 #GivingTuesday is a monumental day of opportunity for nonprofit organizations all around the world. It is a global movement that unleashes the power of dedicated people and organizations to transform their communities. This movement includes us - the Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail - and every person who has treasured this slice of paradise in King George County, VA. As a group of passionate volunteers who are an active voice for the trail, we ask you to join forces with us to ensure that #GivingTuesday and the entire #GivingSeason make a lasting, positive impact on this place we cherish.
Funds raised during #GivingTuesday and #GivingSeason will be directly used to improve access and user experiences on the trail. We are planning an expansion of parking and trail access areas, improvement of fire pits and camping spaces, consistent trail maintenance, and the sharing of relevant news and trail updates within the trail's information kiosks. If you share our passion for the trail, please donate on December 1st and share our fundraiser with your friends and family using Facebook and Instagram. "Like" our page and follow along as we pursue our goal of raising $5,000!
1 Comment
 Fall colors on the Dahlgren Trail. Photo (C) Chris McClintock, 2020. By Jim Lynch, president, Friends of the DRHT
It's been a busy month on the trail. We had rain interspersed with some nice days. Our friend and expert photographer Chris McClintock is out there almost every morning taking fabulous photos, which she posts on her Facebook page. Check them out — especially if you aren't lucky enough to be able to visit the DRHT daily.  This fellow — or gal, we don't know gender — is making its home on the DRHT near the caboose.
Since it has adopted the trail, we figure we should adopt it in return. Help us name our resident groundhog. Send us your suggestions and we'll share the favorites for a vote. Thanks to Warren Veazey for the portrait of the groundhog in its home environment.  Starting off the Big Wow last weekend on the DRHT with Constantin Langa and his family leading the way. Jim Lynch photos The Big Wow is one of our premier events on the Dahlgren Trail. WOW stands for Walk On Wilson’s, an annual event held in locations worldwide by the Wilson’s Disease Association to raise awareness and support to fight the devastating disease. Our post-walk activities were scaled back this year due to COVID-19 precautions, but we still gathered a sizable group for the walk. Constantin Langa, who suffers from Wilson’s Disease, led the way along with his wife, Nichole, and children Traian and Adina.
 Up a tree with a saw: Warren Veazey, Friends of DHRT board member, shows why he's our trail boss. Jim Lynch photo One of the things I look forward to every year is the fall colors on the trail. The DRHT is a great place to view the turning leaves; some of our photographers capture the scenes wonderfully. Watch for their photos on our website and social media channels, including Instagram. Even better, get out and enjoy it yourself — I’ll see you out there!
 Sunrise at Peppermill Creek on the DRHT. Photo by Chris McClintock After last month's trail races and all the work to get the trail ready for them, we've taken it a bit easy this past month, tending to normal trail maintenance. A number of Friends of DRHT board members have participated in meetings with trail colleagues to inquire about best practices, continue work on a master plan, and start to plan some events for the fall — in modified form because of COVID-19.
 The prized tree canopy, which runners and others praise for shading the hot summer sun, is one of the Dahlgren Trail's most distinctive features. Photo by Kelsey Bracewell The premier annual event for the Friends of DRHT is the combined 50K and HHH half marathon. The two trail runs are held the first Saturday in August, and yes, it usually is pretty hot (HHH stands for Hot, Hazy and Humid). Even so, runners seem to enjoy the races. We get a good turnout and we enjoy putting them on. It's also an excuse for us to double down on maintenance during a time of year when the trail really needs it: the hot and rainy days of East Virginia summers!  By Kelsey Bracewell
I love running the Dahlgren Trail but admittedly, I came to love it by accident. I didn’t move to this area with any significant amount of running experience, but I chose the activity as a way to become part of a community. I first found the trail through participating in the annual half marathon that is hosted there in the early spring. I ran that race for several years in a row, but otherwise I didn’t visit the trail very often.
 By Warren Veazey and Jim Lynch
Earlier in the year, as the coronavirus began to be a serious health issue in the country and Virginia, the Friends of the DRHT were concerned that our popular August trail races would have to be cancelled. Fortunately, Virginia was able to keep things under control and the governor announced entry in a less restrictive phase (Phase 3) before the race. That allowed us to formulate protocols that allowed us to hold the race on Saturday, August 1, while keeping everybody participating as safe as possible. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed