Monday was Memorial Day over here in the States. I took off bright and early to go to Frederick to meet up with my mom for a day of biking along the
C&O Canal. The canal is a 187 mile long now-defunct canal that reaches from Washington DC to Cumberland, Maryland. I was excited to try it out on my new mountain bike and my mom was up for some biking.
We drove our bikes down to Point of Rocks, Maryland which is on the border of Virginia and Maryland. We found a nice little place to park right along the canal and headed out on the 12 mile journey to
Harper's Ferry in West Virginia. The goal was to meet up with my dad who was driving there for lunch. Then, depending on how my mom was feeling, either I would return on my bike to my car and have my dad take my mom and her bike home or my mom and I would bike back.
The C&O canal is awesome. It parallels the Potomac River (which is the dividing line for Maryland and Virginia) and is mostly shaded. Even with the temperature reported to be 93 degrees F (34 degrees C), the shaded path and the proximity to the river kept us much much cooler.
There were lots of sights to see., especially the river.
Nowadays there is a train track that runs next to the canal for most of the time. Through some tree jumping, I was able to make it along the tracks for a bit.
Since it was a canal, there were the lock keepers houses to check out as well.
And the locks themselves
We also stumbled upon the stones they used to make the canal.
And some more pictures...
As we were riding down the trail, we were surprised when, right after a quick turn, we ran into this monstrosity that had just fallen over.
I stuck around for a little bit to help some people over it.
Some more pictures...
The canal itself is a bit run down. Algae covers most of it, yet somehow wildlife still flourishes.
One of the many amazing views..
The
Appalachian Trail (AT), which is a 2,000+ hiking route stretching from Georgia to Maine uses the canal for a bit. This is the famous "White Blazes" trail marker which means you are on the AT.
When you get closer to Harpers Ferry there are some fun little rapids along the Potomac.
And we finally made it. This is the first view of Harpers Ferry.
Harpers Ferry is a major location for trains.
We carried our bikes along the bridge that leads into Harper's Ferry.
And got some great views of the two rivers (Shenedoah river and Potomac river) colliding.
We got there just as my dad did, but since he had to park, I rode around town a little bit.
This is the Arsenal, which was what made Harper's Ferry famous during the Civil War.
And the flood line levels. Harper's Ferry has gotten flooded so bad so many times, this marker shows how high the water gets. I guess that's what happens when you put a town where two major rivers meet.
And the church...
And finally for some much wanted lunch. We were able to find a nice little outside diner where we could sit outside to watch our bikes.
After this, my mom said she was up for the return trip, so we got back on the canal and rode back to my car. I was impressed with my mom! 24 miles? Hell yea! It was slow though... took about 90 minutes to get there and about 2 hours to get back. I stopped to take all those pictures while my mom went ahead and I caught up.
It was a great trip and definitely made me want to go out and do the whole 180 miles!
Brilliant photos mate, kudos to Mumsie too!
ReplyDeleteI looked at this yesterday but couldnt post. Absolutely stunning photos mate. Thats what I call a river! wow! Most of our big ones - of which we have few - just meander along. You've got a great ride there, and congrats to your mum for sticking with you too.
ReplyDeleteYour dad looks like Richard Dreyfuss in that last photo. Is he calling for a bigger boat?
I read a book by Bill Bryson where he walked part of the Appalacian Trail. It was highly amusing and sounded like a nice thing to do.
Haha. We always said he looked exactly like Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves, though that was when he had colour in his hair and was about 10 years younger. The potomac river is massive and what Washington DC is built on.
ReplyDeleteA Walk in the Woods is the book you are referencing. A great book! I've hiked the AT north and south a few hundred miles from Maryland back in my Boy Scout days. Great trail and something I am hoping I will hike in its entirety some day!