Volunteers gathered on July 12 to open up a new section of trail in Lake Ridge, through the wooded area between Hedges Run Drive and Mohican Road. There is a new trail opening near Hedges Run Drive that allows hikers and runners to connect with the existing trail segments that continue on to Mohican Drive. The route is marked with trail blaze markers (the color is blue, same as the trail along the reservoir). The trail route on both sides of Hedges Run is shown here.
Currently, the ground is saturated and trail conditions aren’t ideal in some sections. The Washington DC area has received unusual amounts of rain in recent weeks. A Washington Post report on July 9 said: “Since June 1, Reagan National has logged a remarkable 15.28 inches of rain – which is almost 50 percent more than it receives in an entire summer on average (10.44 inches). This has been the second wettest June 1-July 8 period on record (since 1871), only behind the 16.55 inches of 2006.” We will monitor the trail as the weather changes, to see what will become more usable when and if the frequent rains let up, and to see where further improvements will be needed.
Here’s photo gallery from the workday:
