HIKING VIRGINIA

Virginia’s Department of Game & Inland Fisheries oversees thirty wildlife management areas around the state with the hunter and angler in mind. Fields are kept clear to attract grazing animals, and seed plots are sown to keep them plump and healthy. Streams and man-made lakes are stocked with trout and other fish. As the state makes these areas hiker-friendly as well, they’d do well to model the G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area in Fauquier County, where hikers and naturalists stake as much a claim to the beautiful surroundings as outdoorsmen. The network of trails include a 7-mile section of the Appalachian Trail. There is an abundance of wildflowers—the area harbors one of the largest populations of large-flowered trillium in North America. Virginia’s Native Plant Society lists the Thompson Wildlife Management Area on its register of important native plant sites.

THE RUNDOWN

Start: Stone Wall Loop: Parking Area 7; Ted Lake Loop: Upper Ted Lake Parking Area

Distance: Stone Wall Loop: 4.3 miles; Ted Lake Loop: 2.0 miles

Hiking time: 3-4 hours to do both loops

Difficulty: Easy along wide roads and woodland footpaths.

Trail surface: Dirt roads and woods paths wind through young second- and third-generation forests dominated by deciduous trees. This is the Blue Ridge, but the hills are more rolling than steep.

Land status: State wildlife management area

Nearest town: Linden, VA

Other trail users: Anglers, cyclists, equestrians, hunters (in season), and naturalists

Accessibility: None

Canine compatibility: Dogs permitted but must be leashed at all times outside of open hunting, chase, or training seasons

Trail contact: G. R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Fredericksburg, regional office (540) 899-4169, www.dgif.virginia.gov/wmas

Schedule: Open daily year-round, dawn to dusk. Hunting season for big and small game runs from Oct into Jan.

Fees/permits: Daily fee for those 17 and older. Fee is waived with a valid Virginia fishing, hunting, or trapping license. Visit www.dgif.virginia.gov/access-permit/ for daily permit information.

Facilities/features: Parking

NatGeo TOPO! map: Linden, Upperville

NatGeo Trails Illustrated map: Appalachian Trail, Calf Mountain to Raven Rock

Other maps: Good maps of trail network available at www.dgif.virginia.gov/wmas

From I-66, take exit 13, turn left, and drive 0.2 mile south on VA 79. Turn left (east) on VA 55 and drive 1.3 miles to Linden. Turn left (north) on Freezeland Road (VA 638) and drive 3.5 miles to the Ted Lake Parking Area on the right. To reach Parking Area 7, continue 2.3 miles (the parking area is 0.1 mile after the road turns to gravel). GPS: Ted Lake Parking Area, N38 56.226′ / W78 02.621′; Parking Area 7, N38 57.784′ / W78 01.184′. DeLorme: Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer: Page 75, A5.

It never received headlines the way taxes or elections seem to, but native plant lovers throughout Virginia still celebrated when the state declared purple loosestrife a “noxious weed.” The very word noxious showed how seriously botanists view alien species. “Harmful to health, injurious, corrupting or unwholesome” are a few of the descriptors now legally associated with loosestrife, which is especially damaging to freshwater wetlands.

The battle against invasive alien species seems never-ending; they outcompete native plants and disrupt the web of life—in which native plants play an irreplaceable role. Kudzu was, for years, Enemy Number One. Virginia’s Department of Transportation planted it as groundcover along roadways. Much later, they watched this plant engulf entire stands of trees and shrubs. In Shenandoah National Park, rangers have watched as ailanthus (aka tree of heaven) replaces stands of oak killed by gypsy moth infestation. In coastal communities, the common reed spreads uncontrollably in wetland settings. The reed’s root structure sinks 6 feet deep and deeper, making it impossible to extricate except through repeated burning and chemicals. Worse, this alien grass outcompetes the hays and cordgrasses that make a healthy marsh ecosystem.

If all this ever gets too much, Virginia’s native plant lovers and wildflower aficionados— and anyone else for that matter—can find respite in the G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area. Draped across the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this small patch of land in far-western Fauquier County hosts an array of wildflowers. Most noticeable in April through June are the large-flowered trillium that grow in large swatches on the slopes of this preserve. Thompson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is thought to have one of the largest concentrated populations of this wildflower anywhere in North America.

The Thompson WMA is not so much a destination as it is a place to wander. The easy 2-mile Ted Lake Loop leads through patches of mayapple, with blackberry bushes and sassafras filling the forest understory. Yellow poplar grows tall, as do the oaks that survived gypsy moth attacks in the mid-1980s. A tangle of wildflowers in a hedgerow alongside the trail sports delicate, white-petaled flowers with a sweet, apple-like fragrance. The return on the Appalachian Trail leads past an old home foundation and a heap of scrap metal. The white flowers that cover blackberry bushes in May hold promise of trailside snacking come July.

Several large birch trees stand out on the unblazed path that leads back to the parking area and features large patches of trillium. Even when not in bloom, the flower is easily recognizable by its three broad leaves. Anyone familiar with the leaf appearance of garden-variety lilies will see the resemblance in trillium leaves. It’s hard to imagine this flower is a cousin of the onion and asparagus, which are also members of the lily family.

The interaction between trillium and insects makes for a fascinating study of how various forms of life—plant, animal, and insect—rely on each other. The trillium’s bright coloring attracts bees and butterflies, yet a nose-to-nose study of the flower proves it to have quite an offensive odor. That explains the presence of flies, which are the primary pollinators of trillium. In the matter of seed dispersal, plants generally rely heavily on birds ingesting then discharging seeds far afield. In the case of the trillium, its seeds excrete an oily substance that attracts ants, which come in droves and eat them.

If the Ted Lake Loop leaves you hungry for more hiking, follow a wide, grassy road leading out of Parking Area 7; it’s the Stone Wall Loop. The old road ends at serene Lake Thompson, a man-made impound upon which ducks float and anglers cast their lines. There are plenty of distractions en route. A black snake slithers across the trail, and, a few minutes past it, rustling in the leaves leads to the discovery of a small, yellow-marked box turtle. Left unmolested, this reptile could live more than 60 years. If you’re wondering how to tell its age, look at the shell. If it’s 5 inches or smaller, the turtle is probably 10 years old or younger.

Off either side of the trail, the surrounding forest shows signs of youth. The saplings are skinny and obstruct any clear view. The exception comes a half-mile downhill from the parking area, where another overgrown road leads right, into the woods to a fire ring and a massive yellow poplar. Someone, a long time ago, had girdled the tree. A ring incised deep into the trunk would kill the tree slowly.

John Cahill, former president of The Nature Conservancy, once said: “Our society will be defined not only by what we create, but what we refuse to destroy” Staring at this old, grizzled tree, still standing despite repeated attacks to bring it down, brings that sentiment to mind. By saving small pockets of land like Thompson WMA, we acknowledge this is important. And every visit here makes us a community with others who have walked through the woods. As Shakespeare wrote: “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”

MILES AND DIRECTIONS

TED LAKE LOOP

0.0Start at Ted Lake Parking Area where a dirt road, the Ted Lake Trail, heads downhill in a southeast direction. The road is wide and clear of obstacles. Blue blazes are few and far between. Hikers should ignore the double-yellow slash marks that appear on trees to the right of the road.

0.7Turn left onto the white-blazed Appalachian Trail (AT). The trail is a narrow footpath. In a few feet, a spur trail exits right to Manassas Gap Shelter. Note: There is a spring near the shelter. Treat any water before drinking it.

1.2After a long, steady climb, the AT levels briefly, then undulates around rock outcrops. The forest consists of young eastern hornbeam, oak, and poplar. The large bushes alongside the trail are nannyberry, which flower in May and June. The small blue-black berries hanging off the red, drooping stalk are edible.

1.5Turn left, as the AT intersects and runs concurrent with the Verlin Smith Trail.

1.6At a three-way intersection, turn left and follow an unmarked road uphill in a southwest direction. Also at this intersection, the AT splits right and descends. The Verlin Smith Trail continues straight and reaches VA 638 at Parking Area 5 in 0.6 mile.

1.9Emerge from the woods onto the Ted Lake Trail and turn right, uphill, to return to the parking area.

2.0Arrive back at Ted Lake Parking Area.

STONE WALL LOOP

0.0Start from Parking Area 7. Hike down the chained-off road that drops off the left side of the parking lot. The road is gravel at first, then reverts to dirt and grass.

0.2Walk straight past a junction with the Appalachian Trail (AT). Side trip: A right on the AT leads to Manassas Gap Shelter in 3 miles.

0.5A grass road veers off to the right. Continue straight downhill on the main grass road.

0.6Continue straight downhill past another grass road that turns right into a clearing. There is a fire ring in the clearing and a huge yellow poplar tree that survived a girdling many years ago.

1.3The trail levels and on both sides, remnants of stone walls are visible. Within 0.1 mile, the trail passes a large black locust tree on the right. Continue toward the right on the grass road as an overgrown, unblazed footpath known as Stone Wall Trail branches off to the left.

1.8The road emerges from the cover of trees. Ahead is a nice view across a valley to a farm on the opposite hill. The trail has the width of a road, but there is only a narrow footpath through waist-high grass.

2.0Reach Lake Thompson. Backtrack uphill. Note: Lake Thompson is stocked with rainbow trout and brown trout. White geese float on the small man-made impoundment. A multitude of butterflies flutter around milkweed. (Road access to the lake is via VA 688.)

2.6Turn right onto an overgrown, unblazed footpath known as Stone Wall Trail. Within a few feet, you will cross a stone wall. As you climb from Lake Thompson, the black locust tree you passed at 1.3 miles makes a good landmark for where to make this right turn.

2.9Pass by a set of large boulders in the woods to the left and climb steeply.

3.0Emerge from the woods onto the AT. Walk straight ahead on the singletrack, white-blazed AT. Side trip: The AT downhill to the right reaches Dick’s Dome Shelter in 0.3 mile.

4.1Pass a huge oak tree on the left. In a few yards, the AT emerges onto a grass road. Turn right and head uphill to Parking Area 7.

4.3Arrive back at Parking Area 7.

Warrenton-Fauquier County Visitor Center, Warrenton, (800) 820-1021, www.visit-fauquier.com

Virginia & International Gold Cup Races, May and Oct, The Plains, (540) 347-2612, www.vagoldcup.com

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), Vienna, (703) 242-0315, www.patc.net. Contact for maps and book orders, cabin rentals, scheduled hikes, and membership.

10. G. RICHARD THOMPSON WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA