A linear National Park with a 183-year history and extending 184.5 miles from Washington DC to Cumberland Maryland, the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal offers an array of experiences for people to partake. For Boy Scout Troop 124 of Andover Connecticut, the C&O was an invitation and a challenge to try something new: bike-packing, with a goal to complete the entire C&O towpath in 6 days.
The first challenge was practicality: how was each scout to carry a week’s worth of food, camping gear and clothing and not spend lots of money on panniers (bike packs) that may only get used once? After much research, we decided to make our panniers by re-using plastic kitty litter containers: a choice that was economical, watertight, portable and environmentally favorable. For $8.00 of hardware, each Scout converted two kitty litter containers into panniers. Ok, they looked good but would they work? Before the big adventure, our panniers were field tested on a 25-miles bike ride on our May campout. The buckets proved themselves trailworthy, and we learned that minor tweaks were needed.
The next challenge was how to prepare for the physical task of riding many miles, sitting on a bike saddle for many hours a day, many days in a row. The answer is … to ride! So ride we did, together and individually to prepare for the trip.
After all the preparations, the time to ride finally arrived. Our group of nine youth and five adults arrived at the elusive C&O mile 0 at noon. The C&O canal begins in the posh Georgetown Washington DC suburb with the mile 0 marker will hidden at the start, by the Watergate Hotel on the Potomac River. Its quiet waters and narrow path are hidden within the bustle of the nearby shops and traffic but after a couple of miles, the towpath assumes its natural character, sandwiched between the Potomac River and the canal.
Over six days and 266 cycling miles, Troop 124 camped for 5 nights, ate 17 meals together, visited many historical sites, heard many trains, and bicycled past, over or thru 74 canal lift locks, 7 dams, numerous lock houses, 4 tunnels, 11 aquaducts and much wildlife. Here are some of the experiences that we shared for the week:
Bicycling: It does not get much flatter than the C&O towpath: for every mile toward Cumberland, the average elevation gain is 3.28 feet. We also diverted from the towpath to cycling to national landmarks and nearby towns for supplies and meals. We completed the C&O Canal on day 5, 26 hours ahead of schedule – attributable to the Troop’s positive attitude, co-operation and hard work, with good weather and no severe bicycling issues assisting. And where the C&O Canal ends, another trail, the Great Alleghany Passage (GAP) starts. The GAP is a 141 mile rail trail from Cumberland, Maryland to the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it is not flat. On our extra day we had a new challenge – cycle 24 miles uphill along the GAP to the Eastern Continental Divide. Then celebrate, turn around and bomb downhill to meet our rides in Cumberland.
Camping: Campsites along the C&O are frequent.and include luxuries such as a portolet, picnic table, and potable water, although iodine is definitely an acquired taste. Since 12 of our 14 campers use hammocks we learned that some campsites were not suitable for hammock camping because they only had a handful of very large trees or not enough medium sized trees that weren’t covered with lush vines of poison ivy. Swimming in the Potomac River was a great relief from the heat for two evenings, and also provided much needed bathing experience.
Food: Most of our meals were cooked or assembled by the troop – typical backpacking fare like oatmeal, PB sandwiches and own pasta-based dinners. The four meals we ate out were a treat: not just for the food but the air conditioning. Ice cream was another savored treat during those hot days; per person consumption ranged from 1-2 servings per day.
Engineering: Historical plaques dot the towpath’s route, explaining the river’s dams, the canal’s aquaducts, natural history, geology and the canal’s most impressive engineering feat – the 3,118 foot long, hand carved Paw-Paw tunnel. This tunnel, one of the world's longest canal tunnels, was constructed over 14 years, is lined with ~6 million bricks. Cycling this tunnel was an exciting dark experience, with no light except for our personal flashlights guiding us along the five-foot wide path- the brick tunnel wall on one side and on the other, a wooden railing separating you from a dunk in the canal.
History: US history, as far back as the French and Indian war of the US can be observed at the trail. Our longer historical stops included visits to Fort Frederick (1756), and two key Civil War landmarks: the town of Harpers Ferry and Antietam National Battlefield. As we cycled the battlefield tour, it was difficult to imagine the peaceful setting of the present day: the river, the bridge, and the hundreds of acres of cornfields were the site of the bloodiest single day of battle of the Civil War.
Murphy’s Law influences all and our trip was no exception. Our obstacles included: our overheating vehicle, raccoon thievery of food on our first night camping, chigger bites, a 21 speed bike converted to a single gear by a branch, various crashes, a spoke-popping rear wheel, and a persistent flat tire. Fortunately all obstacles were minor and overcome without losing bikes, participants or impacting the trip’s success.
In conclusion, the leaders were not surprised that the boys completed their goal. They were resolute in their intent, even to the point that on day 4, when offered the choice to ride 14 miles of the paved smooth surface of an adjacent, parallel rail trail, they insisted, ”We came to ride the C&O – that is what we are going to do”. So we completed the C&O, and more. Each day brought new discoveries and challenges and the scouts kept journals during the week. When one of the thru cyclists we encountered was asked about the C&O trail, he blandly stated, “The C&O is just a towpath”. In a very narrow mindset or focus, one could interpret it as such. But like life, the C&O canal is ever changing – sometimes wide, other times narrow, at times wide, some days offering peaceful reflections, other times completely covered with duckweed, and even dry. But like life, the C&O offers experiences that you need to seek out. For us, the C&O Canal offered 184.5 miles of opportunities’ to experience a physical challenge, nature, history, and for Troop 124, a time to bond and memories for a lifetime.
