If you've read my old posts from a few months ago, you'll remember that I have an idea to run the entire length of the C and O canal, which follows the Potomac River from DC to Cumberland, MD. The total length is 186 miles. Since I'm covering portions of the path by doing "out and back" runs, I'll end up running 370 miles to cover the full length.
I got away from running the path a few months ago when I realized it's not the best place to run in bad weather. In the cold, it ices over (most of the path is always in the shade...so ice lasts A LONG time), it also has sections that flood easily in spring rains.
But, I REALLY enjoy running the path. It's well maintained, part of the National Parks program, has porta potties every 3-5 miles, mostly hard packed dirt (easier on my old legs), and I generally get into a great mood, and feel "closer to nature" as I see bunnies, deer, squirrels, etc. and NO cars. Most of the time the only sound is my feet hitting the path.
Prior to today I've covered mile posts 17 - 76.
Today I parked at Taylor's Landing Boat Ramp at mile 81. I had a little trouble Then turned around and went past mile 81 up to mile 84 - then backto mile 81 and the car.
This section of the path did not disappoint - it was a very nice run. Out in these sections, there is usually very few people around. Today I only saw s one other run a couple walking their dog - nice. I can use the time to focus on my thoughts and my run.
Today's run: mile post 76-84
Total miles covered: 17 - 84 (67 miles covered)
Miles remaining: 117
No pics today. If you read my training log for this week you'll see I made a mistake in my fueling and fizzled out at the end. I was in no mood for a short walk to take pics afterward.
Showing posts with label C&O Canal Towpath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label C&O Canal Towpath. Show all posts
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
C&O Canal Towpath Run - "Ice Ahoy!"
If you've read my prior posts, you know I have a long term goal of running the entire length of the C&O towpath canal, which runs from DC to Cumberland, MD. The weather lately has been really cold with a lot of snow and ice....which has kept me off the path.
I'm really happy to get back on the towpath, I really do love the path (although you could call it a "fare weather friend"). The temps have been warm for a while, and was almost 50 degrees today when I ran it. HOWEVER, at one point when the path turned and was on the north side of a hill it was covered by ice all the way across and solid. So, the last few miles of my run were a little sketchy with quick feet drills and having to slow way down.
This week I started at Shepherdstown and Lock 34 (mile marker 72.3). My first time in Shepherdstown, the small seemed quite nice. I've noticed that as I find new places to start my run I end up in these "out of the way" places I would not get to see otherwise. Many times it feels like these were once more important towns when the river was the main way to get around....and they've stayed the way they were when the interstates took over the main traffic.
Today's run covered mile markers 69-76 (14 mile out and back run)
Total miles covered so far: 17-76 (59 of 185). 126 miles to go!
During my run I passed a few Locks and a small aqueduct, all pretty cool. I also ended up at the north end of the Antietam battlefield. There were also some placards and markers on my run where the North or South crossed the river and/or had a battle.
Pics below of a few things I saw:
It's supposed to get cold again this week...and with the ice issues today, I may take a few more weeks off before heading back to the towpath.....
Happy trails Everyone.
I'm really happy to get back on the towpath, I really do love the path (although you could call it a "fare weather friend"). The temps have been warm for a while, and was almost 50 degrees today when I ran it. HOWEVER, at one point when the path turned and was on the north side of a hill it was covered by ice all the way across and solid. So, the last few miles of my run were a little sketchy with quick feet drills and having to slow way down.
This week I started at Shepherdstown and Lock 34 (mile marker 72.3). My first time in Shepherdstown, the small seemed quite nice. I've noticed that as I find new places to start my run I end up in these "out of the way" places I would not get to see otherwise. Many times it feels like these were once more important towns when the river was the main way to get around....and they've stayed the way they were when the interstates took over the main traffic.
Today's run covered mile markers 69-76 (14 mile out and back run)
Total miles covered so far: 17-76 (59 of 185). 126 miles to go!
During my run I passed a few Locks and a small aqueduct, all pretty cool. I also ended up at the north end of the Antietam battlefield. There were also some placards and markers on my run where the North or South crossed the river and/or had a battle.
Pics below of a few things I saw:
It's supposed to get cold again this week...and with the ice issues today, I may take a few more weeks off before heading back to the towpath.....
Happy trails Everyone.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
C&O Canal Towpath Run - January 17
Another installment on my quest to run the full length of the C&O Canal Towpath (185 miles) from DC to Cumberland, MD.
Today I picked up where I stopped last week...at the Seneca Creek Aqueduct at mile marker 22.7. It was nice to be able to park right at my stopping point last week, that makes the math easy for my turnaround point. Access to the towpath is sporadic, so I'm usually backtracking from my next parking spot to where my last run stopped, and then making progress toward my next parking spot...but this week it all lined up.
The weather today was pretty good, around 32 degrees with no wind, and the path was DRY (unlike the mud bath last week). I'm really happy about that, because getting wet when it's freezing I would imagine would not be pleasant.
Mile markers covered today: 22.7 to 17.0, for a run of 11.4 miles.
Total mile markers covered so far: 17 to 69 (52 miles covered)
Total mile markers still to go: 133
Today's run was really nice...good weather...and dry trail. The star of this section was the Potomac River. I ran past a spot with some white water (not really rapids, but more like rocks in the river) that made for a relaxing background noise that made the miles fly by. At this point, the tow path is very close to the river, so the sights were great as well.
Nobody would describe me as a "tree hugger", but today's run really lifted my spirits and put me in a great mood. The softer surface was good on my slightly fatigued legs this week.
What I saw this run:
Today I picked up where I stopped last week...at the Seneca Creek Aqueduct at mile marker 22.7. It was nice to be able to park right at my stopping point last week, that makes the math easy for my turnaround point. Access to the towpath is sporadic, so I'm usually backtracking from my next parking spot to where my last run stopped, and then making progress toward my next parking spot...but this week it all lined up.
The weather today was pretty good, around 32 degrees with no wind, and the path was DRY (unlike the mud bath last week). I'm really happy about that, because getting wet when it's freezing I would imagine would not be pleasant.
Mile markers covered today: 22.7 to 17.0, for a run of 11.4 miles.
Total mile markers covered so far: 17 to 69 (52 miles covered)
Total mile markers still to go: 133
Today's run was really nice...good weather...and dry trail. The star of this section was the Potomac River. I ran past a spot with some white water (not really rapids, but more like rocks in the river) that made for a relaxing background noise that made the miles fly by. At this point, the tow path is very close to the river, so the sights were great as well.
Nobody would describe me as a "tree hugger", but today's run really lifted my spirits and put me in a great mood. The softer surface was good on my slightly fatigued legs this week.
What I saw this run:
- More people were out today, I think probably because of the nicer weather and I ran past a couple places with parking right next to the path - that always draws more folks out for a walk.
- Lock 22, with a Lock House.
- This was the first lock I've seen that is actually working. The lock doors were in place and closed.
- It was pretty cool to see how it works and the higher level of the canal upstream of the lock.....the canal also gets a lot wider upstream of course since the lock is stopping the water.
- Other runners today: 3
This is a Lock with the "doors" closed. First time I've seen that. The water on the other side of those doors is about 12-15 feet higher.
Plaque at Lock House 22 with a pic of what it looked like when in working order.
Lock House 22 today. That white sign right of the door says you can stay in this house overnight. You get No water, NO electricity, No nothing. But there are porta John's not far away, and only $100 a night. Some of the houses say to bring your ear plugs too, because the train tracks are not far away. But at this point of the path I think the train tracks are pretty far away. Between Point of Rocks and Harper's Ferry, the train is RIGHT there...and LOUD.
This is the path just upstream from the Lock. On the right is the canal, on the left the Potomac.
I think my next run will be in the other direction, towards Shepardstown, MD, covering miles 69-75.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
C&O Canal Towpath Run - January 10 - Splash Down!
Another installment on my quest to run the entire length of the C&O Canal Towpath which goes from DC to Cumberland MD (185 miles).
Today I ran from mile marker 28 - 22.5 (out and back). I started at the McKee Bashers Wildlife reserve at mile 27.2. I ran back to mile marker 28 (my last stopping point), then down to mile marker 22.5 which is just past the Seneca Creek Aqueduct.
Mile markers covered today: 28 - 22.5 (11 mile run)
Total mile markers covered overall: 22.5 - 69: 46.5 miles (138.5 remaining)
Splash Down! is how I would describe this run. It rained all night, but in the morning it had just about stopped. I had planned to run the C&O canal today, and thought I'd go for it thinking there might be some wet spots here and there. And it was already above 50 degrees at 7:00 am, so if I got a little wet I wouldn't be freezing.
It started off well....two miles in, and my feet were still dry, I was able to zig, zag, hop, side step where needed to avoid the puddles. Then things changed...I hit sections up to 50 yards long with no way around. At first I was doing my impression of Tiny Tim "Tiptoeing Through The Tulips", but after ending up with completely muddy and soaked feet anyway, I gave up the battle and just started ploughing through and trying not to end up on my ass. I had a couple solid, ankle deep splash downs (in my head I was Emma Coburn in a steeple chase, but I'm sure I was actually MUCH less graceful).
I'm happy I was able to achieve my planned pace for this run of 7:15 even with the extra work of the water, mud, and soaked feet, but the last 2 miles the effort was beyond "conversational pace".
Sights Today:
Dry part of path. Potomac on the left, canal on the right.
Lock at Seneca Creek
"Lock House" at Seneca Creek
Looking across the Potomac at Seneca Creek. That's Virginia on the other side.
My next run will probably start at Seneca Creek and knock off a few more miles in the DC direction.
Comments welcome.
Today I ran from mile marker 28 - 22.5 (out and back). I started at the McKee Bashers Wildlife reserve at mile 27.2. I ran back to mile marker 28 (my last stopping point), then down to mile marker 22.5 which is just past the Seneca Creek Aqueduct.
Mile markers covered today: 28 - 22.5 (11 mile run)
Total mile markers covered overall: 22.5 - 69: 46.5 miles (138.5 remaining)
Splash Down! is how I would describe this run. It rained all night, but in the morning it had just about stopped. I had planned to run the C&O canal today, and thought I'd go for it thinking there might be some wet spots here and there. And it was already above 50 degrees at 7:00 am, so if I got a little wet I wouldn't be freezing.
It started off well....two miles in, and my feet were still dry, I was able to zig, zag, hop, side step where needed to avoid the puddles. Then things changed...I hit sections up to 50 yards long with no way around. At first I was doing my impression of Tiny Tim "Tiptoeing Through The Tulips", but after ending up with completely muddy and soaked feet anyway, I gave up the battle and just started ploughing through and trying not to end up on my ass. I had a couple solid, ankle deep splash downs (in my head I was Emma Coburn in a steeple chase, but I'm sure I was actually MUCH less graceful).
I'm happy I was able to achieve my planned pace for this run of 7:15 even with the extra work of the water, mud, and soaked feet, but the last 2 miles the effort was beyond "conversational pace".
Sights Today:
- Two Hunters (with neon orange hats and full camo everything else)- the Wildlife Reserve is also a public hunting area (seems like a contradiction in terms). I think they looked at me with the same thought I had....."what the hell is that guy doing out here". I never felt like I was in danger, but I was caught off guard.
- Birds - it warmed up so the birds were back...chirping and flying around...I loved it.
- 3 Deer - not actually on the path this week...but I still enjoy seeing them.
- ONE other runner - which is one more than my last run on the path. Yay us!
- Seneca Aqueduct - this is where the Seneca Creek empties into the Potomac. To make the canal work, the aqueduct was created, there's also a Lock at this point to raise the boats in the canal about 10 feet to get past the creek. All done with 1830's technology.
Looking across the Potomac at Seneca Creek. That's Virginia on the other side.
My next run will probably start at Seneca Creek and knock off a few more miles in the DC direction.
Comments welcome.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
C&O Canal Towpath Run - Jan 3, 2016
In a previous post I described my quest to run the full length of the C&O canal towpath (185 miles), which goes from DC to Cumberland, MD.
Today I took down another small chunk of the path, details below. Each run is a first for me, I like the adventure of finding the right spot to catch the path and extend the mile markers I've covered.
Run Summary:
Starting point: Edwards Ferry Boat Ramp at mile market 30.9.
Mile markers covered: 28 - 33 (33 was my last stopping point)...10 mile run (out and back)
Total mile markers covered so far: 28 - 69 (41 miles covered)
Miles remaining: 144 (yikes!))
Temp at start of run: 26..I started early today, around 7:30, just past sunrise.
Closest community: Poolesville, MD...looks like a nice, small, quiet town, on a Sunday morning.
Fun Facts:
.
Today I took down another small chunk of the path, details below. Each run is a first for me, I like the adventure of finding the right spot to catch the path and extend the mile markers I've covered.
Run Summary:
Starting point: Edwards Ferry Boat Ramp at mile market 30.9.
Mile markers covered: 28 - 33 (33 was my last stopping point)...10 mile run (out and back)
Total mile markers covered so far: 28 - 69 (41 miles covered)
Miles remaining: 144 (yikes!))
Temp at start of run: 26..I started early today, around 7:30, just past sunrise.
Closest community: Poolesville, MD...looks like a nice, small, quiet town, on a Sunday morning.
Fun Facts:
- There is no longer a ferry across the river at "Edward's' Ferry", but there is a boat launch.
- This is also the location of Lock 25 (one of those things that raise the boats, like the Panama Canal, but much MUCH smaller scale. I would guess a boat about 12' wide would fit.
- Lockhouse 25 is here, each lock has a "Lockhouse" where the folks that would work the lock lived. Some of the Lock Houses you can stay in overnight, but there was no sign on this one.
- There is also a somewhat preserved store house on the sight.
- During the Civil War, this was a strategic point that Gen. Hooker controlled (at least part of the war)
- Deer (2), which ran along the path in front of me for a while...pretty cool.
- Six team dog sled (I shit you not), Iditarod style except they pulled a chariot on wheels thing instead of a snow sled. I've seen this twice now, both times in the parking lot. Not sure what I would do if I saw that thing heading toward me on the path.....being pulled by six huskies that love to run!
- Other runners: 0
Friday, January 1, 2016
C&O Canal Towpath Adventure
Background
I live in Northern Virginia, close to the border of Maryland. The Potomac River separates Virginia and Maryland in this part of the state. Where I live is very close to one of the few bridges that cross the Potomac, so it's only about a 10 minute drive for me to be on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Why does this matter? Well, that's where the C&O Canal Towpath is!
C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) Canal Towpath - Brief History (NOT Fact Checked)
Way back in "the day", our forefathers wanted to use the Potomac River to get goods west from DC. The Potomac River is obviously a good option, but, it isn't the most easily navigable river (rapids, and whatnot), and it flows TOWARD DC, so they built a canal next to the river (think Panama Canal idea, but way WAY smaller scale) to allow boats loaded with cargo to west. They got as far as Cumberland, MD where the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) starts. At this point trains took over and made the canal obsolete. Luckily the C&O Canal was made a National Park in the 1930's, and the towpath, which is a small dirt/gravel road used to pull the boats along the canal (think donkeys with ropes) was restored and kept in good condition.
My Journey
I stumbled across the towpath one day while in Point of Rocks and thought it would be a good place to run on a softer surface. Recently, I got the bright idea to run the full length of the towpath (185 miles from DC to Cumberland MD), in small chunks. Something to make my long runs interesting and see first hand some US history. By the time I'm done I will have run twice the length of the path (that would be 370 miles) because each run has to be "out and back" since I'll be driving myself to various starting points along the path.
How Far Have I Gotten So Far? (Jan. 1, 2016)
So far I've run the path from mile marker 33 (by White's Ferry - an actual rope ferry from the 18th century that's still in operation) to mile marker 69 (which is almost to the Antietam Civil War Battlefield). My first runs started at Point of Rocks (mile marker 48) and I've been "radiating out" in either direction from that point.
I've passed a lot of pretty cool structures and buildings, including aqueducts, "lock houses", docks for the river, Civil War history, the Appalachian trail, and trains (of course when trains became a thing the canal was a perfect place for tracks - a level path was already in place).
So...I have a LONG way to go to cover the full length of the path, but I'll get there one day.
I live in Northern Virginia, close to the border of Maryland. The Potomac River separates Virginia and Maryland in this part of the state. Where I live is very close to one of the few bridges that cross the Potomac, so it's only about a 10 minute drive for me to be on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Why does this matter? Well, that's where the C&O Canal Towpath is!
C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) Canal Towpath - Brief History (NOT Fact Checked)
Way back in "the day", our forefathers wanted to use the Potomac River to get goods west from DC. The Potomac River is obviously a good option, but, it isn't the most easily navigable river (rapids, and whatnot), and it flows TOWARD DC, so they built a canal next to the river (think Panama Canal idea, but way WAY smaller scale) to allow boats loaded with cargo to west. They got as far as Cumberland, MD where the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) starts. At this point trains took over and made the canal obsolete. Luckily the C&O Canal was made a National Park in the 1930's, and the towpath, which is a small dirt/gravel road used to pull the boats along the canal (think donkeys with ropes) was restored and kept in good condition.
My Journey
I stumbled across the towpath one day while in Point of Rocks and thought it would be a good place to run on a softer surface. Recently, I got the bright idea to run the full length of the towpath (185 miles from DC to Cumberland MD), in small chunks. Something to make my long runs interesting and see first hand some US history. By the time I'm done I will have run twice the length of the path (that would be 370 miles) because each run has to be "out and back" since I'll be driving myself to various starting points along the path.
How Far Have I Gotten So Far? (Jan. 1, 2016)
So far I've run the path from mile marker 33 (by White's Ferry - an actual rope ferry from the 18th century that's still in operation) to mile marker 69 (which is almost to the Antietam Civil War Battlefield). My first runs started at Point of Rocks (mile marker 48) and I've been "radiating out" in either direction from that point.
I've passed a lot of pretty cool structures and buildings, including aqueducts, "lock houses", docks for the river, Civil War history, the Appalachian trail, and trains (of course when trains became a thing the canal was a perfect place for tracks - a level path was already in place).
So...I have a LONG way to go to cover the full length of the path, but I'll get there one day.
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