Fighting for a Walk in the Woods

Fighting for a Walk in the Woods

Asmall but spirited hiking club is concerned that one of the region's most beautiful and historic trails is being damaged by the National Park Service, which is working to shore up the piers that support a segment of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

The 10-mile Potomac Heritage Trail, which has long been maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, is threatened by the construction that could cut off the trail at its midpoint, said Bruce Glendening, the club's Northern Virginia District manager.

At issue is a boulder crossing used by hikers to traverse Pimmit Run near where the parkway also crosses the stream. But the tension surrounding the project is about more than a stream crossing. It's about a largely unknown hiking path that despite a connection to the region's past and its undisturbed scenery has never, club members say, gotten the respect or attention it deserves -- not even from its owner, the Park Service. And it highlights how a dedicated band of nature enthusiasts has for years cared for the 10-mile stretch.

"We want them to put it back in the condition it was before," Glendening said. "It took a lot of effort to get those boulders in place."

A spokeswoman for the George Washington Memorial Parkway said the construction is necessary to stabilize the stream bank and to prevent further erosion from affecting the parkway's piers. She said the crossing was washed away by recent storms, not by construction. The project is slated to cost $800,000, and there is no timeline on when it will be finished, said Emily Weisner, the parkway spokeswoman.

"The trail has remained open throughout the construction," she said. "The problem has been, recently, the weather. We've had big storms, which took out our construction material and also washed out the whole area, and some of the boulders were washed out with the storm."

Construction crews have repaired part of the crossing at hikers' request. And any additional damage done will be rectified, she said. "The Potomac Heritage Trail is beautiful. We really value that trail and the partnership we have with" the hiking club.

The trail wends its way along the Virginia side of the Potomac River from the Theodore Roosevelt Island footbridge to the American Legion Bridge, and is, in Glendening's opinion, "one of the best urban trails east of the Mississippi." It is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, which when finished would stretch about 700 miles.

The charm of the trail is that it courses right through the heart of the region and even passes close by the Rosslyn Metro stop. At points, the noise and clutter of the city that surrounds it are evident. The parkway can be heard, and there is, in some places, litter and graffiti. But for the most part, the trail is something of an oasis where the urban din is replaced by a quiet, pastoral walking path through the woods, where the only noises are the sounds of the river and wildlife.

Unlike the towpath along the C&O Canal, its counterpart across the river, the Potomac Heritage Trail is strictly for hikers. As a result, it is more serene and less known.

"You can really see the wildlife," said Polly Choate, a hiking club member. She said that at various times she has spotted cormorants, great blue herons, ducks and foxes.

On a recent visit, Ric Francke, executive director of the Potomac Heritage Trail Association, pointed out paths that dated to the Colonial era, and the spot where Sen. John Randolph of Virginia and Secretary of State Henry Clay faced off in a duel. (Both fired and missed.)

With Glendening and many other volunteers, Francke has spent hours maintaining the trail, cutting away brush, weeding, constructing stone steps. "Trails are organic," he said. "They're constantly changing."

And the Heritage Trail is "a work in progress."

For the most part, that work centers on keeping the trail as pristine as possible. And that is why hiking club members have been so concerned about the Park Service's construction.

"We feel they just don't recognize it," Glendening said. "It's an afterthought."