David English and Twin Ponds Cut-Off Trail

Location: White Clay Creek State Park, Newark, Delaware
Season Visited: Spring
Trail Length: David English Trail is 2.4 miles long. If you make it a shorter loop from the park office by taking the Twin Ponds Cut-Off Trail, I estimate the hike to be about 1.6 miles. The cut-off trail itself is 0.4 miles. You can see the layout of the trail (and other trails in the park) on this map.
Time to Hike: Hiking the full David English Trail took us about 2 hours, going at a toddler's pace some of the way. Doing the short loop via the cut-off trail when said toddler was a small baby took us 1.5 hours.
Difficulty Level: Moderately easy.

I have written before about trails in White Clay Creek State Park. This post is actually two posts in one, as I have hiked this trail twice now. The first time was in May 2017 when my son was three months old. The first part of this post and the accompanying pictures are from that hike. The goal that day was to hike the entire David English Trail, but the baby was not having it and we ended up taking the cut-off trail to make a shorter loop back to our car. The second time was a couple of weeks ago, the beginning of April, with a much more adventurous 14-month-old! This park is close and pretty and has easy hikes - perfect for a new mom or families with young children. The David English Trail in particular is a good choice because you can decide at the halfway point whether you want the hike to be short or a bit longer depending on how your family is feeling. Be warned: on a warm April day you will have to get out of the way of a LOT of bikers.

Both times, in addition to my son, I went with my husband and sister to the hike, which starts at a trailhead at the following coordinates, near a park office:

One nice thing about the White Clay Creek trail markers is that they include coordinates!

As you can see on the map, the trail has three different ways you can go almost immediately. We decided to go left here. This put us directly on the David English Trail, walking on relatively level ground. Going right would also have put us on the David English Trail, but there looked to be an incline, and we decided to go easy on ourselves since this was only my second-ever hike with the baby back in 2017. What followed was a mostly flat dirt trail.

With the newest addition!

My sister is obviously highly enjoying her quality time with nature.

Further on we came to a bench, where I fed the baby and let him chill out of the carrier for a while. At the time I was experiencing quite a bit of difficulty hiking with him because he did not like the carrier under most circumstances. Now that he can sit in a backpack - or walk - he has taken to hiking with joy.

It was only a year ago, but he looks so much smaller than he does now, as you will see!

Here you can see how the trail looks in April from our most recent trip:

There is much less foliage in April. This is the trail just past the parking lot.

Past the bench the trail opens up, coming to a sweet little pond filled with turtles, and where we spotted many small birds. Both times I've been to this pond I've seen eastern bluebirds. After the pond, the trail meanders back into the woods. Near the end it becomes a bit more steep, and you do have to put in a bit of effort, especially if carrying a toddler on your back. It's never difficult, however. In season you can see a lovely magnolia tree blooming near the park office before returning to the parking lot. These pictures are from the April 2018 trip.

My sister and dog.

Baby boy loves hanging out in the Osprey carrier.

Conked out.

I was very happy to be able to complete the trail this time around. A successful hike with my son has definitely renewed my confidence as I begin to hike more often with him. I can't wait to share more of our adventures with you.

What Do I Bring on a Hike?

There are all sorts of lists out there telling you what to bring on a hike.  Some are incredibly detailed, others aren't.  I haven't seen any bad lists, but I have seen some filled with unnecessary stuff, or with instructions that are pretty dated.  Some hiking experts might disagree with my list, but this is what I bring when I'm going on a day hike that could last anywhere from one to eight hours (the typical length of my hikes at this point).  Obviously this list isn't suitable for multi-day backpacking trips.  I'll get back to you on that.

1. A backpack.  I use an awesome little Swiss Gear backpack that I've had since forever.  I've actually been unable to find it anywhere online, and since I didn't buy it for myself I unfortunately can't tell you where to get one!  The important thing is that it's super small and has just enough room to fit everything on this list - and nothing more.  I like it that way, because I don't ever want to be caught with too much stuff!

2. Water.  Probably the most important thing on the hike.  I used to use a Camelbak bladder but I got fed up with it and now I just use a water bottle (from Cambelbak).

This is the water bottle I use.  My hubby got it for me at Eastern Mountain Sports.

http://www.opticsplanet.com/camelbak-podium-chill-bottle-21-oz-water-bottle.html

3. Food.  On a typical hike I will pack four separate food items to satisfy my hunger.  I'll pack something like PB&J and some carrot sticks for lunch and then trail mix and energy bars as snacks along the way.  Don't get caught hungry!

4. Camera.  This is up there with food and water for me, but not everyone likes to take pictures when they hike.  To each his own, but I always have my camera ready!

5. Map.  To be honest, you really don't always need a map.  This is like blasphemy to most hikers, but if you're on a well-marked trail and there aren't that many other trails nearby then you'll probably be fine.  Another thing you don't need on a normal day-hike is a compass, which is on a lot of hiking lists I've seen.  I have personally never used a compass on a hike.  It's not like I'm bushwhacking for goodness sake!  Of course, if you are bushwhacking or hiking somewhere really remote or something like that then by all means bring a compass, but if not, it's really not that hard to look at the sun and figure out the general direction in which you're travelling.

6. Shoes that are not going to fall apart.  You'll notice I avoid using the words "hiking boots."  Let's break this down.  Hiking boots are outdated.  There are some places you might want them, but on your average hike they're just too heavy to warrant.  You will want sneakers on your average hike.  I use the same pair of Nikes that I bought for like 35 bucks in high school and they're fine.  I usually also bring flip flops or water shoes in case I want to dip into a waterfall :)

7. Band-aids.  I am always happy I have band-aids.  I usually use them to prevent blisters, but if you get a nasty scrape they are useful then, too!  I break the rules of always bringing a ton of first-aid stuff with you.  Sorry, scouts, but you seriously don't need an entire first aid kit on a single-day hike.  If you know general first aid then you can makeshift whatever you need, especially if you're only a few miles from help.

Note - don't go cheap on the band-aids.  Buy the name-brand hard-core sports ones.  You'll be glad you did.

http://swativig.wordpress.com/category/band-aid/page/2/

8.  Bug spray.  To be honest, I only bring bug spray after rain or if I'm going to a place that I know is super buggy.  But I put it on this list because when you need it, you NEED it!

I admit to using the don't-screw-around Deep Woods DEET stuff.  Yes, it's horrible for you.  But, as my husband said on our most recent camping trip, there are times when it just might be better to die of cancer later than blood loss now.  My advice is to only use it when you really can't take the bugs any more.  Also, be sure to shower as soon as possible after your hike.

voices.yahoo.com

9.  Sunscreen.  I am a sunscreen fanatic.  If you don't want burns/skin cancer, put it on!!!

People all the time ask me what sunscreen I use.  This is it.  Yes, I use SPF 100+.  Told you I was a fanatic!  But seriously, this is the best sunscreen I have tried.  I hate the slimy look sunscreen gives you.  This doesn't do that.

www.neutrogena.com

10.  Cell phone (optional).  This is the controversial one.  Hikers are always arguing about whether or not to take their cell phones on a hike.  Pro-phone people say, "What if there is an emergency?"  Anti-phone people say, "You can't escape into nature with a phone!"  I say, "To each his own."  9 out of 10 times I do bring my phone, just in case.  Especially since I have a smart phone, I know that there are lots of emergency situations I could use it in.  For example, I have a flash light app.  My phone could also help me make loud noises in the unlikely case of meeting an unfriendly bear or something.  However, I am really good about not checking it.  I guess if you're one of those compulsive phone-checkers you should save yourself the temptation and leave it behind.

These are the 10 items that I don't hike without.  There are other things that you may wish to bring along for various reasons.  Sometimes I'll bring a jacket in case I get cold.  Sometimes I bring toilet paper, if I know I'll be out for more than four hours.  Just think about the type of hike you're going on and imagine what else you might need.  Chances are you'll be fine with this stuff.

Enjoy your hike, and keep wandering!

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