The acme of the day was the Manassas National Battlefield Park where the Civil War’s first land battle was fought. Before and after this I went hiking, hence “Manassas Sandwich”. From sunrise to sunset I was busy-busy but the weather will soon turn cold and I had to take advantage of this beautiful day.
My first hike was from G.R. Thompson Lake up to, along, and down from a mile-long stretch of the Appalachian Trail. This was my first outing that required GPS coordinates for points-of-interest (sites to see, where to turn). The hike started at 900 feet elevation, climbed to 1,900 feet, and covered about 5.8 miles. In this State Wildlife Area I saw people fishing and hunting. In hindsight I should have planned for safety; I should have been wearing an orange vest or cap! Pictures from my hike are viewable below:
The climb was of moderate effort and enjoyable. I’ll take any opportunity to hike along the Appalachian Trail since over the past few years I’ve become quite a fan of America’s classic long trail. With the hike now over it was time to hit Manassas.
Sadly, I didn’t know the importance of Manassas. The name was familiar and I’d heard of the Battle of Bull Run but they didn’t mean anything special to me. Guess this comes from spending critical childhood years overseas. Any ignorance I felt was soon swept away by a film in the visitors center and an excellent tour by a NPS Ranger. Over the course of an hour, we hiked a mile around the barely-altered property as he detailed the day of Manassas I battle, the first land battle of the Civil War and the first of two fought in Manassas. It was fascinating to learn that Fort Sumpter, which I had only recently visited, was the catalyst for Lincoln to send troops to Manassas.
Fort Sumpter from Charleston Harbor
I need to return to Manassas for the driving tour of all the sites on the on the 5,000 acre property. There’s Manassas II to learn about too. The last thing I did before returning home was to hike the three mile Bridle Trail on part of the property. It’s one of several hikes available. Yet another reason to return!
“Stonewall” Jackson Statue
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