C&O Canal Adventures Walking, riding, and cleaning up the C&O Canal

Each January 1st, the C&O Canal Association brings in the New Year with a hike in Cumberland, Maryland.  The temperature was a surprisingly warm fifty-three degrees, and nineteen people turned out for the walk.  After meeting at the mule statue in front of the railroad station, Mary Huebner led the crew downstream on the canal for approximately 1.5 miles.

 

 

As the canal goes, Cumberland is a relatively urban setting.  However, in spite of the interstate and railroad traffic, the Queen City drew us back for the third year in a row.  In the sparsely populated areas of the C&O, one can walk for miles without seeing anything touristy, but Cumberland is…well…different.

 

 

 

After the mule statue and shops, the Cumberland (a replica canal boat) comes into view, and upon rounding the first bend, the trail offers and interesting look back at the Cumberland skyline.  The towpath plays host to numerous hikers, bikers, dogs (and of course their owners), runners, and history buffs through out the year, so being there on the first day of the year always starts us off on the right foot!

 

 

 

Cumberland has always been a transportation hub.  In the past, it was a major railroad town and marked the western terminus of the C&O Canal (Think canal boats and mules). Today, I-68 runs above the city, and The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and C&O towpath are hotbeds for hikers and bikers of all ages.  Oh, how the times have changed!

 

 

 

Near mile marker 183, a new wooden bridge crosses over the North Branch of the Potomac River.  The West Virginia side is the home of the Carpendale Tunnel.  At 1,500 feet in length, the tunnel is just long and dark enough to make things interesting.  Unlike many of the other tunnels on the towpath, this one is equipped with light posts approximately every 200 feet. (so it really isn’t scary at all!)  We have also read that there are cameras posted in there as well.  The path continues on the other side of the tunnel, but we aren’t sure how much further it goes.  I suppose that will be an adventure for another day.

 

 

 

 

All-in-all, the bridge and tunnel is definitely a worthwhile diversion for towpath enthusiasts.

 

 

 

 

We have really enjoyed our New Year’s Day Hike tradition over the last few years, and barring all of the Mayan doomsday scenarios, we will be back again for 2013 hike.  All kidding aside, see ya at the mule statue next January 1st!

 

 

Not everybody likes to walk through long, dark tunnels, and those who are claustrophobic actually have another  way of getting around the Paw Paw Bends and continuing to hike on the C&O Canal towpath.  I’m referring to the Tunnel Hill Trail, which is a nice alternative to walking through the Paw Paw Tunnel.

 

Recently, the NPS added several interpretive signs that add to the experience, and there are now directional markers that make the hike a bit less confusing.  Those who have taken a wrong turn at the criss-crossing paths at the top of the hill know what I mean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To get to the the trail, simply walk to the tunnel–as usual–then veer to the right at the Tunnel Hill Trail sign.  It’s two miles in length and begins with a series of relatively steep switchbacks that lead to the top of the hill.  The reward is a gorgeous view of the Potomac River.

 

 

 

 

Now for a little history–all of which is borrowed from the interpretive signs.  The Paw Paw  Bends made for several miles of travel that covered very little actual distance.  This left three possible options:  continue the canal around the bends; dam the river for slackwater navigation; or build a tunnel. Obviously the engineers chose the latter.

 

 

 

 

 

A tunnel of this magnitude required blasting from above and a place to dump the rubble.  Thus, the present trail is basically the former work station for the laborers.  The German and Irish immigrants who were involved removed 200,000 cubic yards of shale spoil over a fourteen year period (1836-1850) that saw them suffer through cholera outbreaks, labor friction, and financial shortages.  The paychecks were often late, and perhaps that’s why a daily ration of whiskey was included with their food and lodging.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of lodging, workers stayed in either tents or small wooden houses in the area of the trail.  Many workers had their families in tow, which led to the construction of the Sulphur Springs (aka Tunnel Hollow) School in 1840.  The school was a single room brick structure, and much to our surprise, several of the bricks can still be found at the old site.

 

 

 

 

 

In all, I would highly recommend a hike on the Tunnel Hill Trail, particularly in late autumn.  The colors and the vistas are breathtaking, and–yes–the signs make for a nice thumbnail history lesson of the area.

 

 

 

Before anybody moans or cries out, “Oh, no! Not another blog post about the Paw Paw Tunnel!” let me explain. I readily admit that this is our obligatory homage to the tunnel, so let’s keep this short and sweet.

 

In other words, there are dozens of places on the internet that’ll tell you how long the tunnel is and when it was (yawn) built. Instead, here are a couple of oddball pictures that don’t generally turn up in the usual write-up of the most famous and popular destination on the C&O Canal. BTW–bring a flashlight. It’s dark in there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteering in a national park can take a person to some out-of-the-way places, and the Twigg Hollow section of the C&O Canal NHP doesn’t tend to get many visitors–in spite of its close proximity to the popular Paw Paw Tunnel.

 

 

Traditionally, Level 57 starts at Lock 61 and ends at Lock 63 1/3, but, as usual, we do most things backward, and this isn’t any different!

 

 

This isn’t our ‘official’ section to pick up trash, but when did the walk in May the canal was filled with water and a plethora of frogs and ducks. What a difference a few months makes! This time around, the canal bed and the stream at Gross Hollow were bone dry, but beautiful just the same.

 

 

 

The Gross Hollow Culvert generally allows a fast-flowing mountain stream to pass underneath of the canal. It is a brick-lined structure that looks like the Paw Paw Tunnel in miniature from the inside. Hikers and bikers tend to either walk or ride past many interesting structures, and I would recommend a guide book to anyone who wants to get the most out of a trip down the canal.

 

 

 

 

 

After a hike of about 1.5 miles, we reached our destination at Lock 61. We didn’t have much trash to show for our effort, but sometimes that’s a good thing–it shows that most visitors enjoy their outings without making a mess out of the scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing to ride the C&O as a three day trip is almost as difficult as the journey itself. It takes lots of miles of training to get ready, but we’re lucky that there’s plenty of great scenery and history to explore in the process. With that in mind, we decided to take a 40 mile (round trip) ride between Pearre Station and the Paw Paw Tunnel. The area between mile markers 137 and 156 have been described as being among the most scenic and secluded on the towpath, so let’s get started…

In case you’ve missed the About Us page, we’re members of the C&O Canal Association, and we volunteer on what is known as Level 52, which lies between the Sideling Hill Creek and Fifteen Mile Creek Aqueducts. Here’s where we started. The usual 4.5 mile walk to Little Orleans takes a while, but on a bike it goes quickly. We decided that we felt pretty strong at that point and pressed on toward the tunnel.

 

 

For those who haven’t heard, there’s talk of extending the Western Maryland Rail Trail from Pearre Station to Paw Paw, and the proposed route would go through two tunnels and cross the Potomac six times. We didn’t get a look at the tunnels, but it’s easy enough to spot where the trail will be crossing the river. Several high abandoned railroad bridges can be spotted from the towpath, and when everything is finished, the WMRT will–perhaps–be the premier rails-to-trails bike route in the eastern U.S.

 

All of that is in the future, but for now the C&O has plenty to offer. Fortunately, we caught the old canal bed during the wet period, and the area didn’t lack in either turtle sightings or beaver sign. Perhaps the most spectacular remnant of the recent rains is the waterfall near the Paw Paw Tunnel. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than this stretch of the canal, and we’re certainly looking forward to seeing it again in June!