 The A.T. gives us amazing vistas and hikes, natural wonders and zen moments. It's a privilege to give back a little to the Trail that gives us so much. At our first Bears Den Volunteer Day a wonderful crew of A.T. appreciators gathered to clear fallen branches from a campground, clean up litter left behind at the overlook and re-establish water breaks to protect a side trail. We also took the opportunity to talk about the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and all the many, many volunteers who work throughout the year to keep the Trail and its environs in great shape. We even got to talk to a group of Boy Scouts and day hikers about Bears Den and what it takes to keep it the beautiful spot it is. Bears Den Trail Center's caretaker Glen provided our crew with coffee and donuts. (Many thanks!) The event was co-sponsored by the Blue Ridge Chapter of PATC, the Round Hill A.T. Community and the Appalachian Trail Festival in The Gap. Response was so positive, that we all decided we want to do it again. You can find out more about the Bears Den Trail center at their website. To learn more about the amazing trail maintenance work of PATC, check out their website (and consider becoming a member, if you aren't already).
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 Just say "no" to lesser celandine. We talk a lot here on the A.T. festival website about what you should be planting. (Hint: Go native!) The flip side of that coin is what not to plant and what to "un-plant." That's where one of our festival partners comes in: Blue Ridge PRISM. This hard-working nonprofit began as a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to reducing the negative impact of invasive plants in the northern Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Effective invasive plant control is a community and neighborhood issue because these aggressive plants know no boundaries. Flowing water, birds, hikers, vehicles and animals' scat all help to spread their seeds. Have you seen a thick vine squeezing the life out of a tree? In our area, too many Asiatic bittersweet vines are doing just that. Have you seen a mat of grass smother forest wildflowers? Japanese stilt grass might be the culprit. Talk to the folks from Blue Ridge PRISM at the festival and ask your questions. (You might want to bring pictures of any plants you're wondering about!) Plus, throughout the year, Blue Ridge PRISM offers virtual and in-person workshops that can teach all of us how to identify and eradicate invasive plants in our area. Upcoming events include:
  Ask kids what they love about our festival, and plenty of them will mention "the big slide." That big slide shows up courtesy of Big Country Amusements (BCA). We asked Joshua Fuchs, generous owner of BCA, why he supports our event.
We understand you're an active member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), and that's why you got involved with our A.T. Festival. What does PATC mean to you? I started with PATC in 2017. I continue to stay involved with the club because it's my way of giving back to the hiking community and helping others to fall in love with the Trail like I have. How have you been involved with PATC over the years? I’m involved several different ways. I’m a trail maintainer. My section of the A.T. is the Pocosin Trail fire road to Dean Mountain Road. And I maintain the Catlett Spur Trail in the Shenandoah Wilderness. I'm also district manager for the North Central blue blaze trails in Shenandoah National Park, and I'm a sawyer and sawyer instructor for Shenandoah NP and PATC. Are you an A.T. day hiker, long-distance hiker or both? I have only day hiked the A.T. with a few backpacking trips; one day after I retire from the amusement business my plan is to thru hike the Trail. Do you have a favorite section of the trail? Of course, the section I maintain is my favorite! Three Ridges is my favorite section; the loop is challenging and extremely rewarding. Can you tell us a little about some of your other favorite local hikes? My favorite day hikes are up to Bear Church Rock or Robertson Mountain. Robertson has a similar view as Old Rag without the crowds or the hassle of getting a day pass. Truthfully, no trail is bad or good; each one has its own personality.  We're happy to announce that local guy Justin Trawick (and his band) will perform again at the fest.
These days, Justin Trawick and The Common Good (www.justintrawick.com) is based in DC and tours around the Mid Atlantic. But Loudoun is home to Justin, who grew up in Leesburg and played with his church's acoustic folk group and the Loudoun Bluegrass Association before moving away for college. We asked Justin what it means to him to return and perform at our A.T. celebration. Here's what he had to say: I'm an Eagle Scout and grew up in Leesburg hiking and camping with my Boy Scout Troop, Troop 982. I really loved Boy Scouts and outdoor activities, which is partly why I like being a part of A.T. Fest. In the digital, fast-paced world we live now it's important not to forget the natural world around us. The long tradition of the Appalachian Trail and what it means to the communities it passes through up and down the East Coast is something to be celebrated. It would be easy for people one day to forget about these important nature preserves, but the A.T. Fest is doing its part in keeping it in the forefront of people's minds. Welcome back to our celebration of the A.T. (and all the Great Outdoors), Justin.  We've been fortunate to have this festival hosted by the generous folks of B Chord Brewery three times. Sadly, B Chord closed up for business, and we found ourselves a festival without festival grounds.
No longer. We're happy to announce that the Town of Hillsboro will become the festival's new host and partner. We'll continue to toast the Town of Round Hill's designation as an A.T. Community, as we welcome Hillsboro, our neighbor community, to this celebration of the Appalachian Trail and all the beautiful green spaces here in Western Loudoun County. We hope you'll join us June 10, 2023, at Hillsboro's Gap Stage and Old Stone School for the rebranded Round Hill / Hillsboro Appalachian Trail Festival in The Gap. Once again, we'll have Americana tunes and trail talks, bites and brews (and wine) and activities for all ages. Meet reps from local hiking and environmental groups including Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains...and many more. Come to camping/hiking demos, learn about native plants, try your hand at nature-inspired art—and you might just go home with one of our raffle prizes. More announcements to come, but we hope you'll save the date now. Festival photo above by Dan Innamorato.  We've sung the praises of native plants—at our annual festival and here in our blog. Now, it's time to focus on the leaves of our native trees. It's easy enough to enjoy leaf buds in the spring, the shade leaves provide in the summer and their color in the fall. Then, once they've fallen to the ground at our homes, most of us were taught to see them as a chore. Something to be raked (or blown), bagged and hauled away to the landfill. But here's the eco-truth: Leaves are not litter. They're habitat. Butterflies and bumble bees, moths and millipedes and so many more insects count on the protection of fallen leaves to make it through the winter. And then there's the birds, chipmunks, squirrels, turtles and amphibians who rely on those insects for food. Leave all the leaves that fall on your native plant garden—and your plants and the critters that live around and on and under them will thank you. Leaving a thin layer of leaves on your lawn won't kill it (if you must have a lawn at all—but that's another story), and you can compost the rest. The Xerces Society "Leave the Leaves" campaign has more info and suggestions.  Here's some great news from our partners at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy about new protected, A.T.-adjacent land:
Appalachian Trail Conservancy Helps Create First-Ever Community Forest in West Virginia to Protect 370 Acres of Land The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) in partnership with the West Virginia Land Trust (WVLT) announces the permanent protection of the Little Bluestone Community Forest in Summers County, West Virginia. This newly-protected area will add to the constellation of public lands between the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (A.T.), the Bluestone National Scenic River, and the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, providing numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation and sustained economic development throughout the region. “The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is proud to partner with the West Virginia Land Trust in facilitating not only community-led conservation in southeastern West Virginia, but in helping to further elevate the constellation of public lands along the New River, including the Appalachian Trail landscape,” said Sandra Marra, President and CEO of the ATC. “Beyond the undeniable recreational and economic value this will provide for the region, these lands will protect irreplaceable cultural sites and tie in directly with the ATC’s goals of protecting climate-resilient lands throughout the Appalachian region.” “West Virginia is ripe with opportunities to conserve lands that provide public benefits, such as recreation, clean water, unique habitats, historic and educational sites, and more,” said Brent Bailey, Executive Director of the West Virginia Land Trust. “But philanthropy that can fund land acquisitions is very limited in our state. We could not have protected this beautiful site on the Little Bluestone River without the financial support from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The ATC’s funds provided the necessary matching dollars that the U.S. Forest Service grant program requires. Now this community forest will become part of the mosaic of trails and recreational opportunities that are at the heart of revitalizing local communities.” The ATC committed $220,000 to the completion of this project as part of its Community Impact Grant program, assisting in the acquisition of several parcels of land along the Little Bluestone River. One hundred and forty acres of land — the family farm of sixth-generation landowners Jack Willis and Sharon Brescoach — have already been added to this important landscape, with the goal of securing 370 acres to ensure the forest is conserved for future generations. The Little Bluestone Community Forest is also the recipient of competitive funds from the USDA Forest Service’s Community Forest Program — the first such forest in West Virginia. The Community Forest Program recognizes areas that provide a variety of positive impacts to the surrounding communities, including economic benefits through active forest management, clean water, wildlife habitat, educational opportunities and public access for recreation. The land protected through this partnership will pave the way for community-led development of recreational trails as well as increased fishing and hunting access. The transformation of these privately held lands into a Community Forest will also protect the setting and further enhance access to a protected historic site, Cooper’s Mill, providing additional tourism opportunities for the region. Funding for this project was provided by the ATC Community Impact Grant program, made possible by the voluntary stewardship agreement between the ATC, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC and The Conservation Fund. This agreement provides up to $19.5 million in funds to advance the ATC’s work to manage and protect the A.T., help The Conservation Fund secure additional conservation lands for public use, and enhance Trail-related community economic development. The ATC will utilize these funds to protect land around the A.T. and ensure it is conserved for generations to come. For additional details about this project, visit www.wvlandtrust.org/news-items/little-bluestone-community-forest-project/.  Join our friends at Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Walk for Wildlife this October.
During this month-long event, see how many wildlife places you can visit and how many wildlife species you can count. It's a fun way to get outside, and you can help support LWC's programs that benefit wildlife and healthy habitats. How to get involved:
Your team can be just you, or you and your friends, your family, co-workers or a youth group. Everyone is welcome—from budding naturalists to seasoned experts. All that’s required is an interest in wildlife! When? October 1 – 31. You can pick any or all days during the month of October with your team. Where? Everywhere! Your friends and family from around the world can join in the fun of this event. How? Record your locations visited, miles traversed, species observed. For recording locations visited and miles traversed, use LWC's Google Form. (The form will open on October 1 and close on October 31.) Once Walk for Wildlife begins on October 1, you can check out the leaderboard for locations visited and miles traversed. For species observations, use the free iNaturalist app:
What? Everything! You can count any plants, trees, mushrooms and fungi, insects, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. If it’s alive and it’s not a human or domestic animal, count it. Your Rewards Your $50 registration fee includes:
Everyone wins in this event because we’re getting out in nature, seeing and learning about new things, and helping to provide critical citizen science data for the study of our wildlife systems. Prizes. Special recognition will be made for the top three teams and individuals reporting:
Register and Support Teams Now Visit the Registration Page to form or join a team, or visit the Supporters Page to make a donation. To form or support a Youth Team visit the Youth Team Page. Anyone donating $100 or more will be acknowledged on our Thank You page.  More than 1000 people joined us to celebrate the A.T. and the Great Outdoors this year. Three amazing bands graced our music stage, fourteen hiking/environmental nonprofits got to share their projects, like-minded vendors sold everything from organic soap and beeswax wraps to hiking gear and pottery. Our thanks to them all. And then there were our speakers, who shared their passions from nature printing to backpacking to day hiking, native plants and trail cooking. Plus, A.T. legend Warren Doyle shared why he's been inspired to hike some 38,000 miles on the Trail. Thanks to you all. Something else that felt gratifying: The thru-hikers who took us up on our offer to pick them up from the Trail and feed and entertain them. And all the "trail magic" collected and shared with the Bears Den and Blackburn trail centers for other thru-hikers to enjoy. We're a tiny nonprofit that runs this festival. (Want to join us?!) We appreciate all the sponsors, donors and volunteers that made the festival possible this third go-round. And, once we recover, we might just start making plans do it all again....  Thru-hikers pass through peaks and valleys literally. And they can have their share of highs and lows physically and psychically, as well. That's where "trail magic" can make a difference. Some hikers feel the "magic" when a vista pops into view after miles of forest, or maybe it's a fawn nestled near the edge of the Trail. Maybe it's a stream crossing just repaired by volunteers or a fallen tree moved out of the way. Maybe it's supplies left with a trail center caretaker for hikers in need. The Round Hill A.T. Festival is collecting bits of "trail magic" to share with this year's thru-hikers at Bears Den and Blackburn trail centers. If you want to contribute something, we'll be collecting items at the Round Hill Hometown Festival (May 28) and our A.T. fest on June 11. Here's a list of some things hikers have told us they'd appreciate:
If you're an aspiring "Trail Angel" (provider of trail magic), there are other ways to help, of course:
Acts of "trail magic," while always well-intentioned, can sometimes go askew. Here's a great ATC article about preserving the magic of the trail.  |
AuthorRound Hill AT: Join us in bringing together local friends and family to get outside. Let’s discover our amazing backyards — from national treasures like the Appalachian Trail to new local and regional parks. Archives
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