Ridge Trail to Cascade Falls (there and back) - Patapsco Valley State Park

PLEASE SEE UPDATED DIRECTIONS AND NEW START TIME:

UPDATED DIRECTIONS: Type in your GPS: “Patapsco Valley State Park – Avalon Area Playground” - there should be plenty of parking here, at the Avalon Area Playground. Meet me by the purple playground for kids. I’ll be wearing a dark blue “O’s” baseball cap. Remember – you will need $3 in cash to enter the park. They will usually break a bill for you, like a $10, but you will need cash, not a card.

UPDATED START TIME: Please meet me at the above location at 10am. Please try to get there ten (10) minutes early (by 9:50am) so I’m sure everyone is there before we begin the hike.

UPDATED INFORMATION ON HIKE: I did a recon hike of this trail this past week. We will be hiking the Ridge Trail at Patapsco Valley State Park from the Avalon Area Playground to Cascade Falls and back. This hike is a bit longer than we typically do. So I rate this a moderate to difficult hike. The hike one way is 2 hours and 20 minutes. So the complete hike will be 4 hours and 40 minutes. We’ll stop for lunch at Cascade Falls for 15 minutes, so the entire hike, including lunch, will be approximately five (5) hours. We’ll be on the Ridge Trail the whole time (orange blazes on the trees along the trail). Most of this hike is through the woods, so there should be good shade. It’s because this hike will take a bit longer that we are starting at 10am. Bring lunch and snacks and plenty to drink (include some Gatorade to help restore electrolytes). Please carry your stuff in a comfortable backpack.

There will be three (3) ways for you to shorten this hike if you need to: (1) since we’ll be on the Ridge Trail the whole way, at any time you can turn around and walk back to the parking lot the way we came (follow the orange blazes and signage to stay on the Ridge Trail); (2) about three-quarters of the way to Cascade Falls, there’s a path that leads down to the park road (you can walk down to the park road, turn right, and follow it back to the parking lot); (3) once we arrive at Cascade Falls, instead of walking back along the Ridge Trail, you could take the Cascade Falls Trail down to the park road (a short walk), turn right, and follow the road back to the parking lot.

All are welcome: men and women, young and old. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult family member. Enjoy God's beautiful creation and make new friends. WE HIKE RAIN OR SHINE. IF IT'S RAINING (OR MAY RAIN) BRING YOUR HAT AND RAIN PONCHO. Bring a simple first aid kit. For questions, contact Charles on this meetup site or at 443-400-9130. We hope to see you there! If you have suggestions for hiking sites, please let us know!

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About Faith Community Church. This Meetup Group is associated with Faith Community Church at 1306 Riedel Road, Gambrills, MD 21054. Please join us for services at 9am or 10:30am each Sunday. Between services, Adult Bible Studies are available. We have Sunday School for children of all ages. More information is available here.
Men’s Bible Study - meets each Saturday at 7:30am at the church in Activity Room 1. Led by Bob, a former missionary to Russia, who does a wonderful job discussing the scripture reading with us. (I come to many of these; let me know if you’d like to meet me there).
Men’s Fraternity - meets each Monday night at 7pm in Activity Room 2. Led by Chuck - who leads us through the book we're studying with wonderful insights and humor. (I come to many of these; let me know if you’d like to meet me there).
Some of our ministries & additional information:
Men’s Groups – see here
Women's Groups – see here
Children's Ministry - see here
Student Ministry – see here
Choir, Music & Tech Teams – see here
Adult Bible Studies - see here
Culture & Vision – see here
Sunday services at 9am and 10:30am - see here. (I usually go to the 10:30 service; I sit on the right side after you enter the sanctuary, in the back; let me know if you'd like to meet me there).
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He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV).
A lovely hymn: O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus by Indelible Grace
Alistair Begg discussing The Man on the Middle Cross
The scripture passage which Alistair Begg discusses above is from Luke 23:39-43.