Good for the Soul

I have so many alternate titles for this one, but the above sums it up nicely.

Today was National Trails Day, and I spent the morning as a volunteer helping to build a connecting trail on the Potomac Heritage Trail system.

In fact, I helped build a footbridge. I'm feeling every posthole I dug, every bolt I wrenched and every footboard I levered into place before screwing and nailing it down. It's a good feeling to be tired and a little bit sore for something like this.

In Prince William County (and I've mentioned before how much I love living here), they've made parks and trails a priority because of the rapid growth of the last decade. Right now*, about 65% of the Potomac Heritage Trail through our county is complete, with about 90% scheduled to be complete within the next five years or so. The trail will run along the eastern edge of the county, following the Potomac River. At this point, they're connecting already completed sections, which is what we were doing today.

The group I was part of (maybe 40 of us?), tied together the trail system in the Julie Metz wetlands bank (pdf) with the trails in Leesylvania State Park**, completing another link in the chain.

I'll get pictures of the bridge and the area and post them in the next day or two.

* All these percentages and estimates were given to me as very rough estimates by a member of the County Parks Authority, who was on-site.
** Leesylvania - named for the Lee family, who's members included "Light Horse" Harry and Robert E. There's a lot of history in this area.