Hiking the C&O: Day 8 (June 27, 2019)

Big Lake near Fort Frederick State Park

Lockhouse ruins

Illustration how the aqueducts once worked.

Aqueduct

Hancock, Maryland

Round Top Cement Mill ruins under restoration by the Park Service

I woke up around 4:30am to the sounds of a vehicle coming down the towpath and bright headlights. It took me a minute to gather my senses. What was a truck doing on the towpath? Every hiker/biker campsite has a porta- potty located in it. I heard the plastic door snapping shut and the roar of machines. I assumed the porta potty was getting a servicing. Soon the truck left and I fell back asleep. When I woke up in the morning I felt groggy. After breakfast I took a dip in the Potomac River again and felt a little more alert. I felt pretty good hiking the first three hours of the day. Unfortunately, because I was still out of shape, the first two hours of the morning hike were always the most enjoyable before fatigue and pain set in. I always say when thru hiking, it takes about a month before the pleasure to pain ratio begins to really increase. The first month, it's always far more pain than pleasure. At least that's been my experience.

I took a short break near one of the locks in the morning and watched a bizarre little worm caravan making it's way through the grass. From a distance it looked like one worm making its way somewhere. Upon closer inspection, it was actually hundreds of little worms piled on top of each other, working together to move. A few would take the lead, the rest would follow, then others would take the lead and so forth. The mass of worms moved together as one.

I hiked past Fort Frederick late in the morning and passed a large swamp and lake. Much of the early afternoon was a daze as heat and cloud cover began to increase.

My afternoon plan was to resupply in the town of Hancock, Maryland. I didn't know what to expect when I got there. I took a dip in the river with my clothes on once again shortly before reaching town. When I reached the outskirts of town, there was a small path that led across the highway to a truck stop. Not knowing there was an entrance to the town about a mile further up the path, I took the opportunity when it came. The truck stop had everything I needed to resupply for the last leg of the trip. The lady behind the register eyed me funny as I came in with my pack and only sighed when I placed my items on the counter. I didn't bother striking up a conversation either. The whole resupply was probably the quickest town stop I've ever had on a hike. I was in and out in 15 minutes, and back on the trail where I prefer to be. It felt great to have everything I needed to finish the hike.

A mile later, I passed the main entrance to town. I walked past content.Maybe if I was with friends I would have liked to go in for something to eat. Shortly after, the sun came back out, and the trail felt like a steam bath. Also, mosquitoes came out in full force in spots. It was the first time I audibly yelled and groaned at the situation. I was a fool and did not bring any mosquito repellent. It was so hot, I couldn't imagine hiking in anything other than short sleeves and shorts. The following day I would have to strategize a little more in dealing with the little bastards, but this day I charged forward, getting eaten alive as I went. I forgot how many strange bug-bites, sores, and rashes one gets when hiking during the summer on the east coast. I vaguely remembered this about the AT. Now I had all sorts of strange bites, in particular, an oozing welt on my arm that I attributed to what I thought was a spider bite from night one.

After another 20 mile day, the skies began to darken as a storm was rolling in.  I found a spot to camp near the river buried under paw paw trees just as the thunder was rolling and the rain began to fall. I pushed the last of my tent stakes into the muddy earth and crawled into my tent, grateful for the enclosed space from bugs...

Hiking the C&O: Day 7 (June 26, 2019)

Little frogs all over towpath

Williamsport Maryland

Abandoned House

Dam #5

High School hang out just beyond the bend

Charles Mill

4 Locks

Hiker/Biker campsite "North Mountain"

Day 7 on the C&O. Another sunny day. After eating breakfast and breaking down camp, I hiked a short distance where I saw some floating docks. I walked down to one and jumped in the river with my clothes on. This was beginning to be a daily morning ritual for me. My wet clothes allowed me to stay cool all morning while hiking. Also this kept odors to a minimum, and decreased my irritability. If only every hike had a river running alongside it the whole way!

My feet were sore, but my body was feeling pretty good during the morning hike. I walked past a small trailer-park town along the Potomac on the Maryland side. I'm not sure how land rights work on this trail, but this was only the second time such a town was built along the banks of the river, the first being White's Ferry. That was the main difference between the Maryland side of the river and the West Virginia side. The Maryland side was hardly ever developed, perhaps the land is owned by the Park Service with the C&O canal. The West Virginia side of the river often had small communities built along the riverbank.

Around lunchtime, I entered the small town of Williamsport, Maryland. My phone and camera battery were getting low again. I also planned on doing a small resupply to get me to Hancock, Maryland. I still wasn't eating all that much as I was not afflicted with "hiker hunger" yet. I walked to the gas station called Sheetz in town, bought a cold cut sub and some Gatorade, and a few items for resupply and ate on a picnic bench outside. I get anxious in town, so sitting down and eating allowed me to get re-centered. After eating lunch, I found a small park nearby that had electrical outlets on a stage where I was able to recharge my batteries. Also, the fair was in town. It appeared opening night was going to be that evening.

After relaxing in the shade and recharging the phone and camera batteries, I started to make my way out of town. I saw several bikers sitting outside a small café called the Desert Rose café. They obviously knew something I did not. I went inside and was happy to see they sold milkshakes, so I bought one and drank it outside. After finishing, I was ready to hit the towpath again. There was construction going on the towpath outside of town so a detour led me back around mile 100.

The canal was really peaceful once again in the afternoon. There was one particular bend in the river that was incredibly scenic. Big sycamores and maples were growing along the riverbank, and the plants looked practically landscaped. There was an old abandoned house nearby, and gold sunrays shined through the trees. I bushwhacked down to the river bank to get a view. Then I experienced the scariest moment for me on the hike. When I went down to the riverbank, suddenly I sunk thigh deep into mud that was almost like quicksand. I couldn't pull my leg out, and the mud was sucking the shoe off my foot. I tried pulling my other leg out and the same thing happened. I had my pack on and couldn't move. I finally pulled one leg out and my other one sank deeper. I fell onto my hands and my arms went into the mud. After struggling for a minute, somehow I managed to crawl out of the mud on my hands and knees. When I reached solid ground I was covered in mud.

After getting back on the towpath, I had it in mind to hike another four miles or so and call it a day. The towpath had other ideas in mind for this non-planner. There was plenty of perfect camping leading up to the distance I had in mind. As soon as I reached the mile marker where I wanted to call it a day, riverbank real estate dried up and I started seeing more people again. Soon I was approaching a dam. The parking lot at the dam was filled with cars and young people. They seemed to be hiking to a swimming hole. This was one of my most surreal moments of the hike. After hardly seeing anybody all day unless they were on a bike, I rounded a corner on the towpath and there were like 40 high school kids hanging out on the towpath, which had turned into a concrete ledge next to the river. I had to squeeze my way between them like Moses parting the Red Sea to continue up the towpath. One kid shouted out, "Look, he's hiking!"

I ended up having to hike an additional 5 miles before finally calling it a day. 5 extra miles after deciding you've already had enough was demoralizing. It forced me to camp in my first hiker biker site though which I think was good. I was the only one there, but still felt anxious wondering who else would show up and when. It seemed anything was possible on this hike, and I didn't like the idea of surprise visitors. Before eating dinner, I took another swim in the river to wash off all the mud...

Hiking the C&O: Day 6 (June 25, 2019)

Giant Cave

This cave had ice cold water flowing out of it

Dam 4

Road walking detour

Exposed but scenic road walk. Thought I was out west again.

Very little shoulder made walking dangerous

Back on the towpath late in afternoon

Midpoint

A severe thunderstorm passed by in the middle of the night. I felt secure camped on my little ledge and all the plant leaves, vines, and trees overhead kept the downpours at bay. I woke up to the sound of joggers running down the towpath a few feet away in the morning. My camp was hidden behind a small mound and the thick vegetation. After tediously breaking down my camp, I took another dip in the Potomac with all my clothes on. It was going to be a hot day. I bulldozed my way through the vegetation and was back on the towpath. Man, it felt good to get out of there. I needed to start walking to smooth away all of the previous evenings frustrations and claustrophobia. It felt like I was released from a spider's web.

I soon understood the reason for all of the people I was seeing and hearing. The college town of Sharpsburg was right around the corner. Initially, I wanted to walk into the town and see what it was like. This morning though, I just wanted to walk in peace and quiet. I was a little mad with myself when as soon as I passed the town, the towpath became very quiet and good camping was abundant. If I had just pushed a little further the night before. Oh well.

Mosquitoes came and went once again. I really enjoyed looking at the plant life growing on the cliffs to my right, just above the canal. Some highlights were some interesting looking caves. One was gigantic, reminded me of something I'd see in New Mexico. Perhaps it was once a cave dwelling for some indigenous people long ago. Another cave had ice cold water flowing out of it, and I did not see how far one could explore. I turned around because it was totally dark.

I did not do a lot of research before this hike and I was about to pay the consequences again. By afternoon, I was getting tired and wanted to find a place to camp sooner rather than later. I had a hiker/biker campsite I was aiming for, at a mileage that felt doable given the state of my body. What I failed to calculate was an upcoming roadwalk/detour near Dam 4. The detour was longer than I expected. The sun was out in full force and roasted my skin. There was very little shoulder and the walk was downright dangerous with cars speeding by. Worst of all, I started to develop blisters on my feet for the first time in ages. I already had them taped up, but going on my third consecutive 20 mile day, my feet were not prepared yet. By the end of the roadwalk, I was limping along pretty good, everything hurt. To make matters worse, when I reached the hiker biker site, it was filled with what appeared to be a scout group or something, the young kids goofing around and loud. It was more than I could handle. Once again, I made a hasty decision and said "Fuck it," and kept walking.  Once again, there was nowhere to camp and I had to walk another 2.5 miles before settling on the first place I saw, putting me well over 20 miles for the day. There was nowhere to swim, so I had just enough energy to eat dinner and call it a day. I fell asleep to fireflies and an owl hooting nearby...