The Washington Ditch

I have wanted to do a weekend on the Appalachian Trail (AT), where I hiked extensively during my time in the Boy Scouts, but finding the time has been difficult. Last week I wanted to get out to decompress, and finally looked for a closer trail to hike. I decided to hike the Washington Ditch of the Great Dismal Swamp, used by George Washington as a headquarters in 1763. Washington had the ditch dug by hand, hence the name.

I arrived around eleven with my camera bag, lunch, and plenty of water. Once my bag was together and the trail info read I started off. Always remember to bring enough water and take a minute to read the trail information. This can make a huge difference in your experience. After stopping twice in the first quarter mile to get my camera out to take some pictures, I realized that I should just keep it out. The trail has a good dusting of leaves, but even so, the walk was quiet. The leaves were soft under my feet from the recent rain. There were some small birds fluttering around both in the brush and in the tree tops. Every so often I could hear the water flowing through dams created by man, beavers, or downed trees. As I approached one of the dams a beaver slammed his tail in the water, creating a loud boom and startling me. He must have been just below the water. I stopped and sat for a while, waiting to see if he would come out, but after I realized he wasn’t going to show I kept on moving. It can become a habit to keep your eyes on the trail in front of you, but remember to also look around. There was a small tree with it’s bark scraped off in one section next to the trail, an indication the deer are out.

The trail is perfectly straight for most of the 4.5 miles, which is just as imposing as it is spectacular. It is mostly well kept, although there were some downed trees just over the two-mile mark that impede vehicles from going any further. They still had most of their leaves so they couldn’t have been down long. The trail is flat and straight which makes for a relatively easy hike.

After walking an hour and a half the sky started getting dark, and I was really hoping it would not rain. As I made my way deeper into the swamp and closer to the lake I started seeing signs of bears, but no such luck seeing an actual bear this trip.

As I approached the first of two bends in the trail I saw five turkeys: two adults and three juveniles. I slowed my pace and quieted my steps. They let me get as close as 50 yards away before they went into the woods. When I made it to where they were I could still hear them in the woods.

As I came around the final corner and could see the lake I started to get excited, especially seeing the cloudy sky, which made for some amazing pictures. There is a nice bench on the dock equipped with industrial binoculars to look out at the lake. A passerby had mentioned she saw some otters in the lake, and so I kept my eyes out for them as I ate my lunch and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The otters must have moved on in the lake, no dice again.

This time the camera was put away and it was like I was back on the Appalachian Trail, kind of. I took my time getting to Lake Drummond, but now I was starting to get tired and a little sore. It was time to get back to the car. Head down and lost in thought, the walk in took about two hours and fifteen minutes, focused and aware, the walk out took about an hour and a half. I was pushing myself on the way out, completely different from the casual stroll with my camera on the way in. Once back to my car I enjoyed sitting down, and the reward that was waiting for me: Gatorade.

I highly recommend hiking Washington Ditch. There is also a boardwalk trail that is only a mile if you aren’t feeling as adventurous. I am glad that I chose this nice flat hike instead of the Appalachian Mountains to break me in. These are just two of many trails in the Great Dismal Swamp although the other trails are closed for hunting season right now. I counted twenty-four other people on the trail, from individuals to families. The trail is also bike friendly if you are not up for the hike. You can get more information on the swamp at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp.

All of my pictures from the hike

There are also many other trails around Hampton Roads if you want to get out and do a little hiking, like the Noland Trail in Newport News or the trails at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake. We may not have any mountains, but there are plenty of great parks to get out and enjoy.

What is your favorite trail around Hampton Roads? Let me know and I will add it to my list of places to hike, photograph & review. Thanks for taking the time to read.