Hiking the C&O Towpath 2021 ~ (Day 10) June 26

Round Top Cement Mill

Breakfast spot along Potomac River

Big ol Sycamore

Another aqueduct held together by braces

Stealth camp for the night on a nice dry knob well above the river

 Had dreams the night before of all my teeth falling out and chewing them. Packed up and was hiking by 7:30. It was clear it was going to be a hot, humid day, the air thick and stagnant. The water pumps for the next ten miles had been turned off unexpectedly, but thankfully some bikers gave me the heads up so I could plan accordingly. There was a huge cave to my right, just off the canal that I totally missed that I saw two years ago. Its crazy how sometimes you can be totally in your own head while hiking and completely miss something as obvious as that. Saw several deer, rabbits, and a bald eagle in the morning. Had a nice lunch break along the river, watched several kayakers drift and paddle down. Took a nice refreshing dip afterwards. The river looked really beautiful all afternoon, probably the nicest river spots along the whole path. The water looked cleanest during this stretch too. Many people floating down the river in rafts and innertubes in the afternoon, listening to sad pop country music. Got stung on my knee by a bee while bushwhacking to the river looking for a break spot. First time I've been stung by a bee in years, so I didn't know what to expect. Sting lasted quite a bit while my knee developed a red rash. Wet wipes definitely helped as the sting treatment in my first aid kit was too old and dried up. Will have to restock the first aid kit before next trip. 

I reached the hiker/biker site where I hoped to camp around 6:30 but a family had taken up the entire site with their tents and a couple of bikers had already grabbed the last available real estate. No big deal for me, it just meant I was going to have to find a quiet stealth spot. I filled up my water bottles at the pump and backtracked a quarter of a mile until I saw a nice knob on the canal side. It was technically part of the green ridge state forest. The knob was perfect, as there was a nice flat spot on top. Nice mountainous views with glimpses of the Potomac River below as well. A full moon rose over the mountains right after sunset...