Mountain Club of Maryland hiking over 230 miles across Maryland in July

The Mountain Club of Maryland, with more than 1,000 members, is hosting over 230 miles worth of hikes throughout July. 

As the largest hiking club in Maryland, it aims to organize year-round hikes and other outdoor activities in Maryland. The club, which started in 1934, also works with the National Park Service to help maintain hiking trails.

“Once you get experience and feel comfortable with hiking, you can really go anywhere,” said Mountain Club of Maryland council member Jon Hyman. 

The Club accommodates every skill level and leads hikes in the Baltimore area, the Appalachian Trail, Western Maryland and in neighboring states. Membership costs $15 a year, but you do not need to be a member to participate in hikes. The membership fee gets hikers a special newsletter, council minutes, maps, a comprehensive schedule and more. 

“People come to join the Club, which is very inexpensive, relatively speaking, and they love it,” said Steve Kempler, the Club’s vice president. “It’s just a lot of fun, a lot of good discussion on the trails. It’s just an enjoyable way to be outside and meet people.”

There are over 25 hikes scheduled for July. MCM typically schedules hikes every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. They also host group gatherings at least twice a year. Before the Club’s website, they sent a monthly schedule to each of their members by mail, according to Kempler. 

“I got involved with [the Club] developing and designing the interactive schedule, a scheduler online where people could actually sign up for hikes and take themselves off hikes,” said Kempler, who joined in 2018.

Each trek is led by a hike leader. The leader sets the course and organizes the group’s trip. Hyman joined the MCM in 2016 and started leading hikes five years ago. 

“I got hooked,” he said. “There are a number of us that are retired. There a lot of us that are their students that are in the club. They’re people that just can have all kinds of careers, and they carve away time for doing this.”

Hikes are also a chance for leaders to learn the history of Maryland’s trails. Hyman’s hikes, usually around Baltimore and Patapsco Valley State Park, have included anywhere between five and 25 people, depending on the time of the year and the weather. 

“There’s a lot of history in the hikes that we do. And you know, you research that a little bit. Patapsco, for example, has had a number of dams across a lot of industry that was built along the river when they used the river’s water power back in the 19th century and early 20th century,” Hyman said. “So, you know, if I’m leading a hike along the Patapsco. I talk about that.”

Kempler is leading three hikes in July and sees it as a way to meet members of MCM. 

“I typically go hard hikes, but to meet more people, I’ll lead a moderate plus, and also a moderate hike in July,” he said. 

Hikes are split up into categories of difficulty. “Easy” hikes are fewer than five miles, including the Club’s 3-mile “Woof!” hikes where members can bring their dogs. Climbing, increased elevation and speed are some factors that determine the difficulty of a hike.

Every other year, the club holds a Hike Across Maryland, or the HAM, as they call it. It’s a 41-mile trek from Pen Mar, where the Appalachian Trail enters Maryland, to Harpers Ferry. On the first Saturday of every month, the club holds a training hike at certain points along the trail to prepare hikers for the HAM. This month’s hike goes from Gathlands State Park to Harpers Ferry. 

“People say ‘which are the most popular?’ Well, it really depends on people’s skill level and what they want to do,” Hyman said. 

There’s also a large group of members who enjoy maintaining the trails of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, according to Kempler. 

“We’re a full-service organization,” he said. 

All of Mountain Club of Maryland’s hikes for July can be found on their website. If you’re interested in a hike, email the hike leader to make sure the difficulty is right for you.