Difficult Run Stream Valley Park, Gerald Connolly Cross Country Trail, McLean, Virginia
I am trying to be better about doing the things that bring me joy. Routinely. When life is so fast, like it is here on the east coast, and when it is hard to feel good, like it is when you have cancer, and the things that bring you joy require work, it somehow becomes easy to let the time pass by without doing anything that makes you happy.
Well, I mean, pushing things off the table when Barbarian Scientist is using them makes me happy. Sticking my finger in his ear is also great. Pretending to be him and asking every 90 seconds if he needs anything also makes me laugh. But nothing is like following dirt paths for no reason at all other than it fixes my brain for a little bit. That is increasingly feeling like a pretty good reason.
Hike 28 in 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles– Washington DC, Difficult Run is described as: “…a long tributary that ends at the Potomac River’s Great Falls Park. Populated by runners, hikers, dog walkers, and families, this relatively difficult trail (maybe that is how it got its name) was originally developed as a road used by the American Indians and later by colonists. The route was used to bring commerce from the Shenandoah Valley south to Georgetown. Centuries late, in 1974, the Old Georgetown Pike was paved. The area is protected by the National Park Service and connects the Potomac Heritage Trail to the Gerald Connolly Cross Country Trail (CCT), named in recognition of the Virginia congressman’s efforts to establish more recreational sites for his constituents.”
The trail really is not that difficult. It is long and much of it is overgrown, if you do the entire thing. But, the closer you are to a trailhead, the more clear the trail is. That is becoming a theme here. Cities and counties maintain most of the trails, so they are doing their best. It does bring the light the value of volunteer trail work, though, which is very popular in the west.
The trail follows the stream between Scott’s Run and Great Falls Park. It only crosses the stream a couple of times, and this stone crossing was my favorite part. The stones are enormous.
Passing beneath this Maryland bridge seemed like the traffic ought to have been louder, but it was not.
This overgrown bridge was my second favorite part of the trail.
Most of the trail is single-track, As I said, much of it is overgrown. It has been about 100 degrees here for the last few weeks, so there were no toads or lizards, but there were many birds singing songs along the way. I thought that because the trail was so overgrown that I would surely be bringing home a family of ticks, but ever since I got cancer I have never had a problem with them. Winning. I mean…not really. But, I will take it.
One brief section had thick coverage of this skinny bamboo – how odd. It was maybe 10 feet of the trail.
As I showed you from Scott’s Run, these concrete stepping stones for water crossings seem to be a thing here. I really love it. They are durable, not only from human use, but the weather.
The End
So, it was not a huge adventure. There was no grand payoff, or epic view. It was simply a lot of miles through a forest. And it made me happy.