One railway that has partially transitioned to a trail is the Dahlgren leg of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. At 15.7 miles in length, the trail offers a scenic hike through rural areas of King George County.
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| My hiking partner at the start of the hike! |
We planned today's hike to correspond with a picnic area dedication at the trail, which brought out enthusiasts from the local area. One person we had the pleasure to meet was Don, a member of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Historical Society. Don brought out a Pump Car and allowed us to take it for a spin on the .6 mile length of track.
However, the name of today's game was to get a nice hike in, and Bonnie and I covered six miles of the trail today.
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| Along the rails - the first .6 mile of trail |
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| One of the local farms we passed - with corn needing more time |
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| One of the many ponds and streams along the way |
Within the first couple of miles, we were quite surprised how much the trail changed. From farmland to forest, narrow to wide, pine to hardwood. One thing that was consistent was how flat and straight the trail remained.
Interesting changes continued as we came across an area where some type of vine seemed to be taking over everything on the trail. We noticed it was growing across the trail to make one web of vegetation covering everything in sight.
While we only covered a portion of the trail today, we plan to be back to finish the complete leg. I was happy to be able to do my first rail to trail hike!
Our journey on the Pump Car? We hooked up with some help and took off down the line! Quite a smooth ride!
Keep hiking, friends!
Mike
What a treat to have a go on a pump car and it looks so smooth!
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