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

 

 

 

Like many people, we’re guilty of straying far away from home to get our C&O Canal kicks.  McCoys Ferry (mm 110),  Four Locks (mm108), and Dam 5 (mm 107) are all about forty minutes away from our hometown of Martinsburg, but we have only seen them as blurs when riding by on our bikes.  It seemed like a good idea to take a short excursion prior to the Super Bowl, so we took to the road to see what we could see.

 

 

 

I’ll start with the McCoys Ferry campground and its environs.  On the way there, we noticed the Green Spring Covered Bridge about a half-mile from the towpath.  The bridge is actually a modern, decorative structure that spans a small stream as part of a driveway.  Don’t get me wrong: I would love to have my own covered bridge, but I found the nearby railroad trestle and culverts far more interesting.  In the beginning, I was drawn to the C&O primarily for its recreational value, but this history stuff has kind of rubbed off on me over the years.

At one time the railroad and the canal were bitter rivals, but the trestle merely blends into the scenery at McCoys Ferry.  Other amenities include numerous picnic tables and a boat ramp.  The area draws a crowd during the summer, but on Super Bowl Sunday, we had it all to ourselves and found the hike and sightseeing to be very enjoyable.

Candee’s son Tyler tagged along on today’s hike, and he was primarily interested in finding a good place to fish this summer.  The Potomac runs slow and deep for a few miles above Dam 5, and I’m thinking that the catfishing is probably pretty good.

 

Like many areas along the canal and river, McCoys Ferry is part of Civil War history.  According to the sign, the Confederates tried to capture the ferry boat at McCoys landing but were rebuffed by the Clear Spring Guard.  Also, J.E.B. Stewart crossed the river here on his second ride around McClellan’s army.

 

 

 

We are generally drawn to the canal for its recreational value, but occasionally the C&O’s structures catch our eyes.  Some are easily spotted from the towpath, but the culverts are generally overlooked by hikers and bikers.

 

There are eleven aqueducts along the C&O Canal, and they mark the points where the canal crosses over larger streams.  Culverts, on the other hand, occur where smaller streams were routed underneath of the canal.  I’m hardly the expert, but there are over one hundred culverts, and many of them are very impressive.

Fellow C&O Canal Association member Steve Dean has photographed all of the culverts and plans on turning his efforts into a book.  People who have an interest in the canal’s structures and history have opened our eyes a bit over the years, and the locks, aqueducts, and culverts are as different from each other as the diverse groups who built them.  I would certainly advise hikers and bikers to get off of the trail and take a look around.  There’s a lot more to the park than what meets the eye!

From McCoys Ferry, it’s a short ride to Four Locks.  The site gets its name from the four locks that raised the canal thirty-three feet in order to cut across Prather’s Neck and bypass a four mile bend in the Potomac River.  Lock House 49 is open to the public for overnight lodging.  It’s a bit on the rustic side, but it would be a great spot to stop while doing a through-ride from Cumberland to Georgetown.

 

 

I guess you could say that Four Locks holds a special place in our hearts.  On our 2011 ride, we ran into heavy storm debris above Little Orleans and several more downed trees well below Hancock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were forced to lift our bikes over countless snags and even had to walk them through the canal bed in places.  By the time we reached Four Locks, we were worn out and frustrated, but I remember saying, “Enjoy the next mile.  It’s down hill and on the house.”  The easy pedaling and coasting seemed to lift our spirits, and we never lost momentum the rest of the way.

 

 

From Four Locks, we took another short ride into the Dam Five area.  The dam and river create an image that is worthy of a post card.  The dam was completed in 1857 and survived several of Stonewall Jackson’s attempts at destroying it during the Civil War.  During low water, many fishermen can be seen fishing from the rocks directly below the dam, sometimes as far out as the middle of the river.

 

In all, the scenery between McCoys Ferry and Dam Five is outstanding.  Likewise, heading upstream leads one to Fort Frederick State Park and Big Pool.  There are many places along the C&O that look relatively similar around every bend, but this section reveals something new and interesting along the way for both newcomers to the park and canal aficionados.  In spite of traveling through every mile of the park several times, Candee and I have missed a lot of interesting things.  With that in mind, today made for three wonderful short hikes, and, like most excursions, we learned a number of new facts and saw things we’ve never seen before.  Until next time…

 

 

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!

 

 

We may be volunteers on the C&O Canal NHP, but we’re also avid bike riders who love the Western Maryland Rail Trail.  Like most people, we are looking forward to seeing the work on the proposed extension from Pearre Station to Little Orleans get started.  The bat gate at the Indigo Tunnel is the opening act of this process, and it has been finished.  However, the completion of the trail itself will be a long, arduous process.

 

 

 

Recently, we took a walk on the old railroad right-of-way from Sideling Hill Creek to the Indigo Tunnel, and the trail offers a beautiful view of the Potomac River–even moreso than the C&O Canal towpath.

Fortunately (and unfortunately), this future stretch of the WMRT is also a geologist’s dream.  The high cliffs above the trail are striking!  I can’t say that I know much about rocks, but the story here is obvious, to say the least.

 

 

 

 

 

The green leaves of summer hide a lot from the hikers and bikers on the C&O; however, the barren trees of winter no longer block the numerous rock slides on and above the old railroad path.  I’m no engineer, but the rugged cliffs above the future WMRT have an ominous look to them.  With that said, it will be interesting to see how the rail trail progresses.  The WMRT has the potential to be one of the premier rails-to-trails paths on the east coast, but this won’t happen without a lot of work.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After last week’s failure and a grim weather forecast for today, we didn’t have high hopes for locating the Stickpile Tunnel. However, a good set of directions and a little bit of persistence generally goes a long way, and our latest attempt at finding the tunnel ended in success.

The key is to use Carroll Road as a marker, and a left turn onto Kasecamp Road led us to the eastern portal about 2/10 of a mile later.  From there, we turned around and found the western portal about a 1/2 mile in the other direction–near a large gravel pile.

 

 

 

The tunnel is in relatively good condition, but it would take a fair amount of work to make it ready for bicycle traffic. The same can be said for the rest of the proposed route for the Western Maryland Rail Trail extension.  The project will take lots of time and money, but even the most hardcore C&O enthusiasts can hardly wait for its sister trail to be extended.

 

 

For those who are hiking or biking on the canal and are up for an adventure, simply follow the road out of Bonds landing and  take a left onto Kasecamp Road. We didn’t measure  the exact distance, but travel in this direction until you see a large gravel pile.  From there, a short dirt road leads to the tunnel (west portal).

 

In all, the Stickpile Tunnel and the Green Ridge area are well worth the trip, and sometime in the near future we would like to find the Kessler Tunnel and take a few pictures.  I guess we must have a thing for abandoned railroad tunnels.