C&O end-to-end, miles 60-72

I headed back to the C&O for the first time since the End to End hike. In the week after that hike, storms had badly damaged some parts of the trail, so I'd stayed away. But some repairs had occurred at Harper's Ferry, so I returned to continue where I had left off.

I actually parked at the canal across from Shepherdstown, crossed the bridge to West Virginia, and took an Uber to my start. (Crossed off another bridge on my Potomac list!) Parking is expensive at Harper's Ferry, so this enabled me to do a one-way hike for a little less. From the train station, I headed back across the railroad bridge - this time, not in a thunderstorm - and headed north.

This section of the trail really does primarily head north, snaking east and west with the river. It's an attractive section, especially near Harper's Ferry itself. There was only one badly washed out section, easily avoided.

I really enjoyed just hiking one-way. I can't afford to Uber it every time (and there is no transit alternative), so it feels like a real luxury.

The southern end of Seneca Greenway

I went back last weekend to finish the Seneca Greenway proper. This leaves a couple miles of Magruder Branch at the north end to complete. However, this section was much less delightful than my previous two expeditions.

Starting at Damascus Road and heading south, the first .1 was just fine - it's literally paved. Then the next mile and a half was an overgrown, downed-tree nightmare. Now, this was about two weeks after a big storm, and the trail is very near the creek, so undoubtedly some of the downed trees were new. But it looked like no regular trimming was occurring. I doused myself in DEET and wended my way slowly through downed branches.

Eventually, it opened up a bit. There definitely were some grassy spots where bug repellent is advisable, but it was clear that they were subject to regular trimming. This section was decent if unexciting, and I likely would have appreciated it more if I hadn't fought my way to it.

The trail hits Berryville Road twice, and the second one has a pretty view of the stream. The next bit was really quite nice. The trail then had a short roadwalk, but on a very quiet road. Then, it briefly was coterminous with River Road. I opted simply to cross River Road and walk to Riley's Lock on the access road, then to do a mile out-and-back on the C&O before coming back up the tail end of the Greenway. I finally did the tiny bit of River Road for completeness. It's a fast, busy road, with no sidewalk, but at least the segment required is mostly a bridge over the creek, with a sidewalk. 

My initial plan was to return via Seneca Bluffs, but instead I opted after a round ten miles to get a ride back to my car.

I wouldn't recommend this section, or at least most of it, except in winter when the vegetation dies back. It's a shame, because otherwise it could make a nice loop.

A little Seneca Creek hike

On this hike, I did a tiny bit more of the Seneca Greenway system, just three-quarters of a mile. With a side trip to Damascus Regional Park, plus doing it as an out-and-back, it totaled four miles.

This is not actually part of the Seneca Creek Greenway but part of Magruder Branch. Since they are contiguous, I think of them as a unit, though.

It was a perfectly nice trail in the woods, marred unfortunately by great quantities of invasive wavy-leaf basketgrass.

Trail work at Monocacy NRMA

This past weekend, we headed with the Old Line Crew to Monocacy NRMA to fix a persistently swampy bit of trail with some drainage. Here we are, digging a trench.

One Day Hike (C&O end-to-end, miles 36-60)

On Saturday, I successfully completed the Sierra Club's 50k One Day Hike!

The hike starts at White's Ferry, heads east about 2 miles, then turns around and goes straight to Harper's Ferry. A little past canal mile 60, the hike route takes the pedestrian/railroad bridge over the Potomac, heading uphill for 1.5 miles through town to the Bolivar Community Center.

The weather was a little hotter and more humid than I would like, but bearable, for most of the day. It rained three times. The first was a very short shower, for which I was conveniently at the Point of Rocks support station getting snacks and rest. The second was coming into Brunswick, which was a hard, steady rain for a couple of miles. It cleared up while I was in Brunswick, getting snacks and having a blister treated. 

The final rain was an absolute deluge of a thunderstorm, starting just after milepost 59, just when it had gotten dark enough for me to get my headlamp out. Water was a couple of inches deep on the trail, and I could see just enough to not fall off of the trail and into the canal. Of course, my mind was on that steel bridge I was going to have to cross. Quite fortunately, the thunder and lightning (albeit not the rain) stopped as I was approaching it. 

Then it was uphill in the rain, in a section that felt much longer than I had expected. But finally, I reached the end, in 11 hours, 2 minutes, and 18 seconds.

This hike contained several C&O milestones:

• I completed the last few miles of Montgomery County and all of Frederick County
• From here on, West Virginia rather than Virginia will be on my left 
• I am now almost ⅓ of the way done -1.5 miles short of it!

I took fewer pictures than usual, trying to stay on track. This was my last trail photo before the rain kept my phone tucked away. You can see the storm coming in.

I am proud of myself for having finished this challenge. Now, onward to the rest of the C&O - without a training schedule to keep!