Gary's 1997 C & O Canal Trip

From Cumberland To Chain Bridge

THANKS ! to Robert Kroll for a lot of the pictures on this page.

Clicking on images will give you a

Larger picture with a bit more detail

UPDATE on 4/8/2014 - You no longer need to use the detour at Slackwater! I'm leaving the original text as is for historical reading, but that's it. The Park Service has made a man made path now along the river. I haven't been there yet, but will at some point go and ride this new section.

Planning and Getting There

The planning for this trip actually started two years ago when I did what I call my "1995 Half Trip" (Mile 99.6 to Cumberland and back). After that first half trip in 1995, I knew I just had to do the whole towpath the next year. The damage done by the floods of 1996 prevented me from doing it then, so I did it in September of 1997.

My plans were to watch the weather and try to catch a 4 or 5 day stretch of "dry" weather starting on a Sunday in September. That way I could get my wife to drop me off in Cumberland early in the morning. September 14 seemed like it was going to be it. I checked with my wife to see if she had any plans for that particular day and she said no.

I started packing on Friday. I had to gather all the gear together, then figure out how I was going to get it all packed on my bike. Here is my camping list for the trip. I got everything together AND on the bike by Saturday afternoon. OK dear, I would like to leave by 6:30am so that we can be in Cumberland by 9:30. Then the first snafu was dropped on me. My wife said "You DO realize that your mother's birthday is tomorrow, don't you?" Welllll......, I guess I forgot. That's OK, we will stop by her house on the way and take her to breakfast! That will make her happy and let her know that I had not forgotten. That will still get me to Cumberland before noon and besides, I'm on vacation so it doesn't matter how long I take coming down the canal.

I called Mom and started to set everything up. Second snafu. She lives about 5 miles from Antietam battlefield and it just so happens that this is the weekend of a Civil War re-enactment. She said I should not even try to get to her house because of all the traffic, even at that time in the morning. You CAN'T forget your mother's birthday, so we worked it out that we would meet at a restaurant around 8:00am. That way I would not get tied up in the traffic and she still got a birthday breakfast. We even talked my son into going along to 1) make his grandmother happy and, 2) to make sure my wife could find her way back from Cumberland.

Finally, we arrived in Cumberland around 11:30am. Not a bad time, considering the problems of the morning. It took me about an hour to change into my cycling clothes, repack the bike (it wouldn't fit in my Caravan with all my stuff on it) , and visit the small museum at the train station.

Kiss my wife good-bye, tell my son thanks for coming along, and finally, my trip becomes a reality!

DAY 1

Mile Marker 184.5 to 157.4 (27.1 miles)

I was in such a hurry to get started that I didn't even look to see if there were remains of the guard locks and inlet at Cumberland. I have an excellent book by Thomas F. Hahn titled "TOWPATH GUIDE TO THE C & O CANAL" that tells a lot of the history and sites of the canal. I purchased the book from the Great Falls Park Store about 3 years ago. Oh well, something to look for on the next trip. Temperature was in the 70s and it was sunny. Perfect weather to start my trip with.

When you leave the train station parking lot you are on some loose gravel until you go across the railroad tracks. The towpath then becomes packed dirt and gravel. For about a mile you are in open sun with no shade, then the path goes behind some houses and farms. From this point on it is mostly shady. As I was riding along, I heard a loudspeaker announcing some names. As I got closer to the sound I found out that it was some sort of horse show. Since I got started later than I had originally planned I opted to not stop and see what kind of show it was. Within a tenth of a mile I was behind about 6 or 7 horses. That ranch I just passed must offer riding also. It was very apparent that the riders were beginners, so I just slowed down to a crawl until it was safe to pass. There was an experienced rider in the lead that was making sure the rest of the pack did not take off. Once he knew I was back there, he halted the procession and motioned me through. It's a little scary weaving between horses that are taller and much bigger than you and they cannot see you until you are beside their head or in front of them. I just hoped they would not decide to kick as I was coming around from behind. One horse near the front actually acted like he wanted to follow me as opposed to staying with the pack. The leader had to keep telling him to "Stay". I said Thank You as I passed the leader and continued on my way.

A little farther down the path I meet up with a husband and wife on bicycles that wanted to know where I was going, how long did I plan to take, etc., etc. I slowed down to about 3-4 mph and rode with them while explaining my plans. They were very pleasant people and I did not want to be rude by saying "I'm going all the way and I'm running late." Besides, I'm on vacation and I can take as long as it takes me. After a couple of miles of very pleasant conversation I bid my farewell and went on.

As I went passed Lock #75 at mile 175.6 I heard a person describing life on a canal boat. There is a canal boat in the parking lot at that lock and I can only assume that someone is there to tell about how life was in the active days of the canal. Vacation or not, I needed to get some miles under me, so I did not hang around for the talk.

So far the towpath has been in very good condition for biking. I did have to dodge horse droppings but other than that, the path was very nice. I met a few more people along the way that had the usual questions, and I answered them all. It was nice being able to talk to a total stranger that acted like you have known them for a while. I had originally planned to do somewhere between 40 and 50 miles a day. At 40 miles per day I could do the trip in 5 days and at 50 per day I could do it in 4. Well, you know the saying about "Best laid plans of mice and men....". After getting a late start, horses, and nice people, I stopped around 4:30pm at the Purslan Run Hiker-Biker campsite which is at mile 157.4. I had only ridden 27 miles the first day, but I did not really have to be anywhere at any certain time, so what the heck. I set up camp and enjoyed the rest of the day.

I had prepared dinner, ate, had my evening coffee, gathered wood for the evening fire, and it was only about 6:45pm. All of a sudden there appeared 2 bikers. It was about a half hour to sunset. They asked if I minded if they stayed at the same campsite. I said "No Problem". Seems they got a later start than I did and they also had plans to do the whole canal. They had left Cumberland around 4:00. They set up their tent and began to fix their dinner which was a traditional "Hot Dogs and Beans". Over the next couple of hours we talked and I found out that they were both originally from the Netherlands. Gerrit now lives in Sperryville, and his friend still lives in the Netherlands. Gerrit said he grew up with his friend on the same block, but had not seen him in about 30 years. I started a fire in the fire ring and the three of us sat around and enjoyed each others company and stories of whatever came to mind. It was as if I had known them for years.

DAY 2

Mile Marker 157.4 to 109.9 (47.5 miles)

Monday morning was just perfect. The temperature was around 55-60, the sun was coming up, and the morning air was very clean and awakening. I started a small fire to knock off the morning's dampness. I had my scrambled eggs for breakfast and Gerrit and his friend had bagels and leftovers from the night before. They were a little quicker to pack up than I was, so they had hit the trail before I did. We said our good byes and away they went. I took my time and finally hit the trail around 10am. I figured that if I could do about 50 miles that it would get me a little closer to my “sort of” schedule.

The first thing of interest after only 2 miles of riding was the Paw Paw Tunnel. If you plan a trip to that section of the canal, take a flashlight! Even though you can see light at the other end, once you get a little ways in it gets very dark. The mule path through the tunnel is narrow and a little uneven. You have a brick wall on one side of you and a hand rail on the other. It is a little spooky in the middle, but it is also a marvel of construction. I tried to ride (very slow) with a head lamp worn on my head. That did not last very long as I seemed to lose my balance. Instead of bouncing off the rail and wall I just got off and walked. The tunnel is 3118 feet long and has a lot of history to it.

Leaving the downstream entrance to the tunnel you are on a wooden platform for a short way. You have to be careful because the rocks slide down the hill and lay on the path. The path from here on was still in fairly good shape. A few rocky areas and a few roots, but no major problems.

The weather was still perfect, temperature in the 70s and sunny. I started to take notice of each Lock I passed. I was amazed at the construction of the Locks. “How in the world did they come up with so many rocks with flat sides on them?” I wondered whether they shaped them or just brought them in that way.

The rest of the day's ride was just peaceful riding. There were only a few people on the path. I passed maybe 3 people hiking with full packs. Around mile marker 143 there is much evidence of beavers. You can see where they have been very busy on the trees beside the towpath.

As I passed the town of Hancock around the 123 mile marker I thought that maybe one of these trips I should plan to tour the town. It just looked like it would be full of history and interesting things. I also thought that maybe I should have planned to eat there as opposed to carrying everything with me. Looking at my watch and thinking that I had only done about 34 miles so far, it was time to pick up some speed and get on down the trail. I wanted to try to make mile marker 110 by camping time.

It was around this time that my backside started letting me know that I had not done much riding before this trip. My legs and knees were fine, but I sure had a pain in the, well you know. I started shifting the left and right cheeks around to take some of the abuse. I needed to push my self a little harder so that over the next few days I could spend more time looking at the sights along the canal. Pushing a little harder I set my sites on North Mountain Hiker-Biker campsite.

As I got close to mile marker 110, I passed quite a few people fishing. The area is close to a Drive-in campground. Mile marker 110 was finally in site and I was becoming tired and hungry. Parked the bike and set up camp. I was getting pretty good at remembering where I packed everything on the bike, so it only took about a half hour till I was sitting down and relaxing. I started to fix dinner around 6:00pm when I noticed 2 bikers going down the towpath. It was my 2 friends from the first night. I said that this was going to be my home for the evening and they said they were going to ride another 10 miles to the next campsite. We all said have a nice evening and away they went. I found out later that they were hitting the towns for their meals as opposed to bringing food, and Williamsport was the next town that was close to a campsite, 10 more miles down the trail.

I had a nice dinner and settled down to build a small fire. There is just something about having a fire while camping. It was about 7:00pm and was starting to get dark. Sunset was around 7:15. I heard some bikes and looked up to see a man and his three sons. They were going the opposite way on the canal and needed a place to camp. They set up their tents right as the sun went down. They really did not have a whole lot to say, but I gathered they were quite tired. One of the boys came over to the fire and asked, “Aren’t you bored?” I said no and explained that I really enjoyed the quiet time around the fire without phones, beepers, TVs, and the hustle and bustle of normal life. I think they stopped to eat before they got to this campsite, because they pretty much set up camp and went straight to bed. It was only 9:00! If I go to sleep at 9, I am waking up at 4 or 5! I just stayed quiet and kept the fire small. Guess I finally hit the sack around 10:30.

DAY 3

Mile Marker 109.9 to 62.9 (48 miles)

(Bypass adds about a mile)

I woke up around 5:30am and really could not get back to sleep. I did not hear any movement from the other campers and I did not want to wake them up. I stayed as quiet as possible and yes, started a little fire. I then fixed breakfast while it was still dark. Between the full moon and my little candle lantern, there was plenty of light. I had finished eating and cleaning up by the time the sun came up at 6:45am. I fixed another cup of coffee just to kill some time and see if my neighbors would get up. I pulled out my weather radio to see if there was any change in the forecast for the rest of the week. Uh-Oh, there was a 40% chance of rain on Wednesday afternoon with possible thunder showers at night. Guess I better pull out my map and figure where I should be when and if bad weather sets in.

I figured I could ride about 50 miles and be in a pretty good spot for Wednesday’s possible rain. With 50 miles plus whatever I did on Wednesday before the rain, I could always call my wife to pick me up if the weather turned really nasty!

I was packed up except for my coffee making stuff by 8:45. My neighbors were just climbing out of their tents. I finished my last cup of coffee and packed away the remaining stuff. I talked briefly to my neighbors and told them about the possible rain Wednesday afternoon. He said that by then he had planned to be in Cumberland and most likely on his way home. He asked me about the towpath conditions from here to Cumberland and I told him they were fine. He said that they had their share of bad spots getting to this point. He really did not tell me exactly where, but said there were several spots he had to walk the bike. Hmmmm, I think I better start making tracks!

I got started shortly after 9:00am. The path still seemed to be in really good shape. Over the next 4 miles there are 7 locks. I just had to stop and marvel over them and the foundations or houses that were built there. At mile marker 100 is the town of Williamsport. A very interesting thing here is a railroad bridge built across the canal that actually lifted the tracks up so boats could pass. It is not operable now but you could just picture the thing in operation. Whomever designed and built it was probably quite proud of their accomplishment.

There was a very short detour around the lock at Williamsport. It appeared the Park Service was trying secure the walls of the lock. Even with modern equipment they have their work cut out for them when trying to rebuild these historical sites. The Park Service is very good about providing access to the towpath even though they may have it blocked. In this case I just had to cross over to the other side for about 100 yards and then back to the original path. Even though the detour was obvious, they still had it very well marked.

Between mile markers 95 and 93 you ride on a gravel road that is in front of a summer community. Not the prettiest site on the canal, but it was a change from the normal feel of wilderness. A little farther down the path are steps leading up the cliffs to houses. There are boats tied up to wooden and metal piers on the river. I am not sure whether these are summer homes, or full time homes, but they have access to the river by way of very steep steps.

UPDATE on 4/8/2014 - You no longer need to use the detour I talk about below! I'm leaving the original text as is for historical reading, but that's it. The Park Service has made a man made path now along the river. I haven't been there yet, but will at some point go and ride this new section. Back to the story -

I knew that once I got to mile marker 88.1 that I would have to take a road detour. From mile marker 88 down to mile marker 85 is very treacherous. I have spoken to one lady that said she wound up in the Potomac River with her bike when she tried to do it. Another person told me they tried to ride that section and carried their bike most of the way, and STILL almost fell in the river. By all means, HEED THE DETOUR SIGNS!. I have not tried this section on a bike, and never will. I do plan however to return with hiking boots and walk that section just so I can say I have been there.

I stopped at the detour sign and had some munchies to try and get some energy for the road bypass. I knew that I would have a little uphill traveling to do. It really is not too bad, but I put the bike in the lowest gear and started up the road. Once at the top which is only 3/4 mile, it becomes more of a rolling highway. You still have to be careful because there really is not a shoulder on the road and there are some trucks that travel it. The one nice thing about going uphill is that when you get to the high point, you're now going DOWNHILL. There is even a warning leading down the road to the canal that advises bikers to walk their bikes. If you ride down, make sure your brakes work! There is a sharp turn at the bottom and it is a blind corner for cars.

I was a little tired after climbing the hills with my fully loaded bike, so I had a few more munchies and a look at the map. Wow, I have to do another 20 miles to be where I planned. That would be around 2 hours of straight riding or 3 if I stopped alot. Better get moving.

Over the next 15 or so miles there are a lot of caves in the cliffs beside the canal. I admired the openings from the towpath but never attempted to climb in any. Since I was by myself, I would have no one to help me if I got stuck or slipped inside one of the caves. The path was still in reasonably good shape. There were a few spots where rocks stuck up through the washed out areas, but for the most part it was still in good shape.

After passing by Shepherdstown I realized I still had about 10 miles to go to reach my goal. I was getting really tired quickly and my tail was pretty sore. It was a little after 3:00pm and I just told myself to push onward. Ten miles and camp was only about an hour away.

It took me a little over an hour because I still had to stop and admire some of the structures along the canal. Also I slowed down alot when I shifted my backside from cheek to cheek on the seat. It made pedaling a little difficult, but the relief felt good! As I approached the Huckleberry Hill Hiker-Biker campsite at mile marker 63, I noticed that a tent was already in the area. Darn! I’m just going to have to ask if they mind company because I just don’t think I could make it another 12 miles to the next campsite.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! It was my 2 friends I camped with the first night. They had no problem sharing their campsite with me. It was about 4:30pm and they said they were going into town to do some site seeing and get something to eat. We were only about 3 miles from Harpers Ferry. I said no problem and that I would be right there to watch their stuff. They rode off and I set up camp.

I ate dinner, cleaned up, and yes,.....got some wood ready for a fire. My 2 friends came back at about 6:45pm, which I thought was quick for a tour of Harpers Ferry and dining. When I asked them how their trip was, they said “Lousy! Absolutely Lousy!” I asked what happened and they told me that Harpers Ferry rolls in the sidewalk at 5:00. Seems the only place that they could find that was open was a pizza place up the hill a few blocks. They said the pizza was good, but they had expected to have a variety of food places to choose from, not just one place.

That evening around the fire I learned that the Netherlands rely on bikes as a major form of transportation. Seems accessories are cheaper also. Gerrit’s friend had a real nice set of panniers that he paid around $40 for. My set cost me over $100 and I think his were nicer than mine! Gerrit said that if he gave me a nickname it would be “Fire Man”. They didn’t mind the fire, they just had never expected to have one each evening and morning they were with me. I pulled out my weather radio again, and the forecast had improved somewhat. They were now calling for a 30% chance of afternoon showers and there was no more mention of the thunderstorms.

Gerrit and his friend were tired and they turned in around 9:15pm. I stayed up just until the fire had burnt down which was only another 30 minutes or so. I had trouble getting to sleep even though I was tired because the moon was so bright. It was within a couple of days of a full moon and our camp was not under a full tree spread. The moon actually lit up the inside of my tent. A flashlight was used only for finding things.

DAY 4

Mile Marker 62.9 to 26.0 (36.9 miles)

I woke up around 5:30am and fixed my morning coffee. I was thinking to myself that even if it did rain I would be close enough to home to get picked up if necessary. Gerrit and his friend had left over pizza for breakfast and I had my scrambled eggs. Listening to the weather radio again, it sounded like we might get lucky. Now they were saying 30% chance of “late” afternoon showers. Hey that means that I can ride most of the day dry and also that there is a 70% chance of NO rain.

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.

DAY 5

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.

I made it through the mud and got to Swain’s lock at around mile 16. I opted to eat most of my munchies that I had left, and take a break. There is a camp ground there with many sites, but I’m glad I stayed where I did. The campsites are downhill from the canal and they appeared to be very wet. After a short break I hopped back on my now “Mudmobile” and continued on. The path did seem to improve some, but was still very muddy. Great Falls was only 2 more miles and Chain Bridge was only 10 miles after that. If the mud got too bad I could always go out to the road at Great Falls and take MacArthur Blvd. the rest of the way.

As I approached Great Falls they were raising the canal boat in the lock. Even though I had seen it before, I had to park the bike and watch. Something on the other side of the canal boat caught my eye, it was my 2 friends from the towpath! They were just as coated with mud on their bikes and legs as I was. For the final time we said our good-byes and down the trail I went.

I knew I had at least one more obstacle to overcome on the canal towpath. Right at Lock 16 there are a set of stairs that cross over the canal to Berma Rd that is a bypass around the un-rideable section of the towpath. When I got to the steps I just told myself that it had to be done and started up the stairs with my loaded bike. I had not one, but two people watching me struggle up the stairs. One was even walking right behind me and would not offer to help at all! That’s when I said “welcome home” to myself. After 170 miles of very friendly and courteous people, I had returned to the unfriendly DC area.

It took all my strength to get the bike up the two sets of steps but once on Berma Rd. I figured I could beat any obstacle now. Berma Road has its good and bad spots. There is alot of rocky areas that you have to be careful of. At the end of Berma Rd. there is another set of steps to go down to the canal but I had been here before so I went straight into the parking lot ahead and made a U-turn down the path that leads back to the canal. I much preferred to roll my bike instead of taking a chance on losing it down some steps.

Just Eight more miles and I would be on my final uphill battle home. There are about 11 locks in that stretch of the towpath and I just had to hesitate at each one just to take a quick glance. It still amazes me how they built those things and where they got all the flat sided rocks. Some of these locks look like they could have their wooden doors replaced and put back into service. Now THAT’S craftsmanship!

The path was wet and muddy but nowhere as bad as I had already been through. Finally Chain Bridge was in site. I took a little break and ate the last of my munchies. I’m not sure whether I was trying to build energy or loose as much weight as possible off of the bike. I had passed a few people riding and jogging in this last section and gave my normal “good morning” or “how you doing” greeting. Nine out of ten did not even respond. I much preferred the friendliness of the people above Great Falls.

I rode across Chain Bridge getting some pretty weird looks from people. I guess they thought I was some sort of "bag bicyclist" or something. There was one nice man jogging that ask me what time it was and talked to me about my trip for a few moments. Once I crossed route 123 on the other side of the bridge, it was off the bike and push up the hill. Even with an empty bike this hill was never any fun, so with a fully packed one it is no fun at all! Seemed like an eternity till I got to the top. I rode from there up some more gradual hills, in low low gear of course. I did get off and push up some more of the steeper sections, but the downhill ones were a joy. Finally at 2:09pm I arrived at my cul-de-sac. I was just across the street from my house and was wondering if I could make it or not. With a hot shower in the front of my mind I pushed the bike across the street and into the driveway. The rest of the day was spent drying everything out and cleaning up.

SUMMARY OF TRIP

I had a BLAST! Even with the starting late, the mud, the rain, the roots, the rocks, and the final uphill battle home, I totally enjoyed myself. If I had more vacation time coming I would not hesitate to do it again, given a week or so to let my backside heal.

The total mileage on my cyclecomputer was 187.85 miles and my average speed was 9.1 miles per hour. That included the uphill section that I had to push the bike.

Last updated by Gary Mumma on 10/15/2021