Billy Goat Trail Redux (MD)

 

Mather Gorge.

Kris and I checked out this local favorite near Great Falls in 2011.  On September 23, 2012, I saddled up and pedaled my old Giant bike down the hill through Georgetown and out the C&O path to Great Falls, stopping at the northerly trail junction for the funner part of the Billy Goat Trail.  The hike/scramble leads along the rocky shore of Mather Gorge, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.  Since the route is on rock much of the distance, paint daubs lead the way.  The cruxy part involves a light scramble along a diagonal ledge.  Just to see how my middle-aging sense of balance was faring, I went up without using any hands.. piece o’ cake.  The only bad thing about the hike is it ends too soon, so plan to sit on the rocks and read or pig out or something to really enjoy it.  I trotted back up the C&O to retrieve my bike and pedaled back to town—a perfect 35-mile day split by a lazy two-hour walk, leaving time for a couple of chores back home.