Search results for ""Author Bryan MacKay""

Explore the natural beauty of Maryland on foot.Maryland affords a rich variety of natural places for residents and visitors to enjoy, from the Chesapeake shores through expansive Piedmont farmland to the Appalachian Plateau. And whether you’re headed to the seashore or the mountains, there are few better ways to experience these landscapes than on foot. With its excellent system of public lands—including national parks, state parks and forests, and even privately owned tracts open to the public—Maryland offers ample opportunities for hikers to find easy walks, challenging trails, and outstanding views. In Hike Maryland, Bryan MacKay takes you on twenty-five exceptional trips on the footpaths of the Free State.Drawing on his decades of experience as an avid hiker, lifelong Marylander, and expert naturalist, MacKay has assembled a list of the best hikes in the state. His beautifully illustrated guide tells you how to find the trails, describes the flowers and wildlife you’ll see along the way, and shares sensible advice about such concerns as ticks and poisonous snakes. Each individual trail guide includes key information, a map, and background on the natural history and ecology of the park, forest, or preserve, and offers a brief essay featuring a local plant, animal, or environmental issue. Whether you are venturing out on a solo trek on the Appalachian Trail, hiking with friends through Patapsco Valley State Park, or heading to Assateague Island with your family, this book will be an invaluable resource on your journeys.Hike Maryland is a companion guide to Cycle Maryland and Paddle Maryland.

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When can you find ripe blueberries along the Appalachian Trail in Maryland? Where can you see the air filled with monarch butterflies as they migrate south each autumn? If you want to enjoy nature this weekend, where is the best place to visit? Bryan MacKay can tell you. Written as an almanac, A Year across Maryland invites you to explore the natural world throughout the year, from watching bald eagles nesting in January to harvesting mistletoe in December. Entries identify the best time and place to experience such wonders as wildflowers blooming, birds in migration, amphibians singing, and morel mushrooms ready to be picked, sliced, sauteed, and devoured. Color photographs of more than seventy species enrich and illustrate the text. Every week of the year has a recommended "Trip of the Week." Personal essays that draw from MacKay's field notes provide an intimate glimpse into a biologist encounters with plants and animals over the years. Whether you want to see snow geese and trumpeter swans pausing in their northward migration each March, or the mating "jubilee" of polychaete worms during the new moon in May, A Year across Maryland offers valuable advice for the spontaneous adventurer and the serious planner alike.

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Baltimore Trails is a comprehensive and detailed guide to trails on public lands in and around Baltimore. Discover Hemlock Gorge, a small slice of Appalachia transported into northern Baltimore County, with its timeless peace and ancient gnarled hemlocks; or Black Marsh, where birds skulk among the vegetation of pristine freshwater wetlands; or the unique landscape of Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, which shelters more than 38 rare plant species. Baltimore Trails answers the needs of hikers and mountain bikers, offering accurate maps, up-to-date access information, and reliable trail descriptions. Bryan MacKay, a lifelong Baltimore resident and avid naturalist, walked, cycled, and explored nearly 80 trails in local state, county, and city parks, as well as area watersheds. He provides a detailed description, topographic map, and the length, location, and degree of difficulty for each trail. Some trails offer an easy afternoon stroll, while others provide a day of rugged hiking or biking. Thumbnail essays offer scenic highlights and discuss typical plants, animals, and local ecology. Every trail was field-checked in 2007 for the second edition. Miles of new trails are included, as is updated information on recent trail reroutes.

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Explore the natural beauty of Maryland by water.With the Chesapeake Bay—the largest estuary in the United States—the Potomac, Monocacy, and Patapsco Rivers, and countless streams, creeks, swamps, and marshes, Maryland is an ideal locale for people to take to the water and enjoy the natural beauty of the Free State.In Paddle Maryland, lifelong Marylander and devoted paddler Bryan MacKay presents twenty-two of his favorite canoe and kayak trips. From lazy floats down the Potomac to swamp excursions on the Eastern Shore, each trip has been selected for its incredible scenery and ample opportunities to observe nature. Included are both tidal and nontidal paddling trips, and MacKay, an ecologist, describes the wildlife and vegetation you will encounter along the way. Considering biodiversity, conservation, and climate change, MacKay also discusses what these issues mean for Maryland’s waterways and their inhabitants.With its beautiful illustrations and wealth of practical advice and information, this indispensable guide will appeal to all who love to explore the natural wonders of Maryland with a paddle in their hands.Paddle Maryland is a companion guide to Hike Maryland and Cycle Maryland.

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Explore the natural beauty of Maryland by bike.As off-road, family-friendly bike paths have increased in popularity, cycling has become a safe and healthy way to exercise out-of-doors and enjoy the beauty of nature. In Maryland, cyclists are fortunate to have access to a range of paved and unpaved recreational trails throughout some of the state’s most scenic landscapes. Cycle Maryland is your guide to the best of these trails. A lifelong Maryland resident and avid cyclist, Bryan MacKay has biked all twenty-three rides in this guide—some of them dozens of times. From abandoned railroad rights-of-way, like the Great Allegheny Passage, to dedicated paved paths through urban areas, like the Capital Crescent Trail and Jones Falls Trail, the rides listed here offer excellent opportunities to observe the wonders of nature. An experienced naturalist, MacKay describes the flora and fauna you might encounter along the way. With maps, trail descriptions, short nature essays, and beautiful photographs, this illuminating guide is loaded with helpful information—and is slim enough to carry along in your pack or pannier while you ride. Cycle Maryland is a companion guide to Hike Maryland and Paddle Maryland.

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