Walk 22: Cabin John Creek At Tennis Courts, Section 4

The fourth section of the Cabin John Creek Trail doesn't have any history to it that I know of, but it is a scenic walk in the woods. This trail, which starts behind the year round tennis facility on Democracy, links up to Tuckerman Lane, about 1.7 miles away.

A panoramic creek shot


This is also a very popular dog walking spot and during one section of the trail, we came across three other dogs being walked. Interestingly enough, I've never had any trouble on the trail with dogs fighting each other, and I'm not sure why. Loki doesn't start fights because 1) he's sort of cowardly and 2) being a Border Collie, he's obsessive-compulsive about fetching tennis balls. He takes the simple game of throw and fetch and makes it into a major triathlon event.

 Loki hurdles a log after swimming for the ball and just before scaling the steep embankment. Borders are definitely have OCD.


This reminds me of a Border Collie breeders comments to me when I was first talking about getting a Border. He remarked Borders are the sort of dog who will lie on the floor staring at a tennis ball for half an hour. Oh sure, I thought skeptically. That is until Loki started lying on the floor staring at a tennis ball. Of course, he knows that if he does this, it causes me to feel guilt so I kick the ball across the living room and he's off amid loud clawing sounds on my hardwood floors after it. Yep, that dog has me well trained.


A little more than half way to Tuckerman Lane, the trail crosses a wide open swathe of land which belongs to Pepco, our local, unreliable electricity provider. If you head to the right on this right-of-way, you wind up in a big parking lot where Pepco keeps its bucket trucks. To the left, you can walk about a quarter of a mile until you hit a washed out bridge.

Montgomery County Parks is apparently sick of getting phone calls about this bridge because they have posted a sign saying the bridge belongs to Pepco and if you are curious about when it will be fixed or if it will be fixed, call them.

Pepco's bridge says all there needs to be said about this utility company's reliability.

I always find it fascinating though when nature starts to colonize industrial areas such a high tension power line clearing and this one is no different. Right next to some smaller lines is a beautiful marsh.

This marsh has developed under the power lines complete with cattails and Blue Heron.

Walking under the power lines on a hot August day is a good way to get heat stroke but in June, when DC is still habitable, the cut is a great place to spot wildlife. This morning, a buck cut across it and before, I've seen red foxes courting.

Practical information: Park at the year round tennis court facility on Democracy Boulevard. Trail to Tuckerman Lane is about 1.7 miles, or 3.5 miles round trip. Several variation trails link up to the main trail but since they all come back to the main trail and are less that a quarter mile, I;m not going to list them separately.