Hiking the C&O Towpath 2021: (Day 9) June 25th

Big Pool

typical campsite water pump

aqueduct

green heron

little pool

old carvings

truck stop resupply demolished

heading into Hancock for resupply

Slept good the night before, nice and deep. Woke up to what sounded like a pack of coyotes on the West Virginia side of the Potomac. Started hiking after I packed up and skipped breakfast, hoping to find a nice spot to stop, although none came for several miles. Hiked past Fort Frederick and saw lots of wildlife coming out of Big Pool, a large lake to my right. After finding a nice shady spot next to a cornfield for breakfast, I continued north along the towpath. The Potomac River seemed distant during this section after several days of the river being directly to my left within eye shot. I ate lunch at Little Pool hiker biker campsite and went for a quick refreshing dip into the river. My plan was to do a quick resupply in Hancock for the last few days of the trip. 2 years ago, I was able to walk to a truck stop just off the canal on the southside of town and resupply in 15 minutes and return to the towpath. When I left the canal to walk to the truck stop this year, I discovered the store was demolished. This meant I would have to hike another couple miles north along the towpath and enter town on the north side. This ended up taking almost an hour to accomplish, once I entered town, I found a dollar store to buy resupply and then walked to a local park to pack up the food. There was a musician in a gazebo rocking out on an electric guitar on old classics. Born to the wrong generation. I hiked to White Rock Campsite at mile 127 and called it a night. Two pairs of bicyclists touring arrived at the site later in the evening...

Hiking the C&O Towpath 2021: (Day 8) June 24

Morning on the towpath

making coffee

Footbridge into Williamsport

The only "functional" aqueduct on the whole towpath. Bridge holds the water for canal boats while spanning the creek below.

Williamsport

Ate lunch and recharged batteries at gazebo

Fair in town

Desert Rose Cafe

Delicious milkshake

Old ruins

Great bathing spot

High school hangout just around the corner. Only a few kids hanging out this time.

4 Locks

Camp for the night

 Day 8 was an interesting day only because it was an almost carbon copy of the day I had 2 years ago in this section. Even the weather was identical. In my memory bank, there is not much to distinguish the two days apart. After waking up and breaking down camp, I gradually made it to Williamsport for resupply and arrived around the same time. I stopped by the Sheetz in town to buy a few items to make it to Hancock, about 25 miles away. I found out later I bought almost the exact same items. The Sheetz in Williamsport was the first indoor establishment I chose to go maskless in since March 2020. I don't know why, and I never would have guessed that's where I'd do it, but that's what happened. I bought a cold cut sub there and made my way over to the park in town to eat lunch and recharge my camera and phone batteries. The fair was in town, just as before. It took about the same amount of time to recharge the batteries, and I made my way over to the Desert Rose cafe for a milkshake, just as before. I was glad to see they were still open. I think I was sitting in the same spot too. By 2:30, I was leaving town and back on the towpath.

It was a peaceful afternoon, although it started warming up again. I found a nice calm spot to jump in the river and cool off. The towpath also was lightly used until I reached the dam where more people were around. I passed the highschool hangout where kids sunbathe and jump off the towpath into the river. Mentally, I knew what to expect with mileage and have learned how much time it takes in between miles so I felt low stress. 10 miles after 2:30pm was no big deal. I was heading to mile 110 where the North Mountain hiker/biker campsite is. I was starting to struggle with a bad case of chaffing on my inner thighs due to hiking in wet shorts/boxers after swimming. Feet felt totally fine, had some pain in my right shin.

I made it to camp around dinner time. There was a man there, out for a dayhike, identifying plants with his phone when I got there. We talked a short while, then he left. I had camp to myself for the night.