During the first trail ride to the Frederick City Watershed there was a sign on both ends of Delauter Rd that said the road would close Feb 1, 2019. Decided I should make a movie going in both directions, preferably with snow on the ground, to preserve the experience. Didn’t want to go by myself just in case I got stuck in the Steep Creek water ford.
So I hosted a trail ride. Four vehicles showed up besides my 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.
Guests present:
- Jim Olavaria – 2017 Chevrolet Colorado
- Michael Stakkeland & Natalie Peterson – 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
- Niels Vilstrup – 2015 Jeep Wrangler
- Philip Waracla – 2010 Toyota Tacoma
Finally found in the By-laws Article XVI “TRAIL RIDES” that it takes two voting members to have an Official Trail Ride. But we had a good time anyways.
Only the stream crossing closes February 1, 2019, not the entire length of Delauter Road.
Finally got some snow so this trip was arranged on short notice. There was more snow in Montgomery County than North of Interstate 70 so it took a little longer to get to the watershed. We left the parking area a little after noon, drove to the intersection of Fishing Creek Road and Delauter Road. Turned left onto Delauter Road and the Steep Creek water ford is immediately ahead. The new red pipe gate is before the stream crossing. There is a drop off going into the stream but my Trailhawk didn’t hit anything. We all got across the stream without any difficulty. A couple hundred feet past Steep Creek there is another red pipe gate. So I found out what I wanted to know, only the stream crossing closes February 1, 2019, not the entire length of Delauter Road. So we drove West to the Rum Spring Road, Gambrill Park Rd intersection, where the other closing sign is posted. Turned around, drove East on Delauter Road, forded Steep Creek and stopped at the next intersection. Made a separate movie going each way. You can see the red gates, the gates are on both sides of the road and lock in the middle.
My mission was a success so we discussed where we should go next. Nobody wanted to leave early so we just drove around in the snow and had fun. Stopped at the overlook at the Northeast corner of the watershed, but did not hike to the overlook because it was too gloomy. Drove back to the parking area and did the ‘caver’ milling around thing and then we all went our separate ways.
As soon as I got to the Montgomery County line on Georgia Avenue the roads were still covered by snow. This is one of the rare times when there was more snow at home than in Frederick County.
It was encouraging to have another stock Cherokee Trailhawk on the ride. They still had the Firestone Destination AT tires on and they worked just fine. I had Bridgestone Blizzaks on my Trailhawk and didn’t have any wheel spin or sliding sideways.
Trail Report and pictures provided by Toby Turpin.