This 6 mile (3 mile up, 3 mile back) linear hike took place on Sunday, July 21, 2024. It was sponsored by the
and was co-led by Eddie, Eddie’s dog and Robert (No last names given).
I left Manassas, VA at around 8:00 AM, took my time and made it down to Charlottesville, VA by about 10:00 AM. I wanted to scout out some of the parking areas along the Rivanna Trail for future hikes. I discovered that I could park at Azalia Park and the Wool Factory. Jordan Park had no parking available and Riverside Park was very crowded. That one may work on a weekday though.
When I got to Azalia Park it was around 11:30 AM. Robert was the first to arrive. I introduced myself to him. Then about fourteen other people including Eddie and 3 dogs arrived. It was about 83 degrees when we started this hike around 12 noon. It was basicly a stream bed hike along Moores Creek between these two parks. We were parallel to I64 for a portion of the hike. The first .3 miles were through a community garden with no shade. It was hot. There was a big down at the beginning. I knew that there would be a big up at the end. We then hiked mostly under a canopy in an eastward direction. Around the one mile mark we hiked under 5th Street SW and passed a Starbucks. I wish that we had taken a break there.
Next the trail skirted around the 5th Street Station shopping center. We could see the huge retaining wall along a portion of it’s border. I conversed with a number of people while hiking. They were all very nice and very interesting to talk to. Around the 2 mile mark we could see townhouses to our north perched precariously on retaining walls. They had no back yards but nice views.
The trail was again well signed and well taken care of. Our hike leader Eddie had run a DR Trimmer mower over this stretch the day before. It looked good. When we got to Jordan Park we took a detour and walked over one of two brand new bridges on this section of trail. It was a hump back bridge and was well constructed. When we got to the 3 mile mark and Jordan Park our leader took a short break but there wasn’t much time to sit down. He took off after about 8 minutes and did a loop consisting of the current trail and a new section of trail.
We started our return trip around 1:40 PM. Since the temperatures were soaring we wanted to try and get back by 3:00 PM. So we didn’t take any breaks on the way back. There were basically two groups of hikers. Eddie led the fast hikers and Robert was the sweep with us slower hikers. As usual, the return hike went faster than the initial hike. There was one lady there that had hiked 4 miles this morning, then did this 6 mile trip in the afternoon. She was exhausted. I tried to encourage her on. We were the last two to make it back to Azalea Park.
It was 95 degrees out when we returned. I was sweating profusely. Eddie had some teeshirts to give away. Naturally, they did not have my size. So I got a size large for one of my sons for a future present. Oh, and we made it back by 3:00 PM. Three hours for 6 miles in the heat. Not bad. We passed or were passed by 1 other hiker, two runners and one bicyclist. Our hike leaders did a great job. I enjoyed this hike very much. I have now hiked about 11.5 miles of this trail and have about 10 miles to go. I hope to get this trail completed within a year. Anyone want to join me?
Mike C
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