The Deep Run “Death March”—Stafford, VA 2006

“From now on, you will march until you drop, and when you have dropped, you will crawl. Some may consider that I am excessively cruel, but there is a reason for this cruelty: I enjoy it!”
Sgt. Markov
Beau Geste (1939)

In 2006 I had the privilege of casting one of the votes that placed over 4000 acres along 20 plus miles of the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers into a permanent conservation easement. As part of that effort a baseline survey was done on these lands. I accompanied representatives from Fredericksburg, the Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, and the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries in surveying Deep Run, a tributary Rappahannock starting at the Rt. 17 Bridge to the river--a distance of just under 5 miles.

There are no trails along Deep Run so most of the time we were in the water or traversing the steep banks and heavy woods along the banks. Most of the team were in there 40s and were a few pounds over our optimum weights. I have not posted photos of the team during or after the survey and will let the title of this post stir your imagination. I would not have missed this for the world.



The Beginning--Deep Run at the Rt. 17 Bridge
Sometimes it is hard to believe that this photo was taken in the 4th largest and fastest growing region in Virginia. Its nice to know that my grandchildren will have the opportunity to enjoy this view and those that follow.