Around Manassas Battlefield

I wanted a longer, but not too hilly, hike, someplace I had never been, but not too far away - and a loop, not an out and back. I managed all that at Manassas National Battlefield.

Battlefields aren't really my thing, which was why I hadn't made an effort to go before. I am not likely to go again, either, but it was reasonably nice. It's definitely not a place I would visit in summer; much of it is, unsurprisingly, open field, and the sun would be intense.

Luckily, it was sunny but cold. I chose to do the First and Second Manassass loops, going clockwise from the Visitor's Center, and a short loop to a historic house near the visitor's center. Both of these loops go in and out of fields and woods.

Notable points include a bridge closed on the First loop (you probably could cross it, but I took the horse ford), Stone Bridge, a stretch along Bull Run where the bluebells were starting to come out and the section around the Unfinished Railroad. If you want to see cannons, there are plenty of those too.

The hike came out to almost 11 miles, with about 650 feet of elevation gain. 

Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin

The cherry blossoms peaked unusually early this year, so I took a quiet day off of work and we went down to the Tidal Basin to see them.

So, first thing - there are lots of other places to see cherry blossoms. Many of them are in the DC area. And DC does not have a monopoly on them (even assuming we are talking about the U.S.) - I used to really enjoy seeing the trees come into bloom along Riverside Park, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has a fantastic section. However, DC offers the chance to see them alongside iconic monuments, which is half the appeal. Admittedly, it does also offer crowds.

Which were somewhat ameliorated by it being a cold, blustery weekday - the temperature was in the low 40s. We also got there relatively early; there was still plenty of parking. (We were sensible and took the train in.)

Stumpy, we're gonna miss ya!

Dark Branch and Windy Ridge

The weather was nice, so I headed up to Little Bennett to explore some new trails. I started by looping around Dark Branch, then taking Pine Grove to Western Piedmont. After a brief bump on Wim's Meadow, I made a loop of Windy Ridge and Browning Run, then returned via Western Piedmont and Pine Grove.

The entire loop was just short of six miles. It's a pleasant hike, but not one with magnificent views or stunning waterfalls.

Froggy Hollow and Hard Cider

This hike traveled two trails new to me, plus some familiar ones, but all in an area I already knew, the southeast corner of Little Bennett. 

From the Froggy Hollow trailhead, I followed the Froggy Hollow trail all the way to the road, then back to the schoolhouse. I then used the Hard Cider to return to Clarksburg Road. From there, it would be roadwalking to Froggy Hollow, not something you want to do. I used the Kingsley Trail to loop back to the schoolhouse. Then, to get more miles, it was up the Purdum trail to its intersection with Browning Run. Then back down it, and back down Froggy Hollow to the car. 

While it sounds complicated, it was only 5.5 miles total.

Back on the C&O

T and I met up with friends to do a hike at the Carderock area. We ended up going west on the C&O to Great Falls, then back.

This meant exploring the detour I had skipped last time. It was a higher-quality trail than I expected - not just shuffling along the shoulder of a road. It was decently fenced off, and well graded. 

We then returned to the C&O until Great Falls. At the falls itself, the water was high, and well worth the trip to the overlook. 

We followed the same route back, doing a little over 8 mile total.