Hiking the Bull Run Occoquan Trail

Here we are, camped in Bull Run Regional Park, a Northern Virginia public park.  This campground was recommended to us by our full-time RV Escapees Boomer friends Ron and Dee Stuebing.  We're already glad we took their advice.  Before Covid-19, we planned to stay here over three separate 2-week periods as part of a summer of camping near family.  We were to be near our daughter Katie until July 15 to help her with her new home and spend time with her and the grandpuppies, and get some extended time to visit Kathy's family.  From July 15th on, we were to be down here near Washington, D.C. to help our son Matt, his wife Weina and our grandson William as they moved into their new home.  We planned 2- or 3-week stays in various campgrounds between March and October.  Covid-19 changed those plans with campground closures and social distancing.  But, through it all, we retained our plan to move here to Bull Run on July 15th.  We got here on schedule and were glad we did, because Matt's work schedule changed and he couldn't be here to complete his home purchase; so we stood in for him and handled the on-site stuff.

Today is Saturday, July 18, 2020, and we've completed the move and home purchase logistics, so we had a chance to turn our attention to things outdoors.  As with much of the country, we're in the grip of a heat wave.  The daily highs have been in the mid-90's Fahrenheit.  So, as we planned our first hike this morning, we decided to get up at 5:30 am with the sun and get out on the trail very early.  It paid dividends in that we felt so much cooler and more comfortable than we would have in midday.  In addition, with Covid-19 and the fact that today is a Saturday, our early start helped us avoid most of the crowds of locals who use these trails for weekend recreation.

Our campground sits next the Bull Run, a tributary of the Potomac River, site of the famous battles of Bull Run (or Manassas).  Bull Run is a 32.8-mile-long tributary of the Occoquan River that originates from a spring in the Bull Run Mountains in Loudoun County, Virginia, and flows south to the Occoquan River. Bull Run serves as the boundary between Loudoun County and Prince William County, and between Fairfax County and Prince William County.

Our trail is the Bull Run Occoquan Trail, which, starting in our campground, stretches about 20 miles in a generally southern direction, first along the western bank of Cub Run and then continuing along the northeastern bank of Bull Run, and ultimately along the north shore of the Occoquan River.

It only took about a quarter mile for us to reach Cub Run from our campground.  Below, David takes his first look at the stream:

He also snapped his own photo of it:

We're not sure how long this string of parks and conservation areas has protected the forest along Bull Run and the Occoquan River, but there were enough very old trees, and some that had lived out their natural life, that we think it possible some of these woods have not been logged since the Civil War.  Kathy posed with one of the older fellows we encountered -- who seemed to have a split personality:

The woods were full of life.  We spotted a mated pair of osprey fishing the stream, some pairs of cardinals, and several deer.  On the less mobile side, David always enjoys introducing himself to fun guys he meets along the trail:

Just at the bridge over Cub Run where it flows into Bull Run, we heard a hearty splashing and looked down to see this doe wading upstream.  She stuck to the water, even when she saw us, so we imagined that she was trying to use the water to stay cool:

She continued upstream a safe distance before turning to watch us as we finished crossing the bridge:

This trail permits hikers and horseback riders, but no trail bikes or motorized vehicles such as ATV's.  In certain places, notably steep slopes or where bridges cross water, an alternate route for horses is marked by a horseshoe blaze, as opposed to the trail's standard blue blaze:

In the early morning sun, Kathy spotted this perfectly symmetrical and finely spun spider's web shimmering in the light:

Our total hike was almost 7 miles.  We crossed several streams as we worked our way south:

We found our lunch spot on a gravel bar in Bull Run.  When we looked closely at the gravel, however, we noticed that the "gravel" was actually predominantly fresh-water clamshells.  We could only speculate whether the entire layer of topsoil along the stream was full of shells, or whether our lunch spot was the top of an old midden.  We munched a breakfast of baozi we bought with yesterday's lunch at Matt and Weina's favorite local Szechuan restaurant, Mala Tang -- which we believe roughly translates as "taste of Szechuan numbing pepper":

Further downstream from our lunchspot, we spotted rocky cliffs (on the left in the photo below) that clearly serve as picnic spots for hikers and camping spots for homeless.  In the background is the bridge for VA Route 28, along which the next section of the trail will run for some distance:

We noticed on our GPS that a trailhead parking lot (just off Highway 28) was only a few hundred yards further on, and we decided to hike further to that trailhead in order to scout out the parking situation if we want to drive down to that spot to hike the next section of the trail.  We hadn't walked far when we stumbled across this cache of trail tools and evidence that a crew was repairing and replacing steps on the trail as it climbed a steep slope toward Highway 28:

We reached the parking lot, to find that the trail crew was out in force.  They appeared to be just starting their work today and were finishing their planning meeting.  This section of the trail is maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club is founded on volunteerism and public service to outdoor enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. This tradition goes back to November 1927, when the club was formed to survey and construct hundreds of miles of the Appalachian Trail.  Eight men, including Myron Avery, met and formed the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club in Washington, D.C. in 1927 to build “a section” of the Appalachian Trail and support what was then the proposed Shenandoah National Park.  Myron Avery was the 1st President and held the post until 1940. By the time Shenandoah National Park was created in 1937, PATC was already maintaining a network of trails in the region, and publishing the first maps and guidebooks. PATC also started constructing cabins and shelters for members and the hiking public during this period.

This was our turnaround point, and as we started back along the trail, we noticed this large sign explaining the trail:

Discovering the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club so active in our immediate area only whetted our appetite to venture the hour's drive west from here toward Skyline Drive to get our boots onto sections of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.  

We're sure those A.T. outings will be the subject of future blogs, but first we have to explore the hiking trails of the Manassas National Military Battlefield, which is only a stone's throw northwest of our campground.

Until the next blogged outdoor adventure, stay thirsty, friends!