Potomac River at Harpers Ferry

     At the tri-state meeting point of West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia is the beautiful Potomac River. I didn't plan my visit to investigate river access points and shuttle services, but next visit here to float this beautiful river, I will.

     I unloaded my bike on the eastern side of the Potomac and took a 15 mile bike ride up the canal path, the very same Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that begins in Cumberland, Maryland and goes south to near Washington DC. From the get-go, I saw people enjoying the outdoors.

This woman (about my age) is walking 15 miles daily on the towpath until August, when she flies to Spain for 45 days to complete the Camino de Santiago.

     And Doug, a retired man who erected this tent on the shores of the Potomac is from Texas. He too escapes Texas' summers. This summer he's walking from Washington DC to Pittsburgh on the canal towpath. He doesn't trust the Internet (typical Texan native) so I agreed not to take his photograph.

     Saw several bikers loaded down with gear, too. One had a solar unit on top of his gear. But most of the time, I had this trail to myself for 15 miles up and back.

Very woodsy canal path; much different from the path at Cumberland.

Path was in good condition, too. Lots of large trees on the Potomac side of the path.

Nice rock outcroppings on the canal side of the path.

The Potomac is a wide shallow rocky river at certain sections. I think these kayaks are inflatable ones.

Lots of tubers, too.

     Saw a doe and her fawn, and a Great Blue Heron catch dinner. I enjoyed the 15 miles up and the 15 miles back. Could have gone further north on this easy path. It was easy on the body, easy on the eyes and mind, too.

     Harpers Ferry which sits on the other side of the Potomac by the way, is very touristy. It was a pleasant drive through the well-preserved historic towns of Shepherdstown and Sharpsburg, but the village of Harpers Ferry is connected to the Historical National Park and they have lots of rules, regulations and fees to park (with a shuttle bus). To "see" it all would require planning. So, I didn't last long there.

     I'm taking a little break from my travels; visiting my sister in Laurel, Maryland. We have a wedding in the family this weekend! Will share it all next week.

Cumberland, Maryland, Meeting Place for Hikers and Bicyclists

     With much luck, I stumbled upon a campground bargain at the YMCA in Cumberland, Maryland. For only $12 daily, I can lock my bike at night under the pavilion (covered in photo below with green tarp), sleep comfy inside La Lair on a spacious parking lot, walk across the street to swim laps and shower, connect to their WiFi to do this post and check my email, leave in the morning on a long bicycle ride and charge my bike when I return. Everything I need is here in one place!

I'm not the only camper. Jeff and Jason rented a Uhaul truck. They drove to Cumberland and will bike on the Great Allegheny Passage to their homes near the Pittsburgh area.

     And Ray is walking with just a backpack to Pittsburgh on the same trail. He's a world traveler. Later this summer he will finish the Appalachian Trail for the second time and in September he returns to Nepal to hike the Mount Everest mountain range and help rebuild where earthquakes devastated communities.

     Two trails connect here in Cumberland. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park is about 185 miles long and goes south from Cumberland, while the Great Allegheny Passage is about 150 miles and goes north from Cumberland. So Cumberland draws lots of bicyclists and hikers who are either going north or south. Cumberland sits on the shores of the Potomac River and is nestled in the Appalachian mountain range.

 The mule was the backbone of the canal boat business from Cumberland to near Washington DC. I like the way the artist captured the mule's personality.

Two sets of mules were used by canal boats; a team of two pulled while the other team of two rested here in the bow of the canal boat. A ramp was used to exchange the teams. The man who showed me the mule stalls is an unpaid volunteer by the way.

Life on a canal boat looks pretty homey to me! Inside was a little coal stove, too. I could live like this . . . . bring my horse Topaz . . . .

     The canal boat business primarily hauled coal. It was a family business and the canal boat was their home; children helped their parents run the entire business. The boat in the photo is a replica.

     The trains couldn't transport coal cheaper than canal boats until the mid-1870s, and when they became the dominant player in coal delivery, it was all downhill for the canal boat business. And still today, folks can hear the constant train toots, long and short toots, frequently. This train below crosses the historical canal which looks pretty dismal.

The section I rode, from Cumberland to Oldtowne (about 15 miles), is dried-up, swampy, filled with log debris or weeds.

There's no effort to restore the canal's former glory. To see old photos of how beautiful it once was, click here.

     And a few miles of the trail itself are rutted and dried, forcing me to stay in the rut. I slowed down to 5 mph, and even turned off my electric motor. No use wasting electricity if I can't go faster than 5 mph.

     I met this young family on the towpath; there's a 2-ish year old girl being towed by her father (not in photo). The older daughter was encouraged to finish a certain number of miles by her father, all on a kiddy bike with training wheels. She was quite proud of her helmet too!

This big ole' tree along the Potomac River (which parallels the canal sporadically) is probably 30 feet in circumference.

Not much good scenery; an exception was this barn.

Folks who ride or hike the entire 185 miles can camp at designated areas.

 A nice small area of rock outcroppings along the canal.

     Interesting locks and dams along the way too. The building is called a "lockhouse". The volunteer on the canal boat told me it only took about 15 minutes to work a dam and lock to get a boat to the next level.

Today or tomorrow, I'll bike north on the other trail.