This approximately 3 mile Loop hike occured on Friday, January 26, 2024. It was just me on this one.
With temps in the high seventies today I just had to get out and hike. so I chose to go to Prince William Forest Park near Triangle, VA and hike a loop that I used to do when I was a trail mainatiner there in 2015. So I left home around 9:30 AM and made it tp PWFP by about 10:00 AM. By the time I got to parking lot D and started the hike, it was around 10:15 AM.
I actually wore a short sleeved shirt on this one on January 26. It should have been cold. So I started down Pyrite Mine RD. I have probably done this loop 50 times but it is a good challenge. It was mostly level to down hill. I passed the orange blazed Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trail. Then, at one point, I thought about going off trail and exploring the mine ruins. In the 30 years that I have been hiking here I have never explored this area. But I decided to do it another day so I kept going.
There were three small to medium blowdowns about 2/3’s of the way down to Quantico Creek. I reported them to the Park Maintenance Supervisor after the hike. I got to the South Valley Trail at the 1 mile mark and turned right onto it. I wanted to see if the park staff and volunteers had relocated this section of trail yet. They had not. About half way along this trail I spotted a brand new bench that someone erected near the creek. It was well crafted. I hope it is anchored properly and won’t wash away the next time the creek floods. I took a nice break there.
Along this stretch I passed four people, one with a dog. I was surprised that there were not more people on the trail. Around the 2 mile mark I was on the South Valley Trail/North Orenda RD for a short bit. Then, the South Valley Trail turned left and North Orenda RD went straight. This last mile was mostly up but not bad. I got done around 12:15 PM. Decent time for 3 miles. I made it home around 1:00 PM. I’m glad that I got out to enjoy this beautiful day before the cooler weather and rains hit tomorrow.
Mike C
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