Northwest Branch is a stream that runs through the suburban Piedmont country of Montgomery and Prince George’s County down to the Anacostia River. Much it is parkland and offers residents and visitors a narrow, but rich ribbon of green space through what is a highly developed region.

I spent my teenage years near Northwest Branch during the 1960’s--- a couple miles south of Route 29 in Hillandale. For kids in the neighborhood, the Branch was a both a playground and a quick shortcut to Woodmoor and the more distant downtown Silver Spring.

We hiked many miles of Northwest Branch, both upstream and downstream, usually on the trail, but sometimes in the water itself with our creek shoes. “Borrowed” cement-mixing tubs from nearby construction sites served as improvised rafts in the summer and there was a section of small pools and waterfalls deep enough and scenic enough to serve as traditional swimming holes.

In the winter, Northwest Branch would freeze over and kids would ice skate up and down its less-rocky stretches. The rocky sections with their miniature waterfalls would turn into surrealistic ice sculptures that were a wonder to behold.

I now live outside Chicago, but in early August of this year, my partner and I hiked the Branch from around Hillandale up to approximately Quaint Acres where Rachel Carson lived during her final years.

The forest was much as I remembered it from the 1960’s, but there were a number large downed trees in the steep stream valley south of Route 29. They appeared to be freshly fallen. I kept wondering if this was just part of the cycle of the forest, or if some kind of erosion was going on that was weakening the roots of the trees.

We saw no box turtles along the route. I have since learned that the Eastern box turtle is becoming rare, a startling revelation to me.

Box turtles were quite common in the 1960’s and one could usually see them cooling themselves in the small streamlets that flow into Northwest Branch. As kids, we would take them home to a backyard turtle pen and keep them as summer pets before releasing them in the fall. That practice is illegal now and an ecologically bad idea because Eastern box turtles are territorial and will expend valuable energy trying to find their home territories again.

As we walked along the Branch we noted that it was quite muddy and silted. Areas of the Branch that were normally clear back in the 1960’s, with large suckers swimming about, were brown. I recall the Branch being silted in the spring flood period, but it was normally clear in the summer. Did we hike it after a recent flood or is this the normal summer stream flow now?

My favorite stretch of Northwest Branch was always the rocky section just below Route 29. The huge boulders there had created a series of riffles and small waterfalls intersersed with deep pools. The tumbled rocks were a challenge to climb and created cool damp overhangs that were a welcome relief on hot summer days. There was at least one pool below the waterfall that was actually deep enough to dive into and frolicking swimmers were a common site.

That rocky area is still there, but vandals have defaced the rocks with graffiti and the magic of the place is gone.

After stopping at Trader Joe’s on Route 29 for fruit smoothies, we headed up the trail above the dam. This area of Northwest Branch seemed the least touched by the pressures of civilization and with the trees in full leaf, it was easy to imagine that we were in the middle of a true wilderness area.

We turned around and headed back when we reached the Quaint Acres area. Rachel Carson once lived there and I still remember the girl in my English class who walked into the room crying inconsolably because her neighbor Rachel Carson had just died.

I grew up on Rachel Carson’s books and shared their magic with my own kids. When I found out that Northwest Branch trail was part of the new Rachel Carson Greenway, it was an emotional moment for me. One of the reasons I decided to return to Northwest Branch after 30 years was to honor her memory as well as relive an important aspect of my youth.

I would like to express my appreciation to the Neighbors of Northwest Branch, the Friends of Sligo Creek, the Eyes of Paint Branch and all of the organizations protecting the natural areas of metro DC . It is good to know that even while I am a thousand miles away, the watersheds are being well guarded.

Thanks,