Adventuring LGBTQ+ Outdoors Club

Kick off your Labor Day Weekend on Saturday August 30 with this imaginative and unusual hike from the heart of Northern Virginia to the middle of DC.

We will first walk to the paved Bluemont Junction Trail that starts near the Ballston Metro on Fairfax Drive at N. Wakefield street. We’ll follow this trail to the Four Mile Run Trail (next to the W & OD trail), which is heavily wooded (i.e., well shaded). We’ll walk northwest to the Custis Trail, the paved trail next to I-66, east to the Mount Vernon Trail. Bathrooms/water are available on the Custis Trail.

From the Custis Trail we'll head over to Theodore Roosevelt Island, where we'll briefly visit to see Teddy's Stalinesque monument. Next we’ll cross the Potomac via the TR Bridge's pedestrian walkway to the Rock Creek Trail, not far from the Kennedy Center. We’ll proceed north through Rock Creek to the Peirce Mill area (where Adventuring holds our annual picnics), and then exit the Park onto Connecticut Avenue close to the Cleveland Park Metro, which we should reach by 4:30. Beers & bar food at Nanny O’Briens on Connecticut follow for those interested.

Total length of this moderate to strenuous one-way hike is about 9.5 miles, with moderate elevation changes along paved/asphalt surfaces. Bring plenty of beverages, snacks, bug spray, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes. Your only cost is the $5 trip fee; cash (exact change appreciated) or Venmo; the trip leader will pay for financially challenged Adventurers.

Meeting Time & Place: Noon at the Ballston Metro Station (Orange/Silver Lines) at the top of stairs/escalators at street level on Fairfax Drive.

It's time for our annual Wilson Bridge hike on Labor Day, always a highlight on the Adventuring calendar.

Starting from the King Street Metro Station at 11 a.m. on Monday September 1, we'll first stroll down historic Duke Street. We'll eventually switch over to Wilkes Street so we can walk through the historic railroad tunnel to reach the waterfront. Union Street will then guide us towards Jones Point Park. Here we can use the luxurious rest facilities beneath the Wilson Bridge before lunching at the Lighthouse next to the Southern Boundary Marker for the District of Columbia.

After lunch we'll stroll across the Wilson Bridge into Maryland. Once we arrive we can linger at National Harbor for as much or as little as we want before returning. You could take a water taxi back to the Alexandria Waterfront; fares are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors, and departures are scheduled for 3:25 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. From the Alexandria Waterfront you can walk up a few blocks to Market Square and take the free King Street Trolley to the Metro. Or you can take Metrobus directly back to the Metro station from National Harbor. The newly-redesignated P90 bus leaves from St. George Boulevard & Waterfront Street at 27 and 57 minutes past the hour.

Total length of this easy one-way hike is less than six miles, with virtually no elevation change. We'll meet at 11 a.m. inside the King Street Metro near the buses by the station manager's kiosk. Bring beverages, lunch, bug spray and the $5 trip fee.

This day trip is part of our series of hikes to all the named waterfalls in Shenandoah National Park and checks the boxes for two more waterfalls in the southern section of the Park. It also provides us with another opportunity to enjoy the fabulous blackberry ice cream at Shenandoah's Big Meadows Lodge. This will be a long day, so let's plan on getting dinner at the lodge.

South River Falls is one of the most frequently visited waterfalls in the entire Park because it is so picturesque and unusual. Dry Run Falls, in contrast, is off the beaten track and may be one of the Park's least visited waterfalls; it will require a short off-trail excursion (0.1 mile) but should be easy to locate by sound.

Length of this moderate hike is 7.2 miles, with about 1750 feet of cumulative elevation gain. Bring plenty of beverages, lunch, sturdy boots, bug spray, sunscreen, $5 for trip fee, $15 to reimburse your carpool driver, money for ice cream and dinner, plus a park pass if you have one. Also we will stop for a short pit stop at a Sheetz convenience store along the way to our trailhead for you to get last-minute provisions.

We are aiming for a prompt 8:30 a.m. departure from the East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot, because this hike is in the distant southern section of the park.

Please be aerobically fit because this hike, though not strenuous, is 7.2 miles long and has 1750 feet of the elevation gain. The trails are rocky and often muddy. If you RSVP, please be sure to reverse your RSVP status if you have to back out.

Mid- to late-September should be the time for peak bloom for the pawpaws in our area. With a little bit of luck, their yummy fruits should be falling-off-the-trees ripe as we venture out to the higher elevations of Western Maryland.

This adventure will have two highlights. One will be harvesting pawpaws, if you're so inclined. Unfamiliar to many Americans, pawpaws are native to North America and quite tasty, although not everyone shares this opinion on that latter point. We should be able to find a good supply on or near the towpath if others haven't beaten us to them. The other highlight will be strolling through the pitch darkness of the Paw Paw Tunnel, probably the most impressive engineering marvel along the entire C&O Canal.

We will follow our traditional route for this annual venture, starting with a stroll of 3/5 of a mile through the pitch darkness of the Tunnel. We'll proceed downstream to a picnic area perfectly situated on the banks of the Potomac, where we'll lunch. We'll then return to our cars by taking the reopened Tunnel Hill Trail up and over its eponymous hill. We'll keep our eyes peeled for ripe pawpaws throughout the day. If you want to eat one or more it would be usefull to have a knife, spoon, and paper towels since they might be a little messy.

Total length of our moderate round trip will be 8 miles with several hundred feet of elevation gain on the Tunnel Hill Trail on our return leg.

We'll stop for dinner somewhere along the way on the way back to the East Falls Church Metro station.

We'll meet to form carpools at 8:30 AM in the Kiss & Ride lot of the East Falls Church Metro Station. Bring plenty of beverages, lunch, sunscreen, bug spray, a spoon, knife, and napkins if you'll be consuming pawpaws, and a flashlight for navigating your way through the Tunnel. Carpool passengers should pay their drivers $28 each which includes each passenger's share of the toll for the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway. In addition everyone will pay the $5 Adventuring trip fee.