Oct 16 C&O Canal-Harpers Ferry to Hancock

Here is the scene directly across the river from Harpers Ferry. The river travels through a series of rapids here and of course there are corresponding locks to raise and lower the canal water. The lock house can be seen above the lock. Almost every lock had a lock keeper who lived in the lock house. The only exceptions are in a couple spots where 2-4 locks are in close proximity, there was just one keeper. I understand the keeper and family were on call 24 hours a day whenever a boat needed to pass. Often the keeper supplemented his income by raising vegetables or chickens to sell to the boat hands. When the canal finally ceased operating after the 1924 flood, many keepers were permitted to remain in the houses rent free as long as they maintained them. Thus many are still standing and some are even habitable. You can rent several for overnight accommodations. However, conditions are spartan. There is no running water and outhouses are in use. My wife would not be a fan.

I ran into several spots with these Osage Oranges. I thought they were out of place for Maryland but here they are. I'm glad I didn't get hit my one. They are about the size of a bocce ball.

This several mile section of the canal is in the river. The terrain adjacent to the river is as you can see abve, almost straight up. There was no where for the canal to go but into the river. The towpath was carved out of the sides of these cliffs. This is the first time I have seen this section as it was closed up until this week. Flood damage closed this section and a 6 mile road ride was required to bypass it. However, this newly designed and constructed pathway just celebrated its grand opening several days ago. It was built in concrete sections off premise and lowered into place by cranes, then attached. You can see the joints in the pathway above. Designed to allow water to flow underneath the sections have foundations sunk well below river bottom. The cliffs were littered with purple aster and white aster along with a few stray plants of goldenrod.

Riding was much easier today. The rain had disappeared and even the puddles were gone. Lunch was at the DesertRose Cafe in Williamsport. I had a nice Rueben with some vegetables served with a smile. About 10 miles outside Hancock I switched over to the paved Western Maryland Rail Trail. It was a pleasant but not so scenic finish to a long day. Earlier in the day I called the 1828 Trail Inn to secure a room. What a treat this was is. Bill and Darlene cater almost exclusively to bicyclists and have perfected their inn perfectly for that purpose. They also keep up with other accommodations and restaurants along the trail. They are a great resource for the trail. Here I met 3 guys from New Jersey on their was to Pittsburgh and a couple guys from Massachusetts headed to Cumberland. Everyone exchanged stories at breakfast the following morning.