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Trail Talk

It doesn't do much good to go hiking if you can't later brag to your friends about how far you went. Or, it does do good, of course -- you see beautiful and unspoiled things that you wouldn't see, say, walking down Route 7 through Tysons Corner, and that's why no one hikes Route 7 there. If distance were the only thing you were worried about, you could just as well hike there.

But when you're telling people the next day at work about your hike, no matter how many lovely things you list from your walk, someone will ask, "How far did you go?" It's a least common denominator to bridge communications between you, who saw what you saw, and the person asking, who didn't.

Well, now you can answer down to the foot. (Helpful bonus: If you describe in too much detail how far you went, the person may be sorry he or she asked, and thus not ask the next time.) Based on calibrated wheel measurements, the trail system in the FoBR Natural Area is just under 7.1 miles -- I made it 37,390 feet, if you want to get picky -- or 11.40 kilometers, not including the part of Old Quarry Road north of Catlett's Branch.

Here are a few loops we enjoy, along with their lengths:

• A nice after-work hike involving at least a little bit of uphill work is Mountain Road to the wooden foot bridge and Mill Trail, past Meadowland and Beverley Mill to Fern Hollow trail, along the stream there to Ridge Trail, back down to Mountain Road and to the trailhead. That loop is 1.7 miles (2.74 km).

• To stay on mostly flat ground, cross both the railroad tracks and Catlett's Branch twice (a hit with my children, at least), and walk through a loblolly pine stretch different than the rest of the preserve, try Mountain Road all the way to East End Trail, back to Beverley Mill Drive, and back to the Mountain House. That's 2.25 miles (3.63 km).

• To get in your nature, historical, climbing, streams, and smaller trail fixes all in one hike, go Mountain Road to the Mill Trail to the Chapman Trail (past the cemetery) to the Civil War battle site and the Quarry Trench Trail, down to Ridge Trail, up the incline and along the Ridge to the Ridge Loop Trail, then descend to Old Quarry Road. Take Catlett's Branch Trail back to Mountain Road, and Mountain Road back to your car, and you've gone 20,785 feet (not counting the vertical feet!), which is 3.94 miles (6.34 km).