The picnic table sits a few hundred yards into the path along Rock Creek from the entrance by the bridge near the Park Police station on Beach Drive.
It was placed between stout oak and ash trees, between the path and the creek. The ends of two of the slats that make the table top are knocked off, leaving jagged edges. Still, the table is ready for a fall feast or simple picnic. I’m certain this table was fished from Rock Creek by some Good Samaritan, positioned on a flat spot and readied for guests.
I sat down, brushed leaves off with a sweep of my arm, and ate my lunch by Rock Creek amid Friday’s falling leaves.
I would venture to say this short walk along Rock Creek, from the Park Police’s stone station house downstream toward Pierce Mill, is more perfect than any path in the Washington region to revel in the changing of the season. Put down the Sunday paper, flip off the TV, grab your friends or kids or parents, and head to what my friends and I call “the up and downs.”
To find it, go east on Military Road through the park, take the exit for Ross Drive, curve around and take a right on Ross Drive, park in the lot. Walk down the hill toward the bridge and enter the path by the small, stone shed.
Beech trees dominate the trail. Their trunks – smooth and gray like an elephant’s leg – are often carved by the lovelorn with initials and hearts. Most have shed their leaves to make a thick, brown carpet on the trail.
You walk up and down gentle hills, the sweet scent of rotting leaves filling the air. On one high spot overlooking the creek, a boulder looking like a massive Easter Island head stands guard. Bright yellow and red maple leaves throw dashes of color in the brown carpet. Close to the creek, turned tea color by the leaves, you can find a sandy beach to watch the water tumble and eddy.
A half mile or so from the start, you can take the foot bridge over to Beach Drive and walk back, or you can continue downstream as the path widens through the old growth forest.
I asked Beth Mullin, executive director for Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment, how the creek was faring. “Up and down,” she said. “We have been getting deluges, which are particularly hard on the creek. Storm water erodes the banks, pushes dirt into the creek and adds to problems in the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.”
On a positive note, she says, new partners are cleaning up trash in the tributaries. Mullin mentions a few: Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church, Temple Sinai, Bethesda United Methodist.
I could see the banks and the waters were clean and clear.
On the way back, I passed the little table, already covered again in leaves. I brushed them off; it’s ready for guests.
