Old Mills Trail, February 14, 2021

Weather was not kind to the first PATC hike of 2021. The February 14 hike was originally scheduled to occur in Goshen, and had been scheduled for the Sunday before. But snow and ice controlled early February, so the group ended up hiking near Charlottesville along the Rivanna River. The hike started at the Charlottesville State Farm campus parking lot and dropped down to the Old Mills Trail. The group then followed the Old Mills Trail past its "official" end, hiking under Interstate 64 and along the Rivanna River for a 6 mile out-and-back hike. The group included Joan Gilrain, Barbara Martin, Nancy Kern, Dianne Anderson, and Jeff Monroe, along with two dogs. Not a lot of elevation gain to this one, but the hike through the snow along the river was very peaceful and beautiful, without any other hikers until the very last minutes of the hike.  Six miles total, with Joan training to become a hike leader.