Gerrit and his friend packed up quicker than I did and were getting ready to leave. Gerrit had one more picture left on his camera so he wanted to get a picture of the three of us. He set the camera on the picnic table and set the self timer. The three of us were sitting on the log seat around the fire ring when the flash went off. Gerrit on the right, me in the center, and Gerritt's friend from the Netherlands on the left. Take a close look at those smiles. We were all having a good time! Good-byes and the possible thought of hooking up one more time, and away they went.
I really wasn’t much behind them in leaving, say maybe 15-20 minutes. I figured I would try to get to mile marker 26 which was the last Hiker-Biker campsite on the towpath. If it did decide to rain late, I would only have to ride about 22 miles on the wet towpath. It was still in the back of my mind that there were some bad sections of towpath yet to come. I just wasn’t sure where, how long, or how bad they were.
The previous year’s flood damage really became apparent as I got to Harpers Ferry. There was a whole lock that had collapsed into the canal. Also there was ongoing path repairs. Even as I rode by, they were bringing in dirt and gravel to build up the badly washed off path. The path started to look new as opposed to the previous sections. New in the sense that it was brand new dirt and gravel. It slowed me down some, but wasn’t too bad for riding. Farther down the trail the rocks were sticking up through the washed out path. Going was a little rough in this area. I bounced around alot. It wasn’t the greatest feeling for my already sore behind. I tried not to let my eyes or mind wander because about the time they did, I would be hitting a sizable rock in the path. The last thing I wanted right now was a flat tire.
I will admit that this was the worst part of my journey so far. There were good sections and bad sections. You just had to pay attention to the path and adjust your speed and course accordingly. Today’s ride was more or less just getting to a pre-planned point. I did not really do a whole lot of site seeing along the canal. I would slow down and look, but kept on going. I wanted to get as close to home as possible because of the possible bad weather.
Even at midday the weather was still perfect. It was sunny and in the 70s. I was hoping that the weather man really blew it. God knows, he has before. I pushed on past White’s Ferry. The path seemed to improve a little. I came up to about mile marker 30.5 and was real tempted to camp there. It was large, had several fire rings and was just a very good camping area. I said no, I had told my 2 friends that I was going to try for Horsepen at mile 26, so onward.
The improved conditions got worse real quick! I was now riding in soft mud. I could tell that it was a fairly new topping of dirt on the towpath. I tried to stay on whatever looked packed down, but it wasn’t easy. It had not rain in this section for about a week, but the dirt was still damp, and soft. It was rough going for the next 3 miles. I was traveling at a very slow pace with only a few spots that allowed me to relax. I was very relieved when I finally got to mile marker 26 the Horsepen Hiker-Biker campsite. I was very tired and sore. Mind you, my legs and knees were in great shape, just the backside that suffered! I hadn’t ridden enough to build up those muscles before the trip.
It was only around 3:30pm so I pulled out the weather radio to see what the latest was. Hooray, the forecast said there was only a 20% chance of a late afternoon or evening shower followed by clearing skies. I had only ridden about 37 miles this day, but it was the roughest ride so far. The sun was still out with no clouds in site, so I was hoping for the 80% chance of dry weather. I was glad I tackled that soft mud before I stopped. If it did rain, that stuff could get real nasty.
I set up camp, keeping in mind that it might rain. I put my tent on a slight incline to make sure I would not be laying in water. I then used my rope to tie the plastic tarp over the picnic table. That way if it rained I would have a dry place to sit in the morning. I put my clothes that I wanted to make sure stayed dry into the tent. I got everything in it’s proper place and sat back and enjoyed the rest of the day.
I kept an eye out for my 2 friends in case they happen to have the same plans as I did. The only people I saw the rest of the day was 1 person on a mountain bike and 2 hikers that hiked in from a nature preserve. When I first saw the guy on the mountain bike he was going up the canal. Later he was returning down the canal. He stopped to fill up his water container from the pump. He said he had biked from around mile marker 10 to the Monocacy Aqueduct (mile 42) and was returning. It was around 6:00pm and he said he didn’t know if he was going to make it or not. Seems he had found an old book on the canal and got interested in the sites. He showed me the book and it was by the same author as the book I mentioned earlier, Thomas Hahn. He said he had to back by 7:30. I said that he had about an hour and a half to do 16 miles. He said, “I am actually suppose to be somewhere at 7:30pm”. I said Ohhhh, I do not think you are going to make it either. He was a very nice fellow that was taking some classes at George Mason. I think he probably missed this one class. He, like so many others including myself, got caught up in the mystery, beauty, and history of the canal.
I ate my last dinner on the canal and listen to the forecast again. There was only a 20% chance of a “passing” shower. I built a very small fire as I planned to call it an early evening. As the sun went down the moon was full and the sky was filled with stars. Guess I lucked out because it sure is not going to rain now. I hit the sleeping bag at 9:00. I was quite tired and fell right off to sleep.
I awoke around 11:15pm to the sound of rain on the tent. I turned on the flashlight and took a quick look around the tent to see if any rain was coming in. Everything appeared dry. There was some moisture on the inside wall of the tent, but that was normal. I fell back asleep to the sound of the rain on the trees and the tent.
Mile Marker 26.0 to 4.2 (then home)(25.5 miles)
I had just had the best night’s sleep of the whole trip. It was about 5:30am and I felt great. Sunrise was around 6:45am but I figured I could get an early start on the home stretch. I still heard drops of rain, but it sounded more like it was coming off of the trees rather than it actually raining. I reached down to the bottom of my sleeping bag to retrieve my warm dry socks. “What the heck?? This sock is wet!” Turned on the flashlight to see what was going on only to discover that my tent must have leaked. The bottom part of my sleeping bag was soaked. It probably rubbed against the side of the tent and wicked in the water. Also there was water on the floor of the tent around the sides. I was perfectly dry since I was elevated by my Therma-Rest mattress. I reached into one of my plastic bags and pulled out my “spare” pair of socks. They were completely dry! Thank Goodness for planning.
After climbing out of the tent and looking around, the passing shower must have been more like a downpour. I had mud splashed half way up the sides of my tent and the picnic table under the tarp was wet. The wind must have really blown the rain in and under the tarp. I wiped off the table with a towel and looked around to see what else was wet. Everything else was just fine. Time for the morning coffee.
The fire starters really came in handy now. I had made sure everything was going to stay dry the night before, except for the wood. Oh well, next time I will remember to put some wood under the tarp. The fire starters worked just fine in getting something going though. I listened to the weather radio and it sounded like it was going to be a beautiful day. The only rain left in the area was well to my north. Even though it had rained overnight, the temperature was the warmest of any morning yet. I did not even have to put on my windbreaker.
I had all day to do the last 22 miles to Chain Bridge. Why only to Chain Bridge and not all the way to Georgetown you say? Well, I live in North Arlington about 2 blocks from the highest point in Arlington. That meant that once I got to a crossing point of the river it would be ALL UPHILL home. I had traveled the section from Chain Bridge to Georgetown many times so I did not really feel I was cheating by jumping off at Chain Bridge.
I fixed my last bag of powdered eggs and contemplated what to do next. I thought that maybe I could wait until the sun came out to help dry things up a bit. Well, by 8:00 the sky did not appear that it was going to let the sun through. I figured what the heck and started packing things up wet. I could just set up camp in my driveway once I got home.
Right about 9:30 my 2 friends came riding by. I must have passed them during one of their food stops the day before. They said they just could not pass up that wonderful site that was just 4 miles before this one. They had about the same luck as I did as far as getting wet. They stayed dry, but there was some leakage inside their tent. It was interesting to hear Gerrit say that they had a nice fire the night before. I guess I kind of rubbed off on him. Gerrit said that the soft mud that I had gone through yesterday was soft, wet, and slippery this morning. I am glad that 4 miles was behind me as opposed to in front of me. Gerrit commented that my tarp over the picnic table was a good idea. I left that up until the very last because of the water coming off the trees. They wanted to do some sightseeing at Great Falls and they had to meet Gerrit’s wife in Georgetown, so they bid their farewells and went on down the trail.
I finished packing everything up and sadly started on my home leg of the trip. I did not get very far when I hit the mud. It definitely was NOT just a passing shower last night! The trail was nothing but mud puddles of very soft mud. At one point my bike actually came to a complete stop. The mud seemed to grab the rear tire and say “STOP!”. It was not very pleasant biking in this stuff, but it was all part of the experience.
