SLIDESHOW

Hikers love the isolation of trails, the quiet of deep woods, the feel of dirt under their feet and the sight of bright blue sky overhead.

That's fine.

But if you can hike a trail with main thoroughfares nearby and emerge from the woods near shops that sell double-chocolate doughnuts or bagels, is that a bad thing?

The Rivanna Trail rings Charlottesville and probably is not for hiking purists. It has its share of deep woods and wildlife. It has lovely views.

The trail roughly follows the Rivanna River, Meadow Creek and Moore's Creek. It passes through public and private land.

It also passes an old water heater and has trails that disappear and require some searching to find again.

An entire circuit on the trail would cover about 20 miles and could be difficult to accomplish alone. One of the charms, or frustrations (depending on your need for a double-chocolate doughnut) of the Rivanna Trail is that it comes to abrupt endings. Unless you know exactly where to go, it can take a few minutes or longer to figure out what to do next.

One Sunday morning, my wife and I set out from the trail head near the University of Virginia School of Law.

The trail had the feel of the deep woods, with a twisting path, an abundance of trees and a small stream. About a half-mile later, we had the feel of traffic as we came out of the woods and had to cross Barracks Road.

What happened next occasionally happens on the Rivanna Trail. We were in a neighborhood of apartments, offices buildings and a nursing home. There was a small sign on a utility pole indicting the Rivanna Trail was nearby. But it didn't say where.

Finally, we walked through a parking lot, saw an opening in a fence, and a sign for the trail, which took us through another short patch of woods behind the Federal Executive Institute.

Then we came out into the real world again, this time in front of a day care center.

The "trail" winds between Sam's Kitchen and the Asian Market, crosses Emmet Street, passes Bodo's Bagels and the English Inn Bed and Breakfast on Morton Drive before becoming a "real" trail again.

By this time, my wife had left for a family event in nearby Albemarle County. She was not there to see two deer bound across the field and stop on the trail not far from City Gardens.

I have an arrangement with wild animals. I don't bother them where they hunt and gather, and they don't bother me where I hunt and gather - in the aisle of the grocery store. So, I paused about 50 yards from the deer.

The deer weren't moving. Was it my imagination or was one deer actually eyeing my garlic bagel - hey, it's a long walk and there was no point in going hungry - as if he had sharing in mind?

I did not have sharing in mind. Instead, I began walking slowly toward the deer. They turned and bounded away.

Not long after, this portion of the trail ended and I was crossing the Route 250 Bypass at Hydraulic Road.

You have choices here. You can go under the bypass in a tunnel and walk on a concrete siding about a foot wide next to Meadow Creek.

Or, you can ascend a small hill and cross the road, just like a normal pedestrian.

I did both. I prefer the overland route, simply because I don't like walking through tunnels next to water. But that's just me.

Later in my hike , I faced the same choice. That time, I had the option of a walk through a much longer tunnel under railroad tracks or a climb up a steep hill. It was so steep that had I not had my trusty walking stick to use as an anchor, I would have tumbled to the bottom of the steep hill several times.

But, I got a good workout and my ankles got very dirty, which, is an essential element of a good hike.

Hikers should not be put off by the road crossings. The Rivanna Trail has something for everyone.

A week earlier, we struck out from the same trail head near the University of Virginia School of Law. That time, we headed west and were faced with only one road crossing for the next two hours.

We were in the woods or walking along trails next to wide fields that provided outstanding views of the mountains that surround Charlottesville.

We encountered a green snake and a turtle, or maybe it was a tortoise. When asked, it declined to comment.

We came to the remnants of a building and what once had been a basement or utility room . We knew because a water heater remained .

Youth baseball also can be found along the Rivanna Trail.

I came upon the action as I sought a trail head in McIntire Park. And I discovered the games just in time because a storm was brewing.

My compliments to McIntire Little League for having tarps covering its bleachers to protect fans from the blazing sun and sudden cloudbursts.

I found a seat in the stands, amid players' parents. They deserve compliments for their unfailingly positive comments made to the players, even finding something good to say about a slow-rolling ground ball to the shortstop.

And they also deserve compliments for not turning to the man in the floppy hat and sunglasses, with the Camelback water bag on his back and carrying a long, wooden walking stick and saying, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Still, I was more out of place there than I was in the woods. As fate would have it, my wife arrived in her car just as the rain stopped and the sun emerged. It was a good time to call it a day.

I'll find that elusive trail head another day.
Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com.