Fort Hunt to Mount Vernon - Pretty, But Not So Much Fun

This is a new experience. I went for a lovely  seven- mile hike on a new trail. It was beautiful and I took a lot of beautiful pictures. I learned to identify an edible plant I didn't know before. And I hated nearly every minute of it.

The Mahonia plant and the GW
Parkway in the background. This
is what it is like the entire hike.

The Mount Vernon Trail from Fort Hunt, which used to be the northern end of the Mount Vernon Estate, to Mount Vernon runs along the Potomac River. It is very pretty - as long as you only look toward the river. If you look the opposite direction, you are never further than 20 feet from the Mount Vernon and George Washington Memorial parkways. For those of you not familiar with Northern Virginia, both are quite busy highways.

The loop around Fort Hunt Park is entirely in the road. Sasha and I walked through the park instead.

There are a couple of spots where you actually have to walk on the parkway to cross under a bridge or to access part of the trail from For Hunt. That's never a good idea in NoVA. Pedestrians, even ones in bright red winter coats, might as well be invisible to drivers here. Shoot, a neon flashing sign in the shape of a voluptuous woman bouncing up and down in the center of the street is invisible to NoVA drivers.

Hey! What's out there?

It was a rainy morning, but I don't mind the rain. It made the walk a little more peaceful and the fog over the Potomac was intriguing. It even obscured Maryland on the other side. It also made all the noises from the woods a little spooky, which drives Sasha the Dog nuts.

The other part of the hike that I didn't care for is that it is paved the entire way. You essentially make the whole hike on a bicycle/jogging trail. I suppose the upside is that stepping in the puddles cleaned the mud off of  my boots from my last hike at Battlefield National Park and didn't get any fresh mud on them.  The downside is that it doesn't feel much like getting back to nature.

It was good exercise at best for me. The constant traffic and dodging bicyclists and joggers is mentally tiring though. I nearly turned around a couple of times. Sasha did think that all of the mud on the side of the trail was great fun. Wait until she discovers it means BATH TIME!

Oh, and there was a shiny historical marker to commemorate the birth of George Washington given by the towns of Washington, Tyne,  and Wear, England. They also helped plant 250 trees along the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway. Does this mean all  is forgiven for that pesky little rebellion?

I was happy to get pictures of a plant I later learned is edible and is common in this area. The Mahonia plant (pictured above) has edible flowers and berries. It is also a suitable alternative to holly for planting under windows to deter would-be peeping Toms thanks to its pointy leaves. (I prefer cacti for maximum deterrence, but Virginia doesn't have a lot of cacti.)  Of course, much to my chagrin, I had to get help identifying it from a friend in England. I'll get better at that!

It didn't help the hike that it took me two hours to travel the 30 miles to get back home! Only in NoVA can you go on a 3.5 hour hike and spend 2.5 hours in the car getting there and back again. Hopefully my next hike won't require so much car time!

The fog was so thick at times that I couldn't see the river or discern the horizon

Around the bend of the Potomac River

A less than subtle reminder that DC and
NoVA are built upon swamp lands.