May 9, 2011 Reston, Virginia. The NE shore of Lake Audubon and a complete circuit of Lake Thoreau. About 3.25 miles, 1:30. Giving a mini lesson to a couple of friends. Sunny, 72F (22C).
May 8, 2011 Trails along the Potomac River, starting at Riverbend Park and into Great Falls Park, Virginia and return. About 6.25 miles, 1:49.
Highland, Matildaville, River/Potomac Heritage Trails. Crowds of tourists and picnickers in both parks. Quite a few walkers, hikers, runners and even cyclists too.
Sunny, 71F (21.5C)
May 7, 2011 Circuit of Burke Lake, Virginia, clockwise. 4.5 miles (8.8km), 1:45.
With Ewa. Lots of runners, cyclists, fishermen, boaters and walkers, with and without dogs.
Sunny and beautiful, 68F (30C)
May 6, 2011 Circuit of lakes Audubon and Thoreau in Reston Virginia. About 5 miles, 1:21.
Sunny and 68F (20C)
May 2, 2011 Streets of Vienna, but mostly three stream valley parks: Peterson Lane, Tanglewood and Glencannon Community Park. About 2.75 miles, 0:45. With Ania.
Mostly sunny, a bit humid, 72F (22C).
May 1, 2011 Parks and streets of Vienna. About 2.25 miles, 0:38. With Ania.
Slight drizzle, 60F (16.5C). The Vienna Windover Heights Historic District seemed to be holding an open house today.
April 30, 2011 Circuit of Burke Lake, Virginia, counterclockwise. 4.5 miles (8.8km), 1:40.
With Ewa. Lots of runners, cyclists and walkers, with and without dogs.
Sunny and beautiful, 60F (15.5C)
April 25, 2011 – my name’s day! Streets of Vienna, and three stream valley parks: Glencannon, Tanglewood and Peterson Lane. About 3 miles, 0:47. With Ania.
Sunny, warm and humid, 80F (26.5C).
April 24, 2011 – Easter Sunday Streets and parks of Vienna. About 2.25 miles, 0:35:30.
Sunny and fairly humid, 80F (26.5C).
April 23, 2011 Reston, Virginia. The NE shore of Lake Audubon and a complete circuit of Lake Thoreau. About 3.25 miles, 1:02. With Ania. Mostly sunny, 70F (21C)
April 18, 2011 Streets of the Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. About 4 miles, 0:56. Mostly cloudy and a bit humid, 67F (19.5C).
April 17, 2011 Great Falls Park, Virginia: Matildaville, Difficult Run, Ridge and the entire River Trail. About 4.25 miles, 1;55. With Ania.
The Potomac and all the streams are very full after yesterday’s storms. If you look closely behind me, the falls have largely turned into a huge, brown rapid.
Quite a few people, as during the National Parks Week, the admission is free. Sunny, 62F (16.5C)
April 15, 2011 A section of the Cross County Trail, from Route 50, to Pickett Road and back. About 1.75 miles, 0:30. With Ania. In the early evening, after dinner, not too fast. 60F (15.5C)
April 10, 2011 A combination of trails between Riverbend Park and Great Falls Park, Virginia. About 4 miles, 1:12. A zig-zag route along the Potomac River and through the wooded hills. Mostly sunny, 62F (16.5C).
April 9, 2011 Streets of Vienna, and three stream valley parks: Glencannon, Tanglewood and Peterson Lane. About 3 miles, 0:50. With Ania. Cloudy, 48F (9C).
April 5, 2011 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About 4 miles, 0:56:30. Rainy and windy, only 43F (6C). Quite a change after yesterday’s 85F and sun.
April 3, 2011 Reston, Virginia. The NE shore of
Lake Audubon and a complete circuit of Lake Thoreau. About 3.25 miles, 1:05. With Ania. Mostly sunny, 57F (14C).
April 2, 2011 From the W&OD Trail in Reston, to Lake Fairfax Park. Nice, ~5-mile loop. With Ania. When we left the house there was a break in the clouds, the sun was shining and the temperature was 50F (10C). By the time we got to the trail head, the temp dropped into the 40s and it started to rain a bit.
When we got to the Lake Fairfax Park campground, the heated “sanitary” facilities were packed with tent campers, as the temperature has dropped (by my estimate) to around freezing and campers mentioned seeing some hail earlier. In any case, the weather kept changing up and down, from some sun, to rain, but the temperature managed to climb back up again to around 45F. An interesting walk – certainly weather-wise.
March 29, 2011 Streets and parks of Vienna and Oakton. Residential streets, and Glencannon, Tanglevale and Peterson’s Lane stream valley parks. About 3 miles, 0:40.
Sunny and windy, 40F (4.5C)
March 28, 2011 Streets and trails of the Lakevale neighborhood near our house. About 3 miles, 0:45.
Sunny, a bit windy and 32F (0C).
March 27, 2011 Once again a section of the CCT.
This time from Vale Road, to Lawyers road and return. About 4 miles, 1:25. With Ania. Mostly sunny, 42F (5C). The 1/2 inch of snow we had this morning melted very quickly.
Although this route follows stream valley parks, mainly the Difficult Run, there is some climbing involved as well. The above graph shows that part in a nice, graphic detail.
March 26, 2011 Fairfax County, Virginia Cross County Trail, from Vale Road (mile +12S), to Miller Heights Road (mile 15S) and return. About 5.5 miles, according to my GPS, 1:42.
With Ania. Beautiful, sunny day, 42F (5.5C)
March 22, 2011 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About 2.25 miles, 0:32. Sunny and 55F (12.5C).
March 20, 2011 Wildcat Mountain loop, in Buchanan, Virginia. About 4.75 miles, 2:10. A very nice walk through sometimes seriously hilly terrain, on reservation land owned by the Nature Conservancy. With Ania.
An approximately 1,600 foot climb. Blazed trails and unblazed old roads. Quite a few old stone walls, an old house and a pretty spring house. Sunny, fairly cool 45F (7C). Verizon’s GPS signal was just strong enough to trace and map the route, but not strong enough to draw the detailed map.
March 18, 2011 Belmont, Massachusetts: Beaver
Brook, Rock Meadow, McLean Hospital reservation lands, plus access streets. About 4.5 miles, 1:20.
Sunny, windy and 64F.
March 17, 2011 Streets and trails of Belmont, Massachusetts, mainly the hilly and wooded grounds of McLean Hospital. About 3.5 miles, 1:04.
Sunny, 62F, a bit soggy in the lower sections of some dirt trails.
March 15, 2011 Streets of the Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. About 4 miles, 0:57. Mostly sunny, a bit windy, 50F (10C).
In the evening, with Ania, an additional 2 miles through the streets of Vienna. Cool, started to rain about half way.
March 13, 2011Combination of trails between Riverbend Park and Great Falls Park, Virginia. About 3.5 miles, 1:18. With Ania. Sunny, 57F (14C).
Haven’t seen the Potomac river as high as this in a while. Large parts of the Potomac Heritage Trail were under water. The current is very powerful – and I’m even more appreciative of the tremendous power of water after the terrible tsunami in Japan…
March 12, 2011 Cross County Trail, from
Prosperity Boulevard, to a bit past Accotink Parkway and return. About 6.5 miles, 2:00. With Ania.
This section of the CCT includes fairly newly-constructed trail, right next to the Capital Beltway (I-495). In another mile, or so we would have reached Lake Accotink. Partly sunny, 57F (14C).
March 8, 2011 Streets of the Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. About 3.5 miles, 0:50. Sunny, 44F (6.5C).
March 7, 2011 Streets and parks of Vienna -my “Salsbury Spring Loop”. About 2.25 miles, 0:34. Sunny, but only 35F (1.5C). Still drying out after the impressive downpour and winds of yesterday.
March 5, 2011 Cross County Trail, from Leesburg Pike (Rt 7), to Great Falls Park, VA and return. About 5.5 miles, 1:55. With Ania.
Mostly sunny, 60F (15.5C). Quite a few hikers, runners and mountain bikers, along with some deer.
March 1, 2011 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About 2.25 miles, 0:33. Sunny, 37F (2.5C).
February 27, 2011 Pimmit Run Trail, from Marie Butler Leven Preserve in McLean, Virginia, to Chain Bridge and return. 5.5 miles (8.8km), with Ania and Ewa.
The trail winds along the stream valley park, sometimes in between the McLean McMansions, but still a very nice route, connecting with the Potomac Heritage Trail at Chain Bridge. Very nice, sunny day, 58F (14.5C).
The hike took a bit longer than usual, as we got involved with taking care of a lost dog. The bottom line is, that to the best of our knowledge the (very nice) dog and its owner were happily reunited 
February 26, 2011 Combination of trails between Riverbend Park and Great Falls Park, Virginia. About 3.5 miles, 1:20. A zig-zag route along the Potomac River and through the wooded hills. Mostly sunny, 46F (7.5C). With Ania.
A huge number of mostly water birds visible: cormorants, ducks, geese, sea gulls and blue herons, along with the ever-present Turkey Vultures. Quite a few bird watchers with serious-looking, tripod-mounted spotting scopes.
February 21, 2011 Streets and parks of Vienna -my “Salsbury Spring Loop”. About 2.25 miles, 0:34. Light drizzle, 40F (4.5C).
February 20, 2011 C&O Canal, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, from Swain’s Lock, to the falls overlook, downriver from Great Falls and return. About 6.25 miles, 2:00.
With Ania and Ewa. Sunny at first, got clouded over later, 43F (C).
February 19, 2011 Streets of Vienna, the Lakevale neighborhood and three stream valley parks: Glencannon, Tanglewood and Peterson Lane. About 3 miles, 0:42.
Cloudless skies, very, very windy and 52F (11C)
February 15, 2011 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About 2.25 miles, 0:31:30. Cloudless skies, some wind, but no comparison to yesterday’s and last night’s howling gale, 35F (1.5C).
February 13, 2011 Great Falls Park, Virginia.
Swamp, Ridge, Difficult Run, Ridge again and Matildaville trails. About 4.25 miles, 1:37. With Ania.
Mostly cloudy, but quite warm, 49F (9C). A bit muddy, after the snow melt, but extensive patches of ice still remain in places.
February 12, 2011 Fairfax, VA Cross County Trail, from Vale Road, to Lawyers Road and return. About 4 miles, 1:30. With Ania.
Crisp, 41F (5C), sunny, with most of the mud frozen.
February 7, 2011 Cross country skiing in Seneca Creek State Park, in Maryland. About two miles. Spent a lot of time searching for snowy areas, had to take my skis off several times. Strangely enough, the snow was best in open, grassy areas and along the park’s roads. Wasn’t able to go around Clopper Lake, as the trail turned into mud in too many places. Still, a good workout.
February 6, 2011 Nordic Walking on trails between Great Falls Park, Virginia and Riverbend Park, starting at Great Falls. About 3.5 miles. Some slushy snow still left, not really enough for proper skiing. With Ania and Ewa.
Sunny, 43F (6C)
February 5, 2011 Nordic Walking along the W&OD Trail, from Vienna, to Piney Run bridge and return. About 3 miles, 0:47. With Ania.
Could have gone cross country skiing, as there is still enough snow, particularly on the parallel, dirt, horse trail. Light drizzle, 35F (1.5C).
January 31, 2011 Cross country skiing along the W&OD Trail in Vienna, Virginia, including a circuit of Eudora Hill (Northside Park). About 2.5 miles, 0:55.
Crusty snow, totally frozen and uneven in places. Descending Eudora Hill was an exercise in caution and a traverse through crusty snow in the woods, as the trails were almost solid and uneven ice. Still, pretty fast, if tricky conditions. Mostly cloudy, 29F (-1.5C)
January 30, 2011 Cross country skiing along the C&O Canal, from Violette’s Lock, to Pennyfield Lock and return. About 5.25, 1:30. With Ania.
Gorgeous, sunny day, around 40F (4.5C). The corn snow was surprisingly fast an nice to ski on.
January 29, 2011 Cross country skiing around Burke Lake, Virginia, counterclockwise, 4.5 miles (8.8km). About 1.5 hours. With Ania. We took our time and in addition had to bushwhack in several places, to go around large clumps of downed trees, climb over and almost crawl under some.
From partly cloudy, to beautiful, sunny skies. About 32F (0C). The snow was a bit icy, as it was extremely wet when it fell three days ago and the surface has melted and re-frozen. Overall, very nice and fast skiing was possible. A few walkers and runners.
January 26, 2011 Cross country skiing. Yes, folks! We finally got some measurable snow. About 6-7 inches of very wet, but gorgeous stuff. About 2.75 miles through streets and parks of Vienna: Peterson Lane Park, Tanglewood and Glencannon Community Parks. In the evening and in the very nice snow-reflected light. The headlamp, which I brought along, wasn’t necessary at all.
Close to an hour, as I had to break trail and dodge under and climb over a great many broken branches and trees. This wet snow is very, very heavy. The first chance I had to test my new waxless skis (a first for me, as I was always a firm believer in waxable ones). Pretty good and certainly convenient, although, just like with automatic vs manual transmissions, the performance is just a tad worse.
January 25, 2011 Parks and streets of Vienna. About 3 miles, 0:39:5.
Mostly cloudy and much warmer, 40F (4.5C)
January 23, 2011 Great Falls Park, Virginia. Matildaville, Ridge, Difficult Run, Ridge again and Swamp trails. About 4 miles, 1:20. Sunny and cold, 26F (-3.5C).
A few hikers. The streams are partly frozen. The Potomac River, which is comprised mostly of rapids and waterfalls in this section is frozen only along the banks and in some quiet eddies.
January, 22, 2011 Fairfax County, Virginia Cross County Trail, from Vale Road, to the Oak Marr Recreation Center and return. About 8.25 miles, 2:11. Mostly sunny, but cold, 22F (-5.5C). The ground was hard enough to feel like pavement to the bare tips of my LEKI Speed Pacer Vario poles.
Many streams are frozen. Difficult Run frozen only in deeper, slower-moving sections and along the banks. Saw a group of four bucks and three does. The young bucks immediately crossed the trail in front of me at a run, leaving the females. Wonder if they were trying to lead me away from them, or just tried to run away…
Was testing the new Columbia Omni-Heat jacket. Very nice performance for a garment, which is relatively thin and very light. The only cotton items on this walk were: my undershorts, handkerchief and the bandanna around my neck
January 16, 2011 Pimmit Run Trail, from Marie Butler Leven Preserve in McLean, Virginia, to Chain Bridge and return. 5.5 miles (8.8km), 2:02. With Ania.
The trail winds along the stream valley park, sometimes in between the McLean McMansions, but still a very nice route, connecting with the Potomac Heritage Trail at Chain Bridge.
Sunny, but a cool 34F (1C), with some very narrow, snow and ice-covered sections above the Pimmit Run.
January 15, 2011 Circuit of Burke Lake, Virginia, counterclockwise. 4.5 miles (8.8km), 1:18. Speeded up for the last 1.5 miles. Ania finished 3 minutes later.
Mostly cloudy, 42F (5.5C). Lots of runners and walkers, with and without dogs. Hundreds of Canada Geese seemed to be holding a convention on the lake’s ice.
January 11, 2011 – more ones: 1/11/11 Streets of the Lakevale subdivision, close to our house. About 4 miles (6km), 0:57. Cloudy, 30F (-1C). Some snow is in the forecast for later today and tonight.
January 9, 2011 Trails along the Potomac River, at the end of Seneca Road in Great Falls. About 5 miles (8km), 1:40. With Ania.
A light dusting of snow, sunny, but a bit chilly, 30F (-1C) and windy. Partly on sections of the Potomac Heritage Trail.
January 8, 2011 Great Falls Park. Virginia. Swamp, Ridge, a section of the CCT, Difficult Run and Matildaville trails. About 4.25 miles (6.8km). With Ania. Sunny, but cool, 32F (0C), with a light dusting of snow.
20 miles for the week.
January 4, 2010 Chain Bridge- Key Bridge loop. Starting at Roosevelt Island on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, upstream along the Potomac Heritage Trail, to Chain Bridge, then across to the Maryland side, along the C&O Canal towpath to Key Bridge and back to Roosevelt Island. About 8.5 miles, 2:52. All of the route descriptions say that this loop is 9.5-miles-long, but my GPS app clearly showed it as being 8.5 miles, so I am going with that distance here.
Sunny, but a cool 45F (7C). The Heritage Trail has some interesting rock scrambles, even steel handrails bolted to rock in one section. Lots of stream crossings and waterfalls – some partly frozen.
January 2, 2011 Streets and parks of Vienna and Oakton. Residential streets, returning through the Glencannon, Tanglevale and Peterson’s Lane stream valley parks. About 4 miles, 0:58.
Damp and cloudy, after an earlier drizzle, 45F (7C).
January 1, 2011 – 1/1/11 A full circuit of Lake Thoreau and part of Lake Audubon in Reston, Virginia, 3.25, 0:50. With Ania. Cloudy and a balmy 55F (12.5C). A decent number of walkers, runners and even golfers in one spot. 19.25 miles for the week.
December 29, 2010 Streets and parks of Vienna. With Ania. About 3 miles, 0:47.
Sunny, 42F (5.5C)
December 28, 2010 Cross County Trail, north from Hunter’s Mill Road and the W&OD Trail, to Route 7 (Leesburg Pike), to Lake Fairfax Park and a final two miles on the W&OD Trail, to Hunter’s Mill Road. Nine miles (14.5km), 2:30, sunny, 40F (4.5C).
My longest Nordic walk in a while. Still feeling the strong pole plants from yesterday in my shulders. Might be an Advil day
December 27, 2010 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About four miles, 0:58.
Sunny, but windy, 32F (0C). Hardly any snow. A few icy patches.
December 25, 2010 – Christmas Day Rock Meadow Conservation Area , Belmont, Massachusetts. About 2 miles.
Went out with the whole bunch, from Weston, who is not quite three-years-old, to my father, who is over 93. About the same amount of snow as yesterday. The big blizzard didn’t hit until the 26th and we drove home through it – the Pennsylvania route – not nearly as much snow as on the coast, but it still required quite a bit of care, especially in the Pennsylvania mountains.
December 24, 2010 – Christmas Eve Rock Meadow Conservation Area and the old State Hospital grounds, Belmont, Massachusetts. About 2.5 miles, 0:50.
Very nice meadows, woods, wetlands, covered with about two inches of fairly fresh snow. With Ania and Monika.
December 20, 2010 A new (at least to me) section of the Cross County Trail, between Lake Fairfax Park and Carper’s Farm Way. About 3 miles, 0:48. Light layer of snow everywhere, icy in the more used places and on hills. About 32F (0C).
The area had “Deer Control Activities” (read deer hunting allowed) signs posted all over. I was glad to have been wearing a red, nylon jacket and be seen by possible myopic and/or trigger-happy hunters.
Funny how smart the deer actually are. Haven’t seen a single one today, but several yesterday and the day before…
December 19, 2010 Fairfax, VA Cross County Trail, from Lawyers Road, to Vale Road and return. About 4.25 miles (6.8km), 1:35. With Ania.
About two inches of snow on the ground. Icy in places. “Interesting” stream crossings over iced-up rocks. About 32F (0C) and sunny.
December 18, 2010 Great Falls Park, Virginia, from Riverbend Park and return. About 3.25 miles (5.25km), 1:10. With Ania. Along the wooded hills of the Upland and other trails; return along the Potomac River, on the Potomac Heritage trail.
About two inches of snow on the ground, 37F (2C). The Potomac River is frozen in the deeper, slower sections. Not quite enough snow for cross country skiing, but a beautiful day for a walk.
December 12, 2010 W&OD Trail, to Lake Fairfax Park and return. About 5 miles (8km). 1:18. This trail winds through the woods, crosses several streams, has several noticeable hills providing a very varied workout. Noticed new Cross County Trail signs. Wonder if the trail has been rerouted in this section, or whether this is just another alternative connector. Will check it out.
Light rain, 38F (3.3C). Very slick along the muddy stretches. From my experience, wet clay and silt are even more slippery than ice, as you just slide on top of the latter, but slide on top AND WITH the former, like on a bunch of miniature, greased ball bearings. Had to go slower in sections because of this.
December 11, 2010 Streets of the Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. About 4 miles (6.4km). At dusk, 40F (4.5C), 0:58 Lots of Christmas decorations and the usual dimwits driving around with their fog lights on, even though there was no fog to be seen anywhere…
December 5, 2010 Fairfax, VA Cross County Trail, from Lawyers Road, to Vale Road and return. About 4.25 miles
(6.8km). Windy and quite cold, 37F (2.7C).
December 4, 2010 Great Falls Park, Virginia, from the upstream Riverbend Park and return. About 3.5 miles (5.5km). With Ania and Ewa.
Mostly sunny, but only 39F (3.4C). Along the wooded hills of the Upland and other trails; return along the Potomac River, on the Potomac Heritage trail. A large birdwatchers’ group was in full swing in Riverbend Park.
December 1, 2010 Streets and parks of Vienna. About 2.25 miles (3.6km), 0:32.
Damp, raw and windy after last night’s rain and windstorm, 40F (4.5C).
November 28, 2010 After an exhibition and lecture about the work of the famed Finnish architect Eero Saarinen at the (where else?) the Embassy of Finland in Washington, a walk around the neighborhood. About 2 miles. With Ania and Ewa. A bit chilly, but a very nice day.
The neighborhood in question contains a number of embassies and ambassador’s residences, as well as some pretty nice and well-located mansions. Nice to be rich, I guess…
The event was sponsored as well by the MIT and Harvard clubs of Washington and the Finlandia Hall of the embassy was packed full of people.
November 27, 2010 Streets and woods of Vienna and Oakton. With Ania. About 3 miles, 044.
Sunny, but windy, 42F (5.5C)
18.5 miles for the week
November 25, 2010 – Thanksgiving! Streets and parks of Vienna and Oakton, including over a mile along the W&OD Trail. About 5.5 miles (8.8km), 1:25. Cloudy and damp after an overnight rain, 45F (7C).
Quite a few people walking, running and cycling on the W&OD. Saw two bucks and three does hopping across the trail as well.
November 24, 2010 Streets and parks of Vienna. About 2.25 miles (3.5 km), 0:34. Sunny, but a bit windy, 41F (5C)
November 21, 2010 Cross County Trail, from Vale Road, to the Oak Marr Recreation Center’s golf clubhouse and return. About 8.25 miles (13.25km), 2:40. With Ania.
Very nice, sunny day, 55F (12.5C). Managed to trip and fall into a stream about half a mile before the finish line. Except for a scraped knee and wet clothes, everything, including my Droid phone survived 
November 15, 2010 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About 2.25 miles (3.6km), 0:31:30.
Partly sunny and 50F (10C).
November 14, 2010 Fairfax County, Virginia Cross County Trail, from Lawyers Road, south to mileage marker 13.5, about 1.5 miles south of Vale Road and return. About 6.75 miles (10.85km). With Ania.
A nice, very varied trail through the woods, hills, stream valleys, largely along the Difficult Run stream.
Superb, sunny day, 60F (15.5C).
November 13, 2010 Trails between Riverbend and Great Falls parks, Virginia. About 4.5 miles, 1:34. With Ania.
Started in Riverbend, followed a zig-zag route through the hills, from the highest points, to the Potomac River and back. Return along the Potomac. Beautiful, sunny weather, 62F (16.5C).
November 9, 2010 Streets and parks of Vienna. About 2.25 miles, 0:34. Sunny, 53F (11.5C).
November 8, 2010 Streets and parks of Vienna: Peterson Lane Park, Tanglewood and Glencannon Community Parks – including a hilly section of Lawyers Road. About 3 miles, 0:42.
Cloudless skies, 50F (10C).
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January 2, 2010 W&OD Trail, west from Hunter Mill Road, then on the Cross County Trail, north and return. About 4 miles. 1:05.
With Ania. 19F (-7C), sunny and windy. Quite a bit of snow and ice left in many places. The Difficult Run Stream was not frozen.
18.5 miles for the week, 3 miles for 2010
January 3, 2010 Streets and parks of Vienna: Peterson Lane Park, Tanglewood and Glencannon Community Parks plus a hilly section of Lawyers Road. 3 miles. 0:42:30.
20F (-6.5C), sunny, but very windy. Many, packed, hard and slippery patches of ice.
January 5, 2010 Streets of the Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. 4 miles. 0:55.
28F (-2C), sunny and a bit windy. Still many patches of ice left all over the place. (7).
January 9, 2010 Streets, parks and trails of Vienna and Oakton, including a one-mile section of the W&OD Trail. About 5.75 miles. 1:30.
30F (-1C), sunny, a 1-2-inch layer of snow in many places, with patches of older, hard ice treacherously hiding underneath. Bare tips on my LEKI Speed Pacer Varios.
12.75 miles for the week
January 10, 2010 Great Falls Park, Virginia. Swamp, Cross County/Difficult Run and Ridge trails. Return by the Matildaville Trail. About 6 miles. 1:44.
This is a hilly route, not only providing beautiful views of Mather Gorge, the Potomac River, Difficult Run and other places, but also a great workout. With Ania. Just enough snow to make it super pretty .
January 11, 2010
Streets of Vienna and Oakton. About 2 miles. 00:29:30.
28F (-2C), sunny. Quite a few icy patches here and there. (8).
January 12, 2010 Streets of the Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. 4 miles. 0:56.
27F (-2.5C) and cloudy. (12)
January 16, 2010 Riverbend Park, from Great Falls Park, Virginia. About 6 miles. 2 hours + With Ania and Ewa.
This route leads through hills and valleys and along the Upland Trail and the Potomac River. About 48F (9C). Mostly cloudy, with some left-over snow in places.
18 miles for the week
January 19, 2010 Streets of Lakevale neighborhood, near our house. 4 miles. 0:53:30. Pretty fast pace.
52F (11C), sunny and unseasonably warm. A bit of snow still left over in a few places.
January 20, 2010 W&OD Trail to Lake Fairfax Park and return. The route goes through a forest trail with quite a few hills and stream crossings.
About 5 miles. 1:13. 40F (4.5C). Lots of mud, squished up by mountain bikes. (9).
Just 9 miles for the week. Work commitments, plus an unpleasant dental procedure, didn’t allow for any more miles
January 25, 2010 Northside Park in Vienna, Virginia, next to the W&OD Trail. About one mile. 15 minutes. Examining and photographing still another beaver dam on the Piney Branch stream.
January 27, 2010 Streets of Vienna and Oakton. 2 miles. 0:32. Fairly relaxed pace.
37F (2.5C) and sunny.
January 30, 2010 Cross country skiing on the W&OD Trail, from Vienna, to the Piney Branch bridge and return. About 3+ miles. Just over an hour. With Ania.
About 3-4 inches of snow on the ground and falling. 18F (-7.5C). Great skiing with blue wax. Saw a few people running, a few walking with dogs and about half a dozen deer. Glorious all around!
Getting back into a swing of things, after having to pretty much stop exercising for a week, after a dental procedure. Yes, it required stitches. Growl!
January 31, 2010 Cross country skiing around Burke Lake, counterclockwise. With Ania. 4.5 miles. About two hours.
Cloudless skies, 24F (-4.5C). Gorgeous. Hopefully the snow will stick around for at least another day.
February 1, 2010 Cross country skiing in Vienna parks. About 2 miles. 0:25. 30F (-1C), sunny and nice, but I have used a wax that was a bit too hard for the three-day-old snow. (6.5).
February 5, 2010 Cross country skiing in Vienna parks. About 2 miles. 0:35. With Ania. In evening, but in the great semi-lightness, that comes with the reflection from the snow.
26.5F (-3C). Falling snow, the predictions range all the way up to 30 inches by tomorrow afternoon. We shall see
February 6, 2010 Neither Nordic Walking, nor cross country skiing ( I was planning to do the former), but shoveling snow for about 2.5 hours. That must count as a good workout. Doesn’t it?
Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny and with nearly 30 inches of snow on the ground, cross country skiing should be very nice indeed
February 7, 2010 Cross country skiing in Vienna parks. Three miles. 0:45.
Tough going through almost untracked 2.5 feet of snow. Used too hard a wax for these conditions. Fast, but with little grip. As far as I can tell, a little klister would have gone a long way.
25F (-4C), sunny and gorgeous. After another 1.5 hours of shoveling snow.
February 11, 2010 Like seemingly every day for the past week, or so, neither Nordic Walking, nor cross country skiing, but shoveling snow for about 1.5 hours. A heck of a workout!
February 13, 2010 Cross country skiing to Riverbend Park, from Great Falls Park, Virginia and return. About 6 miles. About 2:30. This route leads through hills and valleys and along the Upland Trail and the Potomac River.
With Ania for the first two miles. Unfortunately her old skis have delaminated (I have never seen anything quite like that) and she had to turn back.
28F (-3.5C), gorgeous, with an at least two-foot snow cover. We have met several cross country skiers as well.
February 14, 2010 Cross country skiing in the Great Falls Park, Virginia: Matildaville (quite a climb in the final section – glad I had klister on), Ridge, Difficult Run/Cross Country Trails and the Carriage Road. About 6 miles. 2:21.
34F (-1C), sunny and beautiful. Too bad that despite trying really hard, we couldn’t buy new skis for Ania today.
Quite a few walkers, trampling the ski tracks. It was kind of funny to see many people sinking up to their butts in snow. Snowshoes, or skis anyone?
February 16, 2010 Cross country skiing on the W&OD Trail, from Vienna, to the Piney Branch bridge and return, alternating between the now invisible, paved and flat railroad grade and the more natural and hilly, parallel horse trail. At the end did a circuit of the hilly Eudora Park. About 3.5 miles. About an hour.
32F (0C), sunny and beautiful. Pretty good ski tracks all over. A few inches of klister under the foot. Last night’s 1-2 cm of snow didn’t make much difference on the fast, crusty surface.
February 20, 2010 Cross country skiing in the Great Falls Park, Virginia: Mostly Matildaville Trail and the Carriage Road with a few forays into the woods. About 4 miles 1:10.
With Ania and her brand new skis.
42F (5.5C), sunny and beautiful. The snow was OK, but not as nice anymore as last weekend.
February 21, 2010 Cross country skiing around Burke Lake, clockwise. With Ania. 4.5 miles. About two hours.
47F (8.5C), mostly sunny, some bare patches in sunny areas, but still plenty of corn snow to ski on. For how long will this manna last? No idea
February 22, 2010 Cross country skiing on the W&OD Trail, from Vienna, to the Piney Branch bridge and return, alternating between the railroad grade and the more natural and hilly, parallel horse trail. 3 miles. 0:50.
42F (5.5C). partly sunny. Used Ania’s waxless skis., mainly to test them and to avoid having to mess with klister on my waxable ones. Pretty good and convenient, but the performance of properly waxed skis is noticeably better. The snow cover is still quite good, but I wonder how it will change after the rain predicted for tonight…
Thank you for this information! I used it for my diploma thesis =)