Lynn Ditch in the Great Dismal Swamp

Yay!  I've now caught up the accounts of my latest four hikes  Unlike the Sky Meadows hike, this one was really flat.  The goal was to lead a group hike to Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp, with four of us riding down together and the other two joining us there.  Unfortunately, when we got there, the gate to the trail was closed, with a sign saying that the Washington Ditch Trail was closed through February.  The other two were not there and didn't respond to calls or emails, so after about 20 minutes, we drove to the Jericho Ditch / Lynn Ditch Trailhead and hiked from there.  We hiked due south in a pretty straight line, reached the Washington Ditch Trail in about 5.5 miles, ate lunch (and got a great picture of a bobcat), and hiked back.  This was on "Black Friday."  REI had suggested opting out of shopping and getting outside, and that is what we did.  I won't call this hike boring because you are always looking for animals and such, but it not an exciting hike terrain-wise.

Here is the track, topographic map style and satellite image:

The word "swamp" conjures up a foreboding image in lots of people's mind - dark waters, insects, soggy ground.  For sure, there are lots of wet areas here.

But lots of the Great Dismal Swamp has been drained and converted to farmland or development.  And other sections have been drained so that pretty dry paths cut through the swamp.  Along the pathways are generally a wetland area, or "ditch", that has slowly flowing water.  We walked on the Lynn Ditch Trail, which connects the Jericho and Washington Ditch Trails.

We saw very little wildlife along the walk, and the neatest thing was a green heron that hung out near us for a while.  We also saw a belted kingfisher as it rattled along.  And we saw this poor little guy, which I think is a short-tailed shrew.

Here is another view of the Lynn Ditch Trail, which looks as straight as an arrow.  I continually scanned ahead with my binoculars hoping to see a black bear.

We saw lots of bear scat, like this, but no bears.  We literally could have walked within 20 feet of one and never see it, though - the vegetation away from the trails is that thick here.

Hey, I told you that we got a good picture of a bobcat?  Well, here it is, ha, ha!  The keys were actually in it!  The trail ahead was the Washington Ditch Trail, my original goal for the hike.

Our hike back was exactly the way we came.  We went a bit faster, but I did take note of a little fall color.  Actually, on the drive out of Suffolk, we all saw some of the most beautiful color we had seen all year!

Remember the other two, the couple that was going to meet us at the trail head?  Well, for starters, they left their mobile phone home by mistake.  But they arrived at the gate to the trail head about 10 minutes ahead of us, and the gate opened!  They drove in, waited for us, gave up, and hiked to Lake Drummond just the two of them.  The gate did not open for us, and the sign was pretty clear that the trail was closed.  Ah, well!  A good hike was had by all regardless.