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Broad Run Trail Between VA28 and Victory Elementary School Recon (Second Attempt)<<Mikeblogs Home This time I was determined to find the elusive Broad Run Trail between VA28 and Victory Lakes Elementary School. I didn't have any maps other than Google Maps. And they were incomplete. Again there were no blazes. And there were literally hundreds of confusing streamers along the bank of Broad Run. So I again started from the kiosk at the south end of the Shops at Innovation Shopping Center. I even made a sign that said Broad Run Trail East and West and tried to place it on the vandalized kiosk. I only brought 5 thumbtacks. Wouldn't you know it that the thumb tacks would not push into the dry wood of the kiosk. I kept bending and breaking thumb tacks. I had to go find a rock to pound them in. I only got 2 to work, one only partially. Then I realized that the sign was not correct in that the Fishermans Trail merged with the Broad Run Trail. That was a precurser of how this day was going to turn out. Some people told me that the Broad Run Trail pulled away from the creek at some point. But where? I tried exploring the perimeter road around an adjacent rentention pond. That road only went around the pond. Then I tried exploring along a berm further up the bank next to the creek. It was nice to hike on but it abruptly ended. I saw a neat looking turtle along this attempt. Then I saw an open area going away from the creek at about .3 miles from my vehicle. There was a wooden sign on a tree with nothing on it. I walked back through it for about a thousand feet. It opened up onto a nice wide plain. I saw some orange and pink flags and streamers along it. But the grass was between my knees and waist in height and I was wary of ticks. So I didn't persue this route. I do believe that this is the only logical route for this trail. However, there was no discernable trail in the area that I could see. So I basically gave up for now and decided to drive to the other end of this stretch of trail and try coming in from the other side. While driving to the western trailhead I decided to just hike a loop that started at Victory Lakes Elementary School, wend to Broad Run, traveled it eastbound for about a half mile, then turned north, went back into the Victory Lakes development, then ended up at the school. This was about a mile long loop. I traversed it counterclockwise. When I got to the point where I had to turn north the mowed trail, maintained by Victory Lakes HOA, stopped. I noticed that the trail up ahead looked a lot like it did further east. There was a dead end street where the trail going north ended. So my next line of attack will be to park at the end of this street, take the short trail to Broad Run, then turn left and see if I can make it back to VA28. I would then have to turn around and walk back. It looks like about a mile each way. Not sure when I'll get to this but I am determined to successfully hike the Broad Run Trail between VA28 and Victory Lakes Elementary School. They say that three is a charm. Maybe my third attempt will be successful. Map of the section of Broad Run Trail That I Hiked
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Sign on kiosk.
