Where to go on Hikes near Stevenson University During COVID-19

In my last post I talked about places to walk in Owings Mills, near Stevenson's Owings Mills Campus.  In this post I will be sharing 2 beautiful places to hike around Stevenson University.

Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area

• Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area is about 15 minutes away from Stevenson Owings Mills Campus.  If you follow Dolfield Blvd to its end, and take a right on Deer Park Road, it will be a few miles down on the ride hand side of the road.  There is a decent amount of parking, but you have to be careful not to block anybody in!
• This is such a beautiful hiking trail, and it showcases a lot of open plains type area.  The trail starts off in the woods and leads to a huge open plan area that is free to roam.  The picture above showcases only one of the amazing views Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area has to offer!  This trail leads very close to the end of the Red Run Valley Trail that was mentioned in the last blog post.
• I would highly recommend this trail to anyone who is adventurous and loves to be out in nature!  This is the biggest and best hiking sport inside of Owings Mills, and definitely is worth the struggle, even if you don't like to hike as much as the people you choose to go with!  This is not the best spot to hike on a rainy day, as the beginning of the trails are all filled with puddles, so plan accordingly!

Patapsco Valley State Park

• Patapsco Valley State Park is about 20 minutes away from the Stevenson Owings Mills Campus.  If you get on 795 South, and then merge onto 695 South, you're well on your way!  You take exit 15b onto route 40 West, and it is a few miles down the road, very visible with signs.  This is extremely easy to get to, and very obvious, as there are signs everywhere that direct you to the state park.
• The Hiking trail at Patapsco Valley State Park travels along the patapsco river, and is such a beautiful location!  The park also has a campground, as well as fishing, kayaking, and numerous hiking spots!  This park has so many different trails, that it would be near impossible to explore the entire park!!  There are the easy main trails that families travel on, as well as the harder, longer trails that more advance hikers travel on.
• I highly recommend going to this park during the season of COVID-19, as it is a fantastic place to spend an entire day!!  Patapsco Valley State Park is the perfect family hiking spot!!  It is complete with everything a family could want, from hiking spots, to disc golf, to picnic areas!  The trails range from short and simple, to long and difficult, so this is a spot for all ages and hiking skill levels.  I think this is one of the best hiking spots in Baltimore County!!

Tune in for my next blog post, which will feature a look into next years Stevenson Men's Lacrosse team, and how the Mustangs will move forward as a community from this cancelled semester.

Where to go on Walks Near Stevenson University During COVID-19

As we finally pass the peak of COVID-19, people seem to have figured out their day to day lives in quarantine.  One thing I have found many people, including myself, doing is going on short walks a few times a day.  This is a great way to spend time in quarantine, while maintaining your physical and mental health!!  This week Im going to talk about 2 spots in Owings Mills to get out in nature!

Red Run Valley Trail

• Red Run Valley Trail is located off of Red Run Blvd, about 10 minutes away from Stevenson Owings Mills Campus.  If you take Dolfield Blvd, and turn left at the Royal Farms intersection, it is about a mile down the road on your right.  It is really easy to miss, so look for a small parking area on the right of the road with a green gate!
• This trail actually ends up at Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, but is a completely different trail!  This is the perfect walking trail to take your family on, whether you're biking, walking, roller blading or walking your dog.  This trail is paved, but has many unpaved trails off to the sides of the paved trail.
• I highly recommend this trail to anyone that needs to get outside, which I can't think of anyone that doesn't need to.  It is a great spot to walk alone, with your roommates, or even your entire family!  There is a few little streams that you can walk to off of the main path.  I found these little paths to be extremely relaxing, as even the sound of the stream is soothing. 
• This trail is so great to keep your mental health positive during this time of quarantine!   It also helps to go for a shorter walk and clear your head, especially when you're thinking about COVID-19.

Northwest Regional Park

• Northwest Regional Park is located about 10 minutes away from Stevenson Owings Mills Campus.  If you follow Dolfield Blvd to its end, and turn left onto Deer Park Road, it will be on your left in about a quarter of a mile.  Its easy to see by its sign out in front, and has a pretty decent amount of parking!
• This is more of an athletic field park; however there are plenty of walking trails inside the park, as well as many hiking trails that lead out of the park!  This is a great spot to go and work out, as there is fields to run and exercise on.  This is also a great spot to take your pets and family on a walk in a park!
• This is also the perfect place to organize a social distanced exercise class, or just a group of people that is willing to work out 6 feet apart.  This is because there are fields where sprints can be done, as well as any other type of bodyweight workout.  I highly recommend going out there if you're still in Owings Mills and need a place to workout, or just walk around with a nice view!

Stay tuned, my next blog post will be talking about 2 hiking spots in Owings Mills!!  Stay safe everyone, and stay active!!

5 Things to do to Stay in Mustang Shape During Quarantine

As we approach the "End of the World" or the peak of COVID-19, everybody is wondering the same thing... How do they stay active and positive during quarantine.  Arguably, staying active is much less important than staying positive during COVID-19.  This is because a negative mindset will make your quarantine 10x worse, whereas a positive mindset can only improve your quarantine.

1. Find an interactive online workout program!  These online workout programs are often times free, and with nothing else to do, what better way is there to spend your time then working out.  These programs will also give you the interaction with others that most people are craving during this time of isolation.  An online exercise program would not only improve your physical shape, but also your mental shape.
2. Get outside and walk!  Walking seems like the least efficient way to stay in shape, however, it is much better than staying inside all day.  Walking will not only help you to stay in shape and positive, it can also make you money!!  There are apps nowadays that pay you based on the amount you walk.  While they don't pay you the way a job would, there are plenty of benefits to these apps.  So why not get outside, stay active, and make some money while you're at it?
3. Maintain your normal routine!  Obviously, there is not going to be any such thing as normal with COVID-19 going on; however, the best thing to do for mental health is to keep your normal routine as best as you can.  This is not to say that you need to go out and see people as you normally would.  This means that within your quarantine, try and do the normal things you'd do outside of quarantine to the best of your ability.  
4. Continue to eat NORMALLY!  Even with the grocery store shortage, they are still open, and there's plenty of delivery options for groceries too! People assume that they should be rationing their food, but they really should be eating healthy and normally, in order to stay in shape.  Eating right will also increase your mental state, as when people get hungry, they tend to turn into "hangry" people.  Too many "Hangry" people in an isolated space could cause mayhem, so eat right!
5. Yoga/Meditation/Relaxation!  There is absolutely no better time to practice, or even learn yoga and meditation.  Yoga is a physical activity that will increase your physical shape, and will also benefit your mental state to a small extent.  Meditation on the other hand is much more of a mental activity, that greatly improves your mental well-being, and slightly improves your physical shape.  Yoga and meditation are both great activities to do at home during this time of quarantine.

With these 5 tips, I hope your quarantine will be made better... Don't forget to continue to get enough sleep either, as that would quickly turn you into a quarantine creature!  My prayers go out to everyone affected by COVID-19; stay safe!!

Whats the Next Step for the Mustangs?

As everybody knows about and has been affected by COVID-19, it is no surprise that all NCAA spring sports have been cancelled.  This has been devastating for all NCAA athletes, but most devastated is the senior class.  Even though an extra year of eligibility has been granted to all NCAA athletes, the Ivy league, as well as their D3 mirroring conference that will follow suit, the NESCAC, have decided to not give their students an extra year of eligibility.  As everyone can imagine, this is a crushing blow to an unfortunate worldwide disaster.

The season's of these athletes have been take away in these leagues; however, this year's seniors are still eligible to play in a different conference or league, so they have not lost their extra year completely.  It is good to know that these seniors do have a chance to play that extra year they so desperately want to hold on to.  This is not the case for most of the senior NCAA athletes out there however; as most of them see the end of their college career and do not look back, even for an extra sports season.  I know this may come as a shock to readers, but it makes sense to any college athlete, as the 4 years played at the college level of any sport is physically and mentally draining.  By the end of a 4 year NCAA career, most athletes are ready to take it easy, as opposed to returning for a 5th year (even though 5th year's are very common on the Stevenson Mens Lacrosse Team).

Now, the question everybody has been waiting for... What is next for the Mustangs, and NCAA sports?  While the main focus at the moment is keeping everybody as healthy as possible, the whole nation is certainly itching for the return of both collegiate and professional sports.  This anticipation, combined with the quarantine angst is making many people across the globe incredibly antsy to get out of the house.

My advice to everyone is to maintain social distancing, while trying to stay active.  In today's day and age, too many people will be using technology the entirety of the month-long quarantine.  This is not going to be a good trend in general, as after the quarantine is over, people will remain as attached to their technology as they were during.  This is the reason the Stevenson Mens Lacrosse team is still working out everyday, and getting outside.  With help from the Athletic Training Coach MC Mcfadden, we are able to continue to do these workouts and to get outside with a routine, even if that routine is announced remotely.

My challenge to readers is to be active for at least 2 hours a day, and to not be using technology for the majority of this quarantine... STAY SAFE!!