C&O CANAL TRAIL Day #8

Our last night camped along the trail.  Running low on food so just popcorn for dinner.  We are excited to get to DC.

Set our alarm so we could be on the trail as the sun rose.  No breakfast this morning just breaking down camp.  It was beautiful to be on the trail as the morning began.  As we biked through Great Falls there were lots of photographers capturing the beautiful morning.  Our bikes felt light as we raced through the steepest downhill section on the C&O.  Soon we encountered more and more people on the trail as we got closer to DC.  Then suddenly we were in Georgetown next to the canal and between buildings.  So excited.  In 2013, Paul met a man that had just completed the trail and helped hime find the end marker—mile 0. This is what set us upon the idea of this trail.

After a little detour through the harbor we were there and took our celebration photo.  We took on a 350 mile challenge as a family and we did it.  What an adventure!

C&O CANAL TRAIL Day #6 & 7

Staying at the Lockhouse #28 was great—really understand  so much more what it was like for the families that ran the locks and those that lived in the canal boats.  We stayed in a house with out electricity and with out water.  There were historical essays of people who had lived the experience as children.

Reading about the canal and the mule/towpath.

Sleeping quarters

It is HOT and MUGGY.  It is hard to bike and hard to sleep due to the heat.  Walked down to the Potomac and rolled walnuts down the road.  This is the kids favorite activity.  There are walnut trees everywhere.  Made a campfire and sweated out the night in the Lockhouse.  Definitely hit the temperature variance…last night don’t think that it dropped below 75.  We are getting ready to wrap this trip up.  It has been great but we are missing running water.  

Note the grooves in the metal along the towpath
from the towlines on the mules.

Towpath

We did a short ride today—just to White’s Ferry were we watched the ferry take vehicles across to Leesburg and had some ice cream.  

Our 2nd night in a Lockhouse

"Long-legged Daddies" as Claire calls them

Today just a short ride to Great Falls where we saw some of the biggest reasons for the C&O Canal—the falls.  The falls were cloaked in fall beauty on an unusually hot day.  The lemonade tasted great as we were so thirsty.  We id’d some Paw Paw trees and found some fruit but it was past its prime.  We saw a Blue Heron, stalk, catch and swallow a fish—Incredible.

C&O CANAL TRAIL Day #4 & 5

 Still getting warmer.  In fact it is hot during the day.  Glad we choose October to ride.  Biked around 25 miles this morning after packing up camp.  Claire and Neil are getting so great at packing up camp—so proud of how helpful they were this morning.  Made it to Shepherdstown for a delicious lunch at a Mexican with a cold beer!  Found an alternative coffee shop with toys and just sat while the kids played.

Left our town in Shepherdstown—nothing like staying in a hotel after camping for 3+ nights to make you appreciate a shower/bath and bed.  Beautiful sleep!  Also a wonderful mediocre hotel breakfast.  

Biked 12 miles to Harpers Ferry—beautiful part of the trail.  The colors are vibrant on this 86 degree day.  We locked up the bikes and went over to Harpers Ferry and explored the historical area.  We learned about John Brown the abolitionist and had lunch in town.  It was a delightful day—tonight we will stay in Lockhouse 28!