This 2.6 mile up, 2.6 mile back (5.2 miles total) day hike occured on Monday, November 25, 2024. It was just me on this one.
Since today was possibly the last day for awhile with the temperatures above 60 degrees, I decided to hike another section of the Rivanna Loop Trail between Woolen Mills and Jordan Park, all within the city of Charlottesville, VA. When I left Manasas, VA at 6:50 AM the temperature was 31 degrees. I stopped at the Southern States gas station on US29/15 near Culpeper, VA to use the facilities and get some breakfast. Their prices were much better than 7-11.
I arrived at the Woolen Mills parking lot at around 9:30 AM and started the hike. According to
The Historic Woolen Mills Website
a grist mill was first built at the confluence of Moore’s Creek and the Rivanna River in 1795. It was enlarged and became a huge factory for producing clothing, cloth and military uniforms around 1847. It was burned by the Union Army in 1865, rebuilt starting in 1868 and named The Charlottesville Woolen Mills. The mills had their ups and downs over the years and finally closed in 1962. The buildings seen today were originally built around 1920 to 1930. The mill was restored in 2020 and today houses a software company, an event venue, a brewery, a restaurant and a coffee shop.
Back to the hike, I initially crossed a very nice bridge over Moore’s Creek and started westbound on the Rivanna Loop Trail. The first half mile was very level There were 2 water crossings and I went under a viaduct of some sort. The local water department had facilities on each side of the trail on this stretch.
The next half mile was very rocky. I also went under VA20 Monticello AVE that goes to MR Jefferson’s house. There was another stream crossing. I almost fell in trying to take an image of the concrete culvert going under I64, which I paralleled on this stretch. I had to place one foot in the water to keep from falling into it. So I had a wet foot again.
The next 1.6 miles were a series of good size ups. There were also many side trails going to nearby Quarry Park. I was getting tired on this stretch. So after a good up the trail came down and again paralleled Moore’s Creek. When I got to Avon ST I was supposed to roadwalk about 250 feet north, then turn left onto Paletine, then left onto 6th ST and enter Jordan Park where I finished a section that I did with Rivanna Trails Foundation volunteers in July, 2024. You can read about that hike
Here.
However, I had spotted a nice raised sewer box about .2 miles back. Since I was feeling lousy and didn’t want to do the roadwalk, I just turned around and took a ten minute break at the raised sewer box.
I think that I have found the magic combination to give me more energy during a hike. Drink an energy drink of some sort. I drank an Ensure. Then, take an energy pill/gummy/losenge of some sort. I have been experimenting with Voke Tabs, Force Factor Total Beets and Human n Super Beets. I have found that this combination allows me to get my second wind and hike even faster than the first stretch of a given hike.
When I got to Avon ST it was 50 degrees. I had to shed my jacket for the trip back. I took my break from 10:50 AM until 11:00 AM. I then retraced my steps. It always seems shorter on the way back. And since I was hiking faster because of my “fix”. I made it back to my vehicle by 12:09 PM, 11 minutes faster than my “up” trip. It was 61 degrees when I ended this hike. I only passed two hikers today. They were both women. I thought about getting something at the coffee house at the Woolen Mills facility called The Workshop as I like to frequent local businesses. But I wanted to get on the road. So I stopped at
on the way home and got a bag of caramels there. Since they are individually wrapped, it is very difficult to unwrap them and drive safely. So I only had a few on the way home. But, man were they good!
OK, so as of today, I have completed 14.5 miles of this trail and only have 6.6 miles to go between River RD/Coleman ST and Barracks RD. I plan to do this section next spring and park my vehilcle in the shopping center at the intersection of Barracks and Emmit, get an Uber to River/Coleman and hike back to my vehicle. Or I will see if two people that I have recently met that live in or near Charlottesville will either hike with me or give a shuttle. Then, I will be done with this trail.
But, unfortionately, there is still the Rivanna North Trail, the trails on the east side of the Rivanna River east of C’ville, the new Biscuit Run Park and the trails that surround Monticello. So I have the feeling that I will be coming back to Charlottesville, VA again many times to get all of this accomplished.
Mike C
Rivanna Loop Trail Distance Calculator.
Special announcement about mikecalabrese.com coming soon. Watch my Blog for more info.
< Previous Trip Log | << Outdoors | Next Trip Log >
