from Google AI

We returned back to town and I led folks along Washington Street, pointing out the Baldwin House Mansion and the old company store. I showed them Savage Mill scrip and local pickers' checks which were used by farm owners to keep track of how many bushels their workers harvested.

I led my group to the dam ruins on the east side of the Little Patuxent River. There, we walked through a tunnel to the "mill race" where we posed for a photo. A mill race is a man-made channel or canal designed to carry water to and from a waterwheel, providing the power needed to operate a mill.

Our hike ran a little long and we never walked on the River Trail or Patuxent Branch Trail like I planned. I scheduled this to take three hours but at the rate I was going, it could have been four and a half hours. If I do it next year, I should plan for four hours and talk less. But everyone seemed to enjoy it. Three people left reviews on Meetup and gave me five stars (out of five) with positive feedback.

Here is our route.
We had a tiny bit of rain at the end as the sun disappeared. Overall, I feel it was successful.

Most of us gathered for a meal afterwards at the Dive Bar and Grille.

Special thanks to my hike participants who provided most of the above photos.

Over the last few days, our town received ~7.5 inches of snow. But now the sun was out and the wind was low. I figured it was a good time to go for a walk. So I donned my crampons and headed to the Savage Mill Trail with Norma and Daphne.

We walked across the Bollman Truss Bridge where we were able to look down on the icy Little Patuxent River.

Here's Norma and Daphne at the start of the Savage Mill Trail.
Walking along, we had some nice views of the Little Patuxent River, but I think it has looked more dramatic in the past with thawing and refreezing. Snow isn't as interesting on water as ice.

Walking was a little frustrating. The top layer was ice because we had a lot of sleet and some freezing rain. Below that was snow. So in several places, one could walk just fine on the ice until it caved in suddenly and you sank four inches into the snow. I found taking short steps and walking flat-footed helped minimize cave-ins.

Eventually, Norma headed back and went to work while Daphne and I continued exploring along the river. We walked across a low area that sometimes creates an island that provides a better view of Savage Mill's powerhouse ruins.

We're not supposed to explore the ruins so I made use of my camera's 40x power optical zoom to get up-close and personal.

I'm thinking this is some sort of boiler.

Next to it is a generator. According to Google AI:
A boiler and a generator worked together to power factories, forming the basis of steam-electric power generation. In this setup, the boiler produces high-pressure steam, which drives a turbine or engine connected to a generator to create electricity.

In the larger powerhouse building, I could see the spray-painted walls and columns inside.

Walking upstream, I saw a heavy-duty structure that I'm almost certain housed the Savage Mill waterwheel at one time. This waterwheel was 30-feet in diameter. It would have needed something very strong to support its shaft.
I typically let Daphne run off leash in this area if there is nobody around. But when I called, she did not come. I kept calling and searching...nothing. She doesn't like being away from Norma so I feared that she would try to find her. Daphne knows the layout of Savage so I'm sure she could get home or anywhere else in town. But she isn't smart enough to stay out of traffic, which was my biggest fear. As I started walking back, I eventually saw her waiting for me at the trailhead. She waited in the last spot she saw Norma. I was greatly relieved.

Walking back across the Bollman Truss Bridge, I saw Jesus in the powerhouse.

I met Norma at the Mill and we picked up lunch at Roggenart. Then I walked home, leaving Daphne with Norma.