C&O end-to-end, miles 5-12

Hike #2 on the C&O Canal Towpath! The weather was much improved this time as I started off from mile 5, where I previously left off. This hike took me past the beltway and into double digits.

T thinks I've done most of this section already, but I don't remember much of it. At least one part of it was closed for the past year or two for rebuilding, and I know last time I was there we used the detour.

There is actually a fair bit of interesting things to see in this section, so it's not all counting mileposts and lockhouses. There is a kayak run, a private canoe club, the Little Falls dam and pumphouse, and Carderock. It also passes both ends of Billy Goat C; confusingly, one end is marked closed. On the other hand, with the world as it is, my capacity for taking in surprises is used up, so a highly predictable trail feels kind of nice.

I turned around at the bridge to the parking lot at Old Angler's Inn, around mile 12.2.

As a practical consideration, there is a good stretch at the beginning of this section where there are no restrooms. If needed, one could stop in the woods, although some stretches offer more privacy than others. (Despite the construction, there are open port-a-potties at mile 5.) Parking at mile 5 is not at the canal itself, again due to construction, but there is parking in the neighborhood nearby.

The name is the best part

This weekend I did a shorter hike on Sunday, notable only because I finally did the Whistle Pig Loop, the only trail in the complex of trails northwest of Black Hill I hadn't yet completed. This short trail loops around a field. It is overgrown in warmer months and usually muddy. At least this time of year the vegetation was tamed.

While the trail itself isn't much, the clouds were spectacular.

You can't park at this trail; I chose to park at Bucklodge, a creepy trail which has not grown on me at all with more visits. You could also park on Clarksburg Road and take Ten Mile to Danger Noodle to Jewelweed to Whistle Pig. Neither trailhead has restrooms or amenities, so plan ahead.

Another long training hike

My first long hike of February was 10 miles in Black Hill, covering territory I regularly see. We've had a very snowy year so far, and I wanted to get some miles in without snow - and before the snow and ice that was forecast for that day, starting at noon. So I did I quick local hike, home by lunchtime.