I've actually taken several rides this year, but none really worth logging except this C&O Canal adventure.
Location:C&O Canal and Western Maryland Rail Trail (C&O Canal miles 122-135)
Mileage:25
Average Speed:10 (includes many stops for photos and GPS readings)
Notes
It's been over a year, but I finally made it back to the C&O Canal to continue my seemingly never-ending attempt to complete the trail. These 10-mile at a time segments aren't going to cut it much longer, as I start to have to travel further and further to get to the trail. Working the logistics to get away from an out-and-back trip are proving difficult though. This trip started out in Hancock, which is in the part of Maryland that is about 5 miles wide between the PA border and the WV border. I've driven through here several times, but never had the chance to stop. The trailhead for the C&O Canal is well marked, behind a bike shop on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The weather for the day was extremely humid, but not too hot. The rain fortunately held off, as I found out that it had rained hard the entire day back home. I started out the trip heading west to mile marker 133 where I had turned around on my last trip. Again, this part of the trail is very remote. I only saw one hiker on the way out, due partially to most folks choosing to ride/walk on the parallel and paved Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT). I made it out to mile marker 133 and decided to keep going to lock 55, where I could crossover to the WMRT and take that back into Hancock.
The ride back on the WMRT was a nice change of pace and was considerably faster. It takes you through several old apple orchards with interpretative markers along the way. I had no idea the apple industry was so important in the area, and this trail does a good job of explaining what happened to it.
After arriving in Hancock, I continued East on the C&O Canal to mile marker 122, at which point I started feeling the need to turn around and grab some lunch in Hancock.
On this trip, I saw historic Roundtop Cement Factory, which show some ruins of the areas industrial history. The coolest wildlife experienced on this trip were 2 red fox, one of which was crossing a watered part of the canal and had a pretty long staring contest with me.
I shot some photos of the campsites and locks along the C&O Canal and am going to try to incorporate those into the C&O Canal waypoint website. The photos are also geotagged and uploaded to Panoramia.
