Last Sunday’s walk was a visit to “The Big Rock,” a little-known landmark along Pohick Creek in Springfield, Virginia. Little-known perhaps in a broad sense and a little hard to find, but knowing how kids like to explore, I imagine the rock, marred by graffiti, would be a familiar memory for anyone who grew up in the surrounding neighborhoods.

In our case the rock was just the “sizzle,” so to speak – the “steak” was a 5.5-mile walk through the woods along Fairfax County’s Cross County Trail, with eight stream crossings across stepping stones. The route was not taken from any existing trail guide, and started where the trail intersects with a neighborhood street, followed Pohick Creek north to Hooes Road, and back again. The Google map of the hike route here shows a distance of 2.2 miles each way, but as usual the extra distance due to obstacles, etc., isn’t reflected.

Due to the snow during the week I wasn’t able to check the water crossings and announce the walk until Friday, but despite the late notice, almost 70 avid walkers turned up enjoy the spring-like weather. There’s lots more great photos taken by the hikers here.