Hiking the C&O Towpath 2021: (Day 3) June 19

mouse built a nest under my tent in the middle of the night and gave birth

Edward's Ferry

White's Ferry, sadly grounded for now over a land dispute.

Camp for the night

First river bath

 Had a weird experience in the middle of the night. I woke up to the sensation of something under my tent pushing up and down. Barely awake, I assumed it was a mouse and thought I'd find a hole in my tent in the morning from the thing chewing through trying to reach food. I was so exhausted, I fell back asleep immediately and forgot about it by morning. When I was breaking down my tent, I pulled it up and there, right in the grass, was a mother mouse who had built a quick makeshift nest and had given birth to two baby mice. Since I pulled my tent away, the mice were completely exposed. The mother mouse was shaking in fear and suddenly ran off, leaving the two babies squirming in the grass. I felt awful, didn't know what to do, so I wrapped them in some TP and placed them in the brush where at least they had some cover, not wide in the open. It bothered me all day, in fact all trip!

I brought my fiddle along during this trip. I've been learning how to play for three years now, have a lifetime to learn how to play the thing. During my morning breaks, I would make coffee, and practice down by the river with the fiddle muted as much as possible in a secluded spot. These were the best times of day all trip and feel like I learned a few more things playing this way. 

By lunch, I found another quiet spot down by the river. While eating, I would see cicada, after cicada, floating down the river, their lives coming to an end, some still, some flapping their wings on the water, and using their bodies like a boat trying to steer themselves back to land or to an outstretched branch or log. 

Made it to White's Ferry by afternoon and bought a Coke and crackers for a snack and ate it at a picnic bench. The Ferry is grounded for now, and has been for probably about a year now. There is some dispute about the land on the Virginia side that hasn't been resolved yet, so the Ferry sits.

I met three bicyclists who were beginning their Rails to Trails bike journey and were headed all the way to Washington State.

By late afternoon, I made it to camp for the night. There was a young military couple there, and another older army veteran who was taking his bike and camping gear out for a test run. We had a fun night eating dinner and telling stories. I enjoyed hearing the funny military stories the military guys had in common. Took my first dip in the river in the evening. The water was still somewhat brown from heavy rains the week before. But it was time to take a bath...