The Northern Battlefield Hike

Antietam Ranger Mike Gamble led another great hike last Sunday taking about 25 stalwart walkers around the northern part of the battlefield. Mike's hike was essentially a reprise of the spring hikes to date. We covered the Mumma Farm, East Woods, the pasture south of the North Woods, Miller Farm, the Cornfield, West Woods, and Dunker Church. Unlike our last foray into this area a couple weeks ago when we ran into a hail storm, this time the weather was perfect. In my series of photos on this hike, I invite your attention to the terrain. There are a number of views of such buildings as the Joseph Poffenberger barn, and the Miller farmhouse, taken at different angles and perspectives. The contrasts are often startling. The photos here in this article is a great example of this. It is from the edge of the East Woods and pasture looking northwest toward the Joseph Poffenberger Farm. Note that only the top of the barn roof is visible. From the middle of what was known then as the pasture, the view of the barn is much different. Here, most of the structure is visible. There are other examples of this difference in the terrain in the slideshow.

This Sunday, we shift to the center of the battlefield. While the hike is titled the Sunken Road, Ranger Brian Baracz who has taken us on some very interesting walks this year, will probably include the area around the Piper Farm, another under-explored part of the field, as part of the Sunken Road hike. Join us again on Sunday.