It may not look like it, but I was 30 minutes from Washington, D.C., when I snapped this shot. And even closer to the shopping behemoth that is Tysons Corner. But on this hike I could hear every nattering crow, every gurgle of water (at least in the streams that still had some).

Speaking of streams, hiking this section of the trail involves a stone crossing that has bedeviled me before. This time, enough of each stepping stone peeked above the water’s surface to allow for cautious navigation — plus I was wearing hiking boots.

But the crossing, scary as it was, brought me to this place, to this rural idyll. I say this with tongue only slightly in cheek. The Cross-County Trail, which I’ve often praised in this blog, is the magic carpet that takes hikers to scenes like these. No simple feat in a county as developed as Fairfax. That the trail is here at all is nothing short of a miracle.