1st Sunday Hike and Breakfast

We hit the trailhead a bit early since everyone was there.  We hiked down the boardwalk and towards Bull Run (river) accompanied by lots of birds singing in the trees.  Later on we stopped to try to identify a few and were pleasantly surprised at the diversity of birds around this sliver of a park along the river and in the flight path of Dulles International at times you could seemingly reach up and touch a 777 flying overhead.  The trail had quite a few bridges as you might expect, but a few were quite bouncy, although very sturdy.

We walked along the river up a few fairly steep hills.  Before the next little hill and before crossing a small stream I heard a bird singing loudly in the bushes.  We stopped long enough to spot the bird and to my surprise, it was one of the most strikingly beautiful birds out there, an Indigo Bunting https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Indigo_Bunting/,.  This particular bird had a surprising long song, which he repeated many times, moving from shrub to tree and back again.  We just stood there in admiration before moving on.  We walked for another 15 minutes and spotted a wood shelter high up on a bluff above the river so we took advantage of the view and the seat for a rest.  Soon we observed a bird flitting about and singing in a tree slighly below us.  Checking a couple of bird websites, we were able to identify the bird as a Black-Throated Blue Warbler (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-throated_Blue_Warbler/id).  We continued on until we reach some Civil War earthworks which was about the 3.5 mile mark and almost 2 hours into our walk.

We walked back and oberved more Indigo Buntings (groups of them in places) and then spotted or third warbler, a Black and White warbler, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-and-white_Warbler.  I have this bird in my back yard each summer (and an occasional Indigo Bunting passing through) but it was still nice to see it here.

We got back to our staring point around 1:30 pm, making for a good 4 hour hike.  This is a great gem of a park in Northern Virginia and definitely needs a revisit.

Bull Run Occoquan Trail

This is a long one-way trail (not a loop) so we’ll hike down partially and hike back.  The terrain is somewhat hilly.  We’ll begin at Bull Run Regional Park

The hike will begin at 10:00 am and go about 7 miles (we’ll walk 3.5 miles and then turn back to our starting point).  Bring water, sturdy shoes and some snacks.

For those in the Richmond area, we’ll have breakfast at McLean’s Restaurant, 3205 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23230 at 7:00 a.m. before leaving at 7:45 a.m. for the drive up.

https://www.novaparks.com/parks/bull-run-occoquan-trail

History of park:

The stream valley was originally inhabited by the Indians of Taux or Doag group of the Powhatan Confederacy, who rapidly succumbed to the advance of European settle-ment. Their word “Occoquan” means “at the end of the water.” Early English colonists gave Bull Run its name, applying the name “rundle” or “run” to streams not affected by tide and thereby running in one direction. Both native and colonial Americans depended on the area for food, materials for shelter and easy transportation on the water.

During the Civil War (1861-1865), Bull Run was a strategic defense line between the north and south and was the site of two major battles, First and Second Manassas (or Bull Run). On July 18, 1861 at Blackburns Ford (near present day Route 28) a skirmish occurred preliminary to the first Battle of Manassas. Federal troops attempting to secure the crossing were driven back by Confederates under General James Longstreet.

Many earthen forts were constructed to guard strategic crossings along Bull Run. A fine example can be easily seen just above where Little Rocky Run joins Bull Run.

The railroad bridge near Popes Head Creek was destroyed several times to prevent an en-emy’s control of the rails between Richmond and Washington. Evidence of the bridge and other fortifications may be seen along or near the Bull Run Occoquan Trail.