...You attempt all 3 sections of the Billy Goat Trail after starting in the late afternoon!
June 25th, 2011: Great Falls, Maryland (Billy Goat Trail: Sections A, B, & C)
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.”
Also a newbie to the Billy Goat Trail, I had no expectations when starting off on this hike. I did have a few apprehensions thanks to Alie’s warnings about “strenuous part A” and “rock scrambling”. I didn’t really know what was meant by “rock scrambling”. In my experience (at least on this trail), it’s not as scary as it sounds, but I’ll get to that in a few minutes. We parked at the lot at Carderock and there was a well marked entrance to the Billy Goat Trail. We naively assumed that we were starting at the beginning of section C, but realized after hitting the tow path earlier than expected that we had actually started midway through section C so we trekked back into the forest and retraced our steps and continued past our point of entry to the untraveled section of C in order to be able to say we completed section C from one end to the other. Sections C was probably the least difficult portion of the Billy Goat Trail even though it is slightly longer than Section B. Although Section C is where we had our first snake encounter (just a garter snake so nothing too terrifying). Try and spot the super wide tree along the path as it makes for some funny pictures! You’ll know it when you see it as it’s about as wide as an adult’s entire arm span.
Another important thing to factor into your pre-hike planning when doing the Billy Goat Trail is the length of the tow path you have to walk along in between sections. This can increase your mileage a fair amount so it’s definitely important to factor in when figuring out how much hiking/walking your legs can take and also in terms of time management. Section B is the shortest of the three sections at 1.4 miles and second in difficulty after Section A in my opinion. Section B is where the hike also becomes a bit sandy in places (which can make for some slippery conditions on rock faces) and also a bit rockier. Note about footwear: Knowing this was a longer and more difficult hike in comparison to the previous day, I decided to switch over to my pair of Nike Free Run 7.0. These provided better traction on the more challenging portions of the hike, but the soles did not offer much protection from the hard surfaces of the rock faces (this is when it became apparent to me that I’d have to invest in better footwear if I want to make this a regular habit). We made it through section B and decided to continue on the tow path to the entrance of section A, knowing that given our time frame we would have to pick up the pace a bit to avoid losing sunlight.
Section A was definitely the most challenging of the three sections, but in my opinion was also the most fun! There’s a real sense of accomplishment when you’ve made it through the whole thing (at least there was for me as a beginner hiker). There are many more places that you have to maneuver over, up, and down rock faces (this is what they mean by rock scrambling!). Section A is probably not the best hike for people with a fear of heights as several points in the trail are fairly elevated (they do however provide awesome views of the Potomac River and surrounding scenery). Keep your eyes open for herons, deer, and other wildlife as they seemed to be fairly present throughout the trail. You might also look for the blue and white trail markings which designate scenic vistas, which are great places to get your camera out for a photo shoot! Navigating the trail can be a little more difficult here because some of the pale blue markers which designate the trail can be challenging to spot in a few locations depending on which end of the trail you are coming from. We were able to make it off of the rocks and out of the woods before night fall, but then realized we faced an approximate 3.5 mile walk along the tow path back to the car (remember I said it was important to factor in ALL portions of the trail both in the woods and on the tow path when figuring out your mileage, I wasn’t kidding! Lol, remember we’re new to this people!). However, if you find yourself stuck on the tow path with darkness slowly creeping up on you the Old Angler’s Inn is located across MacArthur Boulevard in between Sections A and B of the trail. Stop over there for a drink and food in the Beer Garden complete with live music (hiking attire is acceptable in the Beer Garden) while you wait for a cab to drive you back to your car in the Carderock parking lot. It worked out just fine in our experience! Overall, it was a very fun adventure! Can’t wait to go back!
