Hike Patapsco SP - Morning Choice, Ridge and Rockburn Trail (hilly 6 miles)

Our brief return to fall weather is forecasted to hit a peak on Sunday, so let's take advantage with a slightly tougher than average 6-mile hike.

We'll start this one at Rockburn Branch park and hike into Patapsco, mostly staying on the upper plateau on the Rockburn, Morning Choice and Ridge trails. The trail is well worn, though rocky in a few places. There are two relatively easy stream crossings on large-ish rocks. We will have descended about 160 feet by the four-mile mark and make that elevation up as we finish the loop and double back to the parking lot. Total distance should be about 6.2 miles and roughly 500 feet of elevation change.

Follow our route on Alltrails here.

Please arrive at the parking lot ready to go no later than 10:30, as we will do a quick round of introductions and then immediately hit the trail. We do not wait for latecomers.

Also, please recognize that while the word may have vanished from our political discourse, "Moderate" indicates the midpoint between Easy and Hard, not a synonym of either. We typically keep at least a 2.5 mph pace, though occasionally pause to regroup.

We're skipping the after-hike sweets this week since there will surely be plenty in our Christmas stockings. Instead, we will probably head to the Guinness Open Gate Brewery for lunch afterwards.