Hiking the C&O Towpath 2021 ~ (Day 11) June 27

ridge trail detour

river glass

Camp for the night

Slept pretty good all things considered in my stealth location, although it was a bit of a loud night. There were a couple birds chirping all night long, not sure what kind they were. Woke up to a warm dry morning with a nice breeze. Once I hiked off the knob I was camping on, the breeze died down and it was clear it was going to be a hot, hot day. I was looking for a nice spot to eat breakfast and coffee but didn't find one until 5 miles later. In fact it was the first 5 miles of trail where I really felt like I was in a daze, zombie walking. The breakfast spot was worth it though. I found a nice side trail, hardly used, that led to the nicest little shady beach spot with a deep, no current pool. I jumped in immediately and felt immediately better. Made breakfast, coffee, and practiced my fiddle. An occasional train passed along the opposite bank, but the spot felt completely private. It was probably the most enjoyable hour and a half of the whole hike. Took another dip before hitting the towpath again. After feeling reborn, the heat dried my clothes pretty quickly and I was developing a bad case of chaffing due to hiking in wet shorts.

By late afternoon, the towpath was approaching the paw paw tunnel, one of the most interesting experiences of the whole hike. However, there were detour signs saying that the tunnel was closed due to dangerous potential rockfall. I was disappointed not to be able to see the tunnel, and wondered what the bikers were doing. (Turns out the bikers used the tunnel anyways because the detour is WAY WAY to steep to take a touring bike over.) Since this was a new hike, I decided to take the detour recommended, called the ridge trail. It kicked my ass, was very steep, and added another two miles to my day, but I was glad I took it. It had nice mountain views and I was happy to see new trail.

I was so hot by the time I hiked over the mountain, once I got to the other side I had to jump in the river again. It was another few miles before I reached the hiker/biker site I was aiming for. It was a nice spacious spot, there was a group of three bikers that were already there. I found a nice quiet spot on the lawn and pitched my tent. The mosquitos came out in full force for the first time here. I was sweating while eating dinner and writing in my journal, and fell asleep a short while later.