So I finally got my lazy ass outside and did a "REAL" hike... (More than 3 miles, and not on sidewalks in my neighborhood...)
I did a 7.3 mile loop at Prince William Park National Forrest outside Quantico VA. It's a nice quiet park, without all the hustle and bustle of major National Parks, but still busy enough where you will find people should an emergency arise.
I actually first visited the park a few weeks ago and did an 11.2 mile bike ride... I had been ridding the trails along the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, but they are pretty flat, and pretty crowded so I wanted something a little better.
That took me to Mott's Run Reservoir City Park, also in Fredericksburg, but that 6.7 mile loop is a bit on the physically demanding side, which got me looking for something a little gentler to ride with the wife some time in the future... And PWP was the answer.
When I was looking for the bike rides, I found that Prince William Park has a lot of single use trails (Hikers Only) and aren't that difficult. Water crossings are all bridged, and the trails are well maintained.
The trails are clearly marked, but they are not color coded to the map I had, so you had to pay attention to the signage as well. I had also downloaded the trail onto my phone via Gaia GPS Maps, so it made staying on the right trail easy. (Lots of intersecting trails, and fire roads, so getting misrouted could be possible.)
The route I took went counter clockwise, and seemed to be "against the grain" as I passed a lot of people going the other way, and not many going the same direction. But since the trail starting at the visitors center is one way out to the North Valley or South Valley trails, it doesn't matter which way you go.
While the trails are smooth for the most part, there are areas where roots are exposed and could create a tripping hazard, but like I mentioned before, the trails are well maintained and are an easy walk. (I did use my walking sticks though, just because of the issues with my knees and ankles.)
And even thought the elevation guide from Gaia shows some major changes, they are for the most part gradual, and never really slowed me down... But it will still get your heart rate up, and your lungs working overtime!!! (Maintained about a 3 mph pace the whole way, which for a first time out on an unfamiliar trail, was a good pace.)
I wore my GoPro Hero8 Black on this hike, just to record the video... And since I upload my videos to the GoPro Cloud, they send back a quick little "highlights" video to show you what you recorded (And what GoPro is capable of.) I wanted to share the clips here, but they exceeded the 100MB limit so here is a link (I hope it works)
I will definitely be going back soon...
And more to come here as well...
