Cycling the C & O Canal Towpath - 4

After six days of cycling on the C&O Canal Towpath, we’d only managed to get to MP 116… ~ 16 miles west of Williamsport and only 68.5 miles of progress on a 184.5 mile trail. We had no doubt we were going to make it all the way to Washington, D.C., but had hoped we’d been much further along by now. We’d decided for several reasons that doing yo-yo segments was probably the best way to accomplish our goal, but it was slow. We’d actually ridden closer to 150 miles since we do each segment in both directions. In the coming days, we planned to ride a little further each day.

Day 7 - Williamsport to MP 116 - 32 miles RT

What was originally supposed to be a short day ended up being a longer day since we needed to make up for recent lost mileage due to the storm. It was overcast and very cool for a change and very muddy. Most of the downed trees and limbs, however, had been removed and hauled off the trail. Tire and tractor tread marks in the mud, big ruts, and fresh sawdust attested to the work that had been done to clear the trail.

I discovered with dismay that my Canon Powershot digital camera had bought the farm. Yesterday’s fall, maybe? Or getting it wet or all the grit and dust from the trail? I know most folks nowadays rely on their phones to take pix, but I really loved that little camera with its 40x optical zoom. My iPhone X can’t take nearly the quality photos that that little Powershot could. Of course, the Powershot can’t send texts or make phone calls. I’d have to do with the phone for the rest of the trip. It appears that Canon cameras are one of those items that are backordered and hard to come by these days.

We rode over Conococheague Aqueduct, one of “11 arched, hand-hewn stone aqueducts each uniquely designed to carry the canal and towpath across intersecting creeks and streams”, so says the brochure.

At Dam #5, there was a short footbridge with a couple of stairs at one end… stairs? no fair! The dam, however, was scenic. There was also another restored lockhouse on site.

We were disgustingly muddy by the end of our ride. The bikes were so caked with mud and grit, we ended up taking them to a car wash to power wash them off. We brought the panniers, hydration packs, and waist packs into the hotel room to wash them off. David rinsed off our shoes and I made use of the hotel laundry to wash the sweat and mud from our biking togs.

Pizza and a cold, end-of-ride beer for dinner. We were tired when we finally relaxed for the evening. We wrote for awhile, read for awhile, and then slept for a good long while.

Day 8 - Williamsport to Dam 4 - 36 miles RT (including a 3-mile detour)

The evening forecast called for rain the next day and we’d decided we’d take a layday rather than ride in the rain. In the morning, however, the forecast had changed. It was overcast, but the chances of heavy rain had diminished and we decided to ride after all. We drove to the Williamsport parking area once again and headed back to Dam #4, 15 miles away.

David has become very proficient at stowing and unstowing the bikes. My bike requires some disassembly and fits in Blanche’s ‘garage’. David’s bike fits in the garage, too, but it’s easier to stow it snugly into the open area behind the front seats when we’re riding everyday. He’s got it down to about 10 minutes to get the bikes out and ready to ride. While he’s assembling, I busy myself with minor details… fill the hydration packs, get out our yogurt and snacks for the day, turn on the helmet intercoms, mount David’s phone on his bike, insert the charged batteries into the bikes, etc. It’s a workable and pretty efficient routine.

We passed MP92 today and congratulated each other on arriving at the half-way point of the C&O at Lock 43. Little did we know what lay ahead. At MP 88, we saw a detour sign and made our way up a gravel road past McMahon’s Mill, an old grist mill built c. 1778 that closed in 1922. It was purchased in the 1960s and had transitioned from being a restaurant, to a Civil War military and history museum and now is part of the Canal Trust. We figured we’d just ride around the mill and be back on the towpath. An interesting diversion.

We continued on to a paved country road and saw another detour sign. Up a steep hill, down a steep hill, turn right, up a steep hill, down a steep hill, past some McMansions, up a steep hill, down a steep hill, turn left over a gravel road. The signage was excellent, but oh the detour was so long… three miles long, in fact. Finally, the last detour sign led us up a narrow dirt path which steeply descended to the towpath. It was slippery, winding, and barely one-bike width wide. We carefully walked the bikes down, slipping and sliding all the way, knowing all the while we had to retrace this same route on the way back. Unfortunately, photos never quite provide the steepness nor the difficulty of the trail.

The reason for the detour we discovered was that this area known as the Big Slackwater is a relatively calm spot in the Potomac and a dam was built, Dam #4, which allowed the canal boats to divert onto the river for about four miles. Unfortunately, parts of the cliff side here between MP 88 and 89 are not stable and a retaining wall needed to be built. There were rockfalls, washouts and sometimes this section was actually under water. Thus, reconstruction was underway. We regained the towpath on the portion that was already completed. Paved in asphalt, the trail ran very close to the Potomac on one side with granite cliffs with falling rock signs looming on the other.

We finally reached Dam #4, turned around and reluctantly, did it all over again in reverse. Whew!

Day 9 - Dam #4 - Antietam Creek - 31 miles

We had to lift our bikes up onto a wooden walkway to gain access to the towpath. It was only on our return that we saw a detour sign which allowed us to take a gravel path through the woods to get back to the parking lot.

The towpath at Dam #4 is very steep with thick gravel and deep ruts from water run-off. David led the way and took a tumble, scraping his knee. He shook it off quickly and remounted. I walked my bike down the hill.

The trail had several washout areas with deep gravel fill and big potholes. Warning signs were posted for bikers indicating a rough trail ahead. We did not have to detour off the trail and once we were over the rough spots, much of the trail was paved or packed dirt and smooth going.

So much of this area was battleground territory during the Civil War. We passed by Killiansburg Cave where local townspeople ran for cover and hid themselves during a major battle.

We’d visited Antietam in the past. It was the bloodiest one-day battle of the Civil War. Fought in September 1862, there was a total of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing Union and Confederate soldiers at the end of this battle. David is a history buff and recounted this as we stopped at our destination at Antietam Creek. Such massive loss of life.

A Layday in Hagerstown

We were tired. Though we enjoy the cycling, there is a cumulative fatigue that wears us down after awhile. We noted it when we did our long walks and we were feeling it now. So… a day off. We did some shopping, got much-needed haircuts, did more laundry, and visited the C&O Canal Visitor Center in Williamsport which was open.

The Visitor Center is located in the old Cushwa Warehouse. Built ~1800, the building was used for storing coal, brick, flour, iron, cement and other commodities needed further west up the canal.

We took a look at some of the old photos of when the canal was still in use. Lock keepers at each of the 74 locks along the canal were on call 24x7 to keep traffic flowing by raising and lowering the water levels so the canal boats could make their way upstream or down.

Day 10 - Antietam Creek to Brunswick - 30 miles RT

The trail was pleasant and reasonably easy going today. Most of the mud puddles had dried up, there was no debris on the path, and no detours. The biggest traffic jam occurred as we passed Harper’s Ferry where we slowly and carefully threaded our way through pedestrian tourists, hikers and other bikers. Paying such attention to the traffic and trail, we hardly noticed we had passed Harper’s Ferry until we reached Brunswick. It surprised us both. Aha… that’s why all that traffic back there!

On the return route, we paid more attention. Since Harper’s Ferry is on the West Virginia side of the Potomac, we never saw the town. It was only when we saw the sign for the convergence of three trails (Maryland Heights Trail, Appalachian Trail, and the C&O Canal Towpath) and the railroad tracks above us that we realized exactly where we were.

We watched as some cyclists carried their bikes up or down three flights of metal stairs to reach the pedestrian bridge to Harpers Ferry or get back down to the towpath. We were glad at that moment that we didn’t have to manage hauling our bike up or down. It would have been a challenge… doable, but a challenge.

Without my camera, I find I take a lot fewer pictures. And once again, I find that cycling itself does not lend itself to stopping and taking photos as readily as it would while walking. That said, sometimes the trail was just the trail. Beautiful, easy riding, and easy to get lost in your own thoughts and just keep pedaling along.


Day 11 - Monocracy Aqueduct to Brunswick - 27 miles RT

We parked at the Monocracy (mon-OCK-ra-see) Aqueduct lot and rode west to Brunswick. This seven-arched aqueduct, like the others along the canal, was built as a water bridge to convey canal boats over rivers that flowed into the Potomac, in this case, the Monocracy River. Though all of the aqueducts are considered to be ‘works of art’, the Monocracy is regarded as one of two engineering and architectural jewels of the C&O Canal, the other being the Paw Paw Tunnel. It has withstood major floods, winter icing, two attempts to blow it up during the Civil War, abuse, disuse, and time. It had an overhaul in 2004 and it’s quite a beautiful structure. Because we’d read about it in advance, riding over it had a greater significance.

We passed under the Point of Rocks Bridge noting that there are very few highway bridges over the Potomac in this area. When we’d considered leaving Blanche in Hancock and riding one way segments, one major concern was accommodations along the route. Unfortunately, in some areas the only lodging within a reasonable distance was on the opposite side of the river with no easy access. There used to be a ferry, but it no longer operates. We found a Comfort Inn in Leesburg that would pick us and the bikes up at the Point of Rocks bridge and bring us to the hotel, but the cost was $75. Add that to a rental car or transportation for us and bikes back to Hancock and it didn’t seem like a reasonable venture.

Another detour confronted us along the trail. This time a significant washout of a towpath bridge required a steep, gravelly descent to a small footbridge, then up a steep, gravel path back to the towpath.

Some folks, mostly young macho mountain bikers and those certainly more experienced than we, took it in their stride. We, on the other hand, walked the bikes most of the way down and then back up on the westward leg. On the way back, David rode down the hill, but had to stop just short of the narrow footbridge when several bikers paused in the middle to take photos and were oblivious to others trying to get across. He made it up the other side and waited. Walking was not a problem for me and my healing knees thanked me.

Though there are some challenges, we’re making progress. Monocracy Aqueduct is MP 42.2. That’s only 42.2 miles from the end of the C&O Canal in Washington, D.C. We’ve ridden 142.3 miles (times two plus a few extra detours) and there’s light at the end of the towpath. Stick with us. We’ll finish up in our next blog and we can all share the bragging rights. Washington, D.C., here we come!

Continue to the end of the C&O Towpath