DC UL Backpacking

As Kermit the Frog says, “It’s not easy being green.” (The bear on this posting photo, who thinks he’s a frog according to the NPS, clearly agrees). Let’s see how hard the Green Ridge SF can be. Let’s do a 40 mile loop in the Green Ridge SF in Western Maryland with a 7-mile Friday night headlamp hike! This trail looks fun with many stream crossings (24!) and the famous Paw Paw Tunnel. On paper it doesn’t look too hard, so we’ll dial it to “11” with the late night hike, a 20 mile Saturday, and a “10 before 10” on Sunday.

Here is the DC UL trip report from a prior trip: https://dculbackpacking.com/2021/01/31/trip-report-green-ridge-state-forest-co-canal/

We’ll drive out Friday night to hike in 7 miles—yes, 2.5 hours of night hiking, but with all but one on the flat C&O Canal. (Plan for wet feet on that last mile, though). It’s only a 2 hour drive to the trailhead. It will be a late night, but we’ve done worse. Saturday will be 20 miles with 2,600 feet of elevation gain. Sunday is 12 miles, but almost all on the Canal, so to make it more challenging, we’ll do a “10 before 10!”

The CalTopo route is borrowed from the prior trip. They did it in 3 days; I’m collapsing it into a standard weekend by doing the trail clockwise and adding the Friday night hike.

I’ve marked this a VMO trip due to potential navigation challenges, water crossings, and the night hike. I’ll consider Members on a case-by-case basis. (This could be a good trip to score Veteran Member status).

DCUL'ers have maps!

• Green Ridge SF: https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Documents/GRSF_map.pdf
• Caltopo: https://sartopo.com/m/K01S# (We are going clockwise, so the “days” are backwards. Friday night=Day 3 on the map, Saturday=Day 2, Sunday=Day 1).
• Trailhead: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gt1A1xbi3tFzuN6x5?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

----------------THE IMPORTANT WARNINGS-------------------
As per our carpool policy, riders should plan to pay drivers $0.10/mile.

Oh, and I’m just a co-participant on this trip, not a guide or an expert. I’ve never hiked this trail and this posting is all I know of it. I’ve been hiking with DC UL since 2017 but have no special training, such as organizational, medical, or navigational. If you sign up and can’t come, please let me know—don’t ghost. You are officially on the trip if you both RSVP on Meetup and meet me at the Metro. Otherwise, you are doing your own trip until you make physical contact with me and I recognize you as a co-participant. I’m open to questions. Please, no more injuries this time! (https://dculbackpacking.com/2025/03/16/trip-report-douthat-with-hot-springs-we-didthat-douthat-state-park-thru-hike-jefferson-baths-clifton-forge-to-warm-springs-va-february-28-march-2-2025-30-miles/)

By RSVPing to this trip or any other DC UL trip, you agree to these guidelines and to DC UL's waiver liability terms (https://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/pages/Liability_Waiver/)

COVID-19 policy: https://dculbackpacking.com/about/covid-19-guidelines/

Dues: Members and above, don't forget to pay your annual dues. You can check if you need to pay dues by seeing if the current year is listed next to your name in your DC UL profile. To pay your dues via PayPal, use this link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/JenniferAdach/15 ($10 annual dues plus a $5 suggested donation to City Kids Wilderness Project.)