Take a hike in winter on Gerry Connolly's Cross County Trail

Ain't it a beaut?  Even in winter. That's the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail in Fairfax County/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Through the woods we go!/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Yeeks!  It was deer hunting season where deer slayers can kill deer in the park!  Poor little deer.  The season has ended already/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Roots, roots everywhere as they reach for room and water/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Pavement in a park? Baa humbug/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Evidence existed that big beavers with big, precision teeth liked the surroundings, too/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Yonder above stood civilization/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What's this growing on the tree?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oh, no!  Trees get tumors, too, but they are not like mammalian tumors, but, according to a New York Times' article, they are held in place by cell walls and caused by a virus, bacteria, or fungus stemming from injury.  In other words, they look worse than they are /Photo by Patricia Leslie

My hair in the morning (if I had this much)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At night, she's a tap dancer/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Yonder there! What looks to be...hunters!/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A hiking we will go, a hiking we will go, hi ho the derry o, we are not... cold/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A girl and her dog is ever the pleasantest thing/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He wore University of Tennessee orange to ward off the hunters/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Look!  Even on the trail!  Free eatins' and lots of iron! You try them first/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Ain't it gawgus? And see those tire marks?  This was before the big rains but you get the picture: Trump is right: We live in a swamp/Photo by Patricia Leslie


On a warm (relatively speaking) winter's Saturday afternoon, friends and I hiked a wee portion of the 40+ miles long Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail in Fairfax County which extends from one end of the county to the other. 


Who needs a car?

We hiked about two miles roundtrip on the Difficult Run Stream Valley Trail portion, beginning at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Colvin Run Road. (Parking at the "septic site" (?) at the intersection at Colvin Run is easier than parking at the mill up the hill since there's nowhere to walk safely on the street to reach the trail from the mill, but their cars are nicer than mine, and just to be on the "safe side," they parked upstream. )


We had not gone far on our little venture until we found a sign announcing we were in the middle of deer hunting season which was a mite disconcerting until an important Fairfax County official told me later that hunters have been taking out precious deer for a long time on the trail, and this practice was nothing new. (I declare if you live long enough you can learn something new every day.)


Besides, deer hunters don't come out until dusk when the deer come out (!), so we had no reason to worry. That the trail weaves in and around neighborhoods still makes for some consternation, but being that Fairfax County residents are not known for silence when it comes to matters of controversy (or any matters, for that matter), I suppose this is not a controversial matter since you never hear about it, the little deer being slayed. (If it doesn't bother them, it surely doesn't bother me, especially since I don't even live there!)

With the curves, rocks, roots, dogs, soggy conditions, streams, talks and scenery, we non-runners completed our short hike in about 90 minutes. 


Why is the trail named after Congressman Gerry Connolly?  Glad you wondered.  He is considered the father of the trail since he essentially started it 19 years ago (pre-Congress), working on it years and years and years until the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided to call it after him.  And then he quit.  Just kidding!

The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway which stretches from Maine all the way to Key West, and on it, they recycle, using plastic and fiberglass for all the signs. Glorify!


So, take a hike in winter! A delightful way to spend a Saturday afternoon getting some exercise and enjoying the outdoors with friends at no cost! (A cheap date.)

What:  The Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail


When:  Not at dusk during deer hunting season

Where: Fairfax County

How much:  It's free!  (The Fairfax County Park Foundation welcomes donations.)

patricialesli@gmail.com