As I follow the C&O Canal Towpath headed northwest, I've also been following the seasons. Mile 0 started in packed snow. Later hikes had small spots of green. The latest one was carpeted in wildflowers, including bluebells a few days short of peak.
The weather was misty gray, with occasional mild showers, keeping traffic down. This was also a section with fewer highlights - one lockhouse, no waterfalls, no impressive aqueducts - so somewhat less popular than sections at either end of it. The sheer number of wildflowers made up for any charsimatic megascenery, however.
I started at Sycamore Landing, which is nothing but a parking lot, bench, and kayak launch. From there, it was almost nine miles to White's Ferry. Some day the ferry may be operational again, but for now there is a store/restaurant and multiple port-a-potties. Here I turned around and headed back.
This section was just under 9 miles one-way, 18 round-trip. However, I lost an earring on the trail and backtracked looking for it (unsuccessfully), adding on unnecessary extra mileage. This was my first 20 mile hike in ... er, since spring 2019, when I did the Ramapo-Dunderberg End-to-End. I've spent 2024 and 2025 getting myself back in shape for long hikes. Admittedly, I've been training for long but flat hikes - the RD is hillier, with 6,000 feet of elevation gain.
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