Hiking the C&O Towpath 2021: (Day 2) June 18th

Packed up, ready to go

What a relief. First water source up and running.

Great Falls

Canal boat replica

Cormorants

Only sighting of Maryland's only native cactus growing in the wild on a rock wall.

Aqueduct. Canal boats used to cross over these streams on these bridges that were filled with enough water like a bathtub.

Copperhead on the towpath. A reminder of the subtle dangers of hiking along the River.

Camp for the night: Horsepen Ranch at mile 26.1

Slept Ok the night before, not great. Suffered from headaches off and on. Been getting those a lot lately for some reason, a bothersome sign of aging. I've been wondering if all of this backpacking has done a number on my neck and spine. I had some worries about the water situation, but those fears were put to rest when water sources were turned on and running near Great Falls. Noticed an unusual amount of people on the canal and at Great Falls for a Friday morning. I assumed everyone must have been celebrating the end of the school year or something. Later found out at the end of the day that everyone had the day off, Juneteenth had just been declared a National Holiday. 

Somewhat of an uneventful day, just taking in the sites. Thankfully the miles were peeling off without any foot issues whatsoever. I still had a weird aversion to wanting to use the hiker biker camp sites and preferred to stealth camp alone. I had to tell myself that I wanted a different experience this time and that I had to suck it up and use the hiker biker sites. Besides, it would make planning so much easier having an actual destination to shoot for. If I could get comfortable using the hiker biker sites, it would only give me more freedom to choose. I got over my discomfort pretty fast and used the sites the rest of the trip. 

I arrived at Horsepen Ranch at mile 26.1 in the late afternoon. There was a young couple also using the site and a biker who was biking from New York back to his home in North Carolina. After dinner and some conversation, I was feeling pretty exhausted and called it a night. I fell asleep to sounds of owls and frogs...