Orlando Travel: Come along on a day trip to Cocoa Beach

 We all wish we could vacation more. But unless you are independently wealthy, work calls. And sometimes you don't even get a weekend free from responsibility. Sometimes all you get is a day.

Days like this call for a road trip. YouTuber Brianopolis shows how relaxing a simple day trip to the beach can be, even if there is little time to splash around. And if you don't have time for a road trip, live vicariously through Brianopolis by watching his day-in-the-life below, in Orlando Travel.

Hope you enjoy!

Honest High Mileage Subaru Crosstrek Review

Here is my honest review of my high mileage Subaru Crosstrek. After putting 180,000 miles onto my 2017 Subaru Crosstrek in just five years, I guess you could say I am qualified to make a truly honest and informed review of this incredible little car.

I purchased my Subaru Crosstrek in July 2018 when my 10-year-old Subaru Outback finally conked out as it was pushing 300,000 miles. It probably could have run longer if I had been the original owner and been able to take care of it since its very first mile. Knowing this, I made sure to trea my 2017 Subaru Crosstrek with kid gloves from the beginning.

2017 Subaru Crosstrek in Hyper Blue

Well, that is not exactly true. To be honest, from day one I used my Subaru Crosstrek as an Uber and to give passengers tours of a mountain resort near my home. Lots of hill driving and frequent stop-and-goes was the norm from the get-go. But I made sure I kept up with the Subaru Crosstrek maintenance schedule, and that kept the car in tip-top form.

Three years into ownership I had put on nearly 100,000 miles. Then the pandemic hit. Most people stayed home during the first six months of the pandemic. But three months in, I lost my job and my home. So I decided to set out on a cross-country adventure. Here we are, two years and 80K miles later, and I am happy to say my Subie is still running strong.

Subaru Crosstrek adventure in Valley of the Gods Utah

My adventure took me to all corners of the United States. I set out from Virginia and darted across the middle states to Colorado, then up to Montana, across the Continental Divide, and over to Washington State. I toured around Olympic National Park, and then I took the coast south through Oregon and into Northern California.

I slept in my car the entire way. Yes, a humongous, 6 foot 1 inch, 400-pound man slept in the driver's seat of his compact mini SUV the entire way.

I slept among the Redwoods and along the Pacific Coast Highway, waking in the middle of the night to crashing Pacific waves that so loud they felt like they would swallow me up. I slept in a misty parking lot overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. And I slept in the desert mountains of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Subaru Crosstrek camping Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains

The best part of the journey in my trusty Hyper Blue Subaru was when I experienced nightfall in the darkest place in the country - just north of the Grand Canyon - and I awoke to a dazzling display of the Milky Way emblazoned across the sky. Then I turned south and slept on a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande River along the US-Mexico border. I even slept along the sandy beaches of Florida and along the rocky coast of Maine.

Now that I'm getting settled once again, I have had my Subaru looked at by the dealer, and have been catching up on maintenance. By keeping the car maintained I have avoided major expenses that I might have incurred otherwise. It needs a bit of service at the moment. But overall, my Subaru Crosstrek is still running strong and I plan to keep relying on it as I plan my adventures for many years to come.

Best Hikes in Philadelphia Fairmount Park Wissahickon Gorge

These are the best hikes in Philadelphia Fairmount Park Wissahickon Gorge. Philadelphia is home to some truly spectacular hiking. In fact, some say the city's public transportation links and impressive scenery make Philadelphia one of the most hiking friendly cities in the country!

Wissahickon Gorge Trails

Wait, what? There's a gorge in Philadelphia? That's right! Wissahickon Creek, a tributary of the Schyulkill River, cuts through the pristine preserved landscape of northwest Philadelphia from Chestnut Hill to Roxborough. The best time to hike here is early in the day. Enter the silent gorge on a misty morning and leave the city sounds behind.

There are three primary trails that run the entire length of the Wissahickon Gorge. The Orange Trail and the White Trail are on the north and east side of the gorge while the Yellow Trail snakes along the remarkable land feature's south and west side. 

The Orange Trail

The Orange Trail is the most rugged trail through the Wissahickon Gorge. It is a 7.5-mile mostly single-track trail that runs low along the creek. It is used to access fishing points and swimming holes. It is a stony route with complicated root systems that make navigation a bit more strenuous. There is some interesting history to be discovered along here, including a unique caged pedestrian bridge and a spot where the first baptism in Philadelphia took place. 

Statue of Lenni-Lenapi leader at Council Rock, White Trail 

The White Trail

This trail is about 4.5-miles from start to finish and it takes the high route along the gorge. The views from here are spectacular, particularly in the winter months when the leaves have fallen leaving the bones of this impressive land form bare. Along this route you will find several unique features, such as statues, historic points, lush landscapes, and exposed old-city infrastructure.

The Yellow Trail

This trail is a particular favorite of many as it passes by the old Valley Green Inn, a spot where you can stop and have some ice cream or even tuck in for a delicious meal mid-hike. It also boasts one of the most impressive viewpoints of the gorge, and passes through some pretty incredible historic locations. One such location is the home of a hermit and long defunct doomsday cult.

These best hikes in Philadelphia Fairmount Park Wissahickon Gorge are sure to please any hiker, from avid hikers to novices alike. In fact, because there are so many different access points along these trails they can be broken down into smaller hikes ideal for young families.

Make sure you leave a comment if you find this blog helpful!

Best Hikes in the Baltimore-Washington Area

These are the best difficult-rated hikes in the Baltimore-Washington area. For the best hiking you cannot beat the northern Blue Ridge Mountains in the United States Mid-Atlantic area. The hikes close to Baltimore and Washington are found in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

1. I'll start with the absolute best hike: Old Rag Mountain. This hike is in Shenandoah National Park and is just over an hour's drive from the nation's capitol. In fact, it is super close to Dulles Airport, which makes it a convenient hike if you want to add on a day to your business trip to DC.

Old Rag Mountain is a prominent peak in the central section of Shenandoah National Park. Head west from the city on Interstate 66, then follow signs for Route 211 West toward Luray. The trailhead is just south of Sperryville, a great little town with the incredible Copper Fox whiskey distillery and an innovative brewery called Pen Druid.

View from Old Rag Mountain

The unique feature of Old Rag is its bald summit. This is a major rarity among Mid-Atlantic hikes, which have wonderful overlooks but do not often feature 360-degree views like Old Rag Mountain. It's an eight-mile loop hike with significant elevation change, and it gets super crowded, so arrive early and be ready to do some scrambling as you make your way to the top.

2. Sugarloaf Mountain in the Maryland Piedmont is another of the region's best hikes. Sugarloaf is a monadnock type of mountain, meaning it is a stand-alone mountain, not linked to other mountains in a range. Still, this monadnock, with two prominent summits, feels like a small range in itself.

This means the views from this hike are pretty stunning as you make your way up to experience the incredible pastoral views. Do the five-mile loop and enjoy both the north and south summits and experience plenty of elevation change.

View from Sugarloaf Mountain

3. Big Schloss and Tibbett Knob are actually two separate out-and-back summit hikes that each start at the same point - Wolf Gap Campground. While either of the summits is sufficiently worth the two-hour drive from the DC-area, doing them both in the same day or split among two days will ensure you are not left with any degree of FOMO. 

Big Schloss is a great warm-up, as it is two miles out and two mile back, with only the first mile of the hike featuring a steep ascent. The views from this one are incredible. The rock formation itself is fun to climb on, and it is multi-tiered, which means you may be able to find yourself a private nook where you can lay out and catch some rays or just enjoy a quiet picnic lunch with a view.

Tibbett Knob is significantly more difficult that Big Schloss, though it is only about a mile longer. This is because the trail is a much more intense grade that only gets more strenuous as you reach the top. In fact, most people are crawling for the last portion as the trail gets incredibly steep and boulder strewn.

4. Catoctin Mountain in Maryland is a great place to hike if you want to experience multiple views. You can create your own loop among as many as five great summits - and there is even an incredible waterfall hike where you can cool off at the end. 

Cat Rock, Hog Rock, and Wolf Rock are among the best overlooks. With lots of ups and downs, this hike has plenty of elevation change. Then cool off at the base of Cunningham Falls before heading home.

5. South Mountain is just north of the Mason-Dixon line in South Central Pennsylvania, and it is home to several shorter hikes that can be done in succession to make for a great day or weekend getaway. Chimney Rock, Pole Steeple, and Sunset Rocks are three of the major hikes you will find here.

While South Mountain is the smallest of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range, it is no less beautiful. These rolling hills rise up out of a rural pastoral landscape that makes hikers feel they are experiencing a simpler time. 

Enjoy these best difficult-rated hikes in the Baltimore-Washington area. The northern Blue Ridge Mountains in the United States Mid-Atlantic area have unique features you will find nowhere else but here.

Hiking Shenandoah National Park - Lefthand Hollow to Buzzard Rock Overlook

by Brian Schwarz

The stretch of Route 340 in Virginia, between Elkton and Waynesboro, is known locally as East Side Highway. It runs north and south along the western Blue Ridge Mountains, making it an important route for outdoor adventurers set on enjoying Shenandoah National Park and the river communities along the South River and South Fork of the mighty Shenandoah in the eastern Shenandoah Valley.

Take a moment to pose for the camera, Brian! That's Buzzard Rock behind.

This week I've been exploring some hikes I spotted by reading the 2014 edition of PATC Map 11: Appalachian Trail and other trails in Shenandoah National Park South District. The map's previous version was less descriptive than the new version, and there are two hikes in particular that I would not have even considered before.

Because the 2014 PATC Map 11 does a better job highlighting overlooks and vistas, I found some short hikes that I can do on my daily commute, between Massanutten and Waynesboro. So far I have only done one of the two new hikes I've identified, so I'll talk about that one now and tell you about the other one once I've scouted it out myself.

Go to the Paine Run Trailhead - from Route 340 at Harriston, VA, take Harriston Road east, then turn right on Horsehead Road to the dead end. Here you will find the entry point for the hike I'm calling the Lefthand Hollow-Buzzard Rock Overlook Hike. It's a short, two-mile out-and-back, that is well graded and has about 350-feet elevation gain to an south-facing rock outcrop overlook.

At the end of Horsehead Road, enter the woods and walk the wide trail that goes downhill briefly before leveling off. The trail follows the banks of Paine Run for about a third of a mile, crossing the creek twice on nicely lain, large and sturdy rocks. Some 100 steps after the second creek crossing, turn left and begin the steady trudge uphill.

The hike is basically one big switchback along the side of Trayfoot Mountain as you rise above Lefthand Hollow, the other side of which is formed by Horsehad Mountain. Continue up - about a third of a mile for each switchback - and you will reach the overlook at approximately one mile.

What looks like a perfect cone of a mountain in front of you is actually the northern end of a ridge line. The top of this photogenic mound is called Buzzard Rock, so-named for the buzzards who frequent the area. The upper Shenandoah Valley stretches out past Round Hill and other valley structures to the south and west.

Trail shoes: Blurred lines between fashion and performance

Hiking footwear for many people, myself included, is a complicated issue. This post is about one of the recent choices I've made for hiking the trails close to home - Altra's The Lone Peak 2.0.

Testing out the Altra Lone Peak 2.0 on Sugarloaf Mountain

I live, work and hike in various parts of the DMV - that Megalopolitan Zone comprised of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. The hiking terrain here can be described as anything from sandy in the coastal plain to spongy and root-strewn in the piedmont and downright rocky in the nearby mountains.

Rocky route to Buzzard Rock, on the South Shenandoah side of Massanutten

My hiking footwear should be able to handle the typical wet, rough and rugged terrain out along the outlier mountains and the famed Blue Ridge. The Lone Peak 2.0 did a great job for me on more than 40 miles of hikes in the month of April.

Overlooking Fort Valley from Massanutten's Buzzard Rock

I'm not saying the shoes are perfect, as there was more-rapid-than-anticipated wearing along the heal and on a few of the grippy lugs. But to be fair, I weigh in at more than 300 pounds - and that's before I add a 15 to 20-pound pack and do frequent 10 milers on some of the roughest trails - so they stand up quite well considering.

Altra Lone Peak 2.0's lugs are grippy, but not deep, so they aiight

I like them so much, I own two pair - one in black/red and the other in yellow/black. And I recommend that if you like this shoe, you buy two, too.

Soft pine needles soften the Massanutten Trail near High Peak

Besides the benefits of alternating your shoes to give them time to breathe without your foot shoved into it, you also can try out different looks on different days depending on your mood, and (as you can see from my pics) on whether you're feeling a bit "leave no trace" with your outfit or you're trying to notify hunters of your approach! 

Black Diamond ReVolt Headlamp Helps Hiker Survive Owl Attack

by Brian Schwarz

Trail-testing the Black Diamond ReVolt rechargeable headlamp

This evening, just after dark, I was testing out some new gear near Pinnacle Rock in Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park - a Black Diamond ReVolt headlamp I bought at Hudson Trail Outfitters earlier this week (using their online price match guarantee for a great deal, I might add). I'd been hanging out on the bluffs overlooking Rock Creek as the sun went down, and had started snapping some test shots to post on Twitter and Instagram as teasers for my review. Then, once the woods had pretty much turned pitch black, I started to head down the Theodore Roosevelt Trail to return to my car, eerily aware that since I'm a day hiker, I wasn't quite sure what to expect on my first hike after dark.

Testing the Black Diamond ReVolt at Pinnacle Rock, Rock Creek Park

No sooner had I had that thought than a huge bird flew out from behind a trail-side stump and perched on a low-hanging branch nearby. Wow! I was able to see all the action, thanks to the ReVolt's 130 lumens and bright TriplePower LED. At first I was startled by the burst of energy from the forest floor, but I quickly regained composure and trained my headlamp on the branch. I noticed a huge barred owl was facing away from me looking down toward the creek.

"Oh, cool!", I thought, as I took a moment to attempt to snap a photograph of this magnificent nocturnal creature not 15 feet away from me. But just as I had my phone camera trained on the owl, it turned its head around like a horror movie doll and stared directly at me, its eyes aglow in the headlamp's beam. The owl's glare was long enough to send chills down my spine. Then it twisted its head mechanically back around to watch the creek.

I clumsily shoved my phone back in my pocket, deciding I should probably move along and get back to my car before things got weird. This owl was obviously on the hunt.

Heading down the trail near Pinnacle Rock, as darkness takes over the forest

I know enough about the natural world that I quickly realized sticking around on the bluffs high above a creek just around the time the nocturnal hunters were coming out in search of prey was not a good idea. But before I'd even processed that thought fully and walked more than five steps down the trail, I heard a quick rush of wind from behind. Thwap! I was attacked!

Just like that, the talons of the great barred owl attempted to snatch onto my bald head, knocking me forward on the precariously narrow bluffs trail. Then, as quickly as it had attacked, the owl disappeared again, silently slipping away somewhere into the hushed calm of the urban forest.

I didn't stop to figure out where it had gone, or to see if it was still somewhere close and ready to attack again. I just assumed it would if I stood still. So instead, I took off my backpack and began to swing it around my head as I carefully sprinted down the dark trail, relying only on my Black Diamond ReVolt headlamp to guide me safely to the trailhead.

Descending the Roosevelt Trail, moments before the owl attack

As if one encounter with the wild creatures of the night weren't enough, as I was running down the trail I noticed a dark figure running briskly along the shoreline of Rock Creek, at a lower elevation than me but on a parallel trajectory. It didn't run like a deer, more like a coyote. It couldn't have been a dog; I'd been alone on the trail now for more than an hour. But could coyotes be down this far south in the park, I wondered? Sheesh, this was beginning to be too much to think about on my first ever nighttime outing!

The dark figure disappeared, and I kept flailing and making a bit of noise as I carefully but quickly hopped rocks and roots along the Roosevelt Trail with one goal in mind - reaching the safety of my car, parked across the creek along Broad Branch Road.

When I made it down to Beach Drive, several cars were passing by, though no runners or bikers were anywhere to be found. Maybe they knew something I didn't about the kinds of animalistic activities that go on in Rock Creek Park after the sun goes down. In any case, I darted to my car, jumped inside and began to drive.

As I navigated my way back across town to Park View, I felt a stinging sensation in the back of my head. I reached around, and it stung even more under the touch of my salty hands. I knew I'd been scratched at the least. But it was too dark in the car to tell if I was bleeding. When I got home, I realized that I was in fact bleeding, but only slightly. So I administered first aid, took a few photos of the back of my head to see what the talon marks looked like, and decided to go online and research owl attacks, since before tonight I can't say I recall ever hearing that owls attack humans.

Talon marks from the barred owl that attacked me (with Remy photobomb)

It turns out, it's not normal for owls to attack humans. However, according to a Washington Post article from 2012, several runners were reportedly attacked by owls that fall. National Park Service Ranger Ken Ferebee was consulted on the matter, and he directed the question to the Global Owl Project to find a very probable explanation for why such owl attacks might occur.

According to the Washington Post article, on occasion, people have been known to come across a baby owl before it can fly and, believing it to be abandoned by its mother, they "rescue" it. As a result of such novice intervention, Global Owl Project Director David Johnson said, "rescued" owls soon grow too big to be cared for by novices, and so these ignorant do-gooders release the now domesticated owl back into the wild where they lack the skills to hunt and survive on their own. Not knowing how to hunt, the owl then mistakenly turns on humans, the only animal it grew up having any knowledge of.

So there you have it! I was attacked by a barred owl in Rock Creek Park, and I learned a few things as a result. The most salient lesson of all is that if you are going to be hiking at night, you need a quality headlamp that will not only show you the way but be able to help you respond quickly should an unexpected emergency arise. Now, I haven't trail tested any other headlamps, but I can tell you that the ease of use of the Black Diamond ReVolt headlamp - notably the ease at which I was able to redirect the beam while being chased by an angry owl down a narrow bluffs trail - made me extremely happy with my purchase.


Brian Schwarz is a freelance writer and outdoor leader based in Washington, D.C. He often leads hikes in Rock Creek Park and the surrounding areas, which are posted on the Facebook page Hiking Megalopolis. Contact Brian via the comment section below, and for links to his social media activity, refer to his splash page at about.me/brian.schwarz.