Walker Nature Center, Reston

9 July 2016

Today

Yesterday

It's still very hot, high in the upper 80's with over 50% humidity, but thankfully the Walker Nature Center is nestled deep in the woods.

If you like calm, quiet walks in the woods, Walker is the park for you. Its paths range from pavement to mulch to dirt, though they're all wide and well-demarcated.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of trails which interconnect with each other, so it's easy to go left on one and right on another and quickly get turned around. I ended up only taking left turns, which stood me in good stead. I got a nice, quiet walk with only a few other folks on the path, despite it being late morning on a Saturday (the heat probably had a lot to do with it).

You're never very far from any houses--you'll rarely catch even a glimpse of one--so I occasionally heard hammering or a dog barking. Overall, though, it was remarkably quiet.

I even came across a deer that was feeding not twenty feet away from the path. I didn't see it until I heard it shift at my presence. I froze, and it froze, but I only stood there for maybe 10 seconds before it resumed eating. I continued walking and it only looked at me, not even running away. Remarkable!