This roughly 3 mile lollipop loop day hike took place on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. It was just me on this one.
This has been a tough year as far as hiking goes for me. First there were many rainy days this spring. Then I got COVID and was out of commission for close to a month. Now I’m dealing with excessively hot days. I want to get back in shape. What do I do? Get up at 4:00 AM and hike early in the morning while it’s still somewhat cool.
I got up at 4:00 AM, left home around 5:00 AM and was at the trailhead and ready to hike at 5:45 AM. The temperature at the start of the hike was a pleasant 69 degrees. I thought that this trail was going to be all asphalt. So I wore Adidas running shoes. It turned out that the trail was about 70% asphalt, 15% gravel and 15% dirt. There is parking available near the trail head along either Sully Park DR or the road across from Kamputa RD that goes to the Sully Station II Community Association.
The trail starts about 100 feet south of the above intersection. You can’t see the trailhead from Sully Park DR as it goes down a slight hill. This section is paved. The AllTrails map shows a trail diverging to the right after about 500 feet. That is not the case as the trail corridor is overgrown and the nearby neighbors are placing yard waste within it. However, after another 300 feet I came across a playground and a basketball court. The trail does split between these two amenities.
So I took the trail to the right. It was paved for about 50 feet. Then it became dirt. For the next half mile this trail paralleled an unnamed tributary of Cub Run. This trail looked well used but in need of maintenance. The trees and bushes were growing in on this trail. There were three or four blowdowns. along this stretch that I had to shimmee over.
At around the .75 mile mark I returned to the paved trail, turned right and then crossed Cub Run on those typical Fairfax County concrete stepping stones. These stepping stones are easier to maintain than a bridge. I read once on the Fairfax County website that over 60% of the trails in Fairfax County are paved. They have done studies and have concluded that paved trails are cheaper to maintain than dirt trails.
After Crossing Cub Run there were many intersecting trails. I turned left onto a dirt, then gravel trail that must have been a utility line. After about .25 miles I saw the paved trail on the right. So I could have stayed on the paved trail. After another .25 miles the two trails converged and I again crossed over Cub Run. I could see US29 about 1,500 feet ahead. I was now at the southernmost point of this hike.
There was a paved trail to the left just after the bridge over Cub Run. This was around the 1.5 mile or halfway point. So I turned left and started the return trip. I was on paved trail for the next .5 miles. There were nice woods along this stretch. I then got back to near where I crossed Cub Run the first time.
Next I turned right and was on gravel trail for the next .25 miles. Even though there was only partial shade on this stretch, it was comfortable to hike on. I passed a small pond that was half empty, turned slightly left, then would be on paved trail for the rest of the trip. I passed the basketball court and playground that I had passed at the beginning of the trip, then after about 800 feet, I returned to Sully Park DR, my vehicle and the end of the hike.
This was a good hike. I thought that it was around 2.6 miles but AllTrails said that I did 3 miles. And they changed the AllTrails app so that the recorder actually worked now. It was 72 degrees and still pleasant when drove back home. I either passed or was passed by about twenty hikers, runners and byclists. They all had the same idea that I had. Get the miles done early before it got too hot.
Mike C
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