Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Cumberland, MD to Little Orleans, MD
C&O Trail miles 184.5-140.9 (43.6 miles)
Highlights: The canal, locks, and the Paw Paw Tunnel
At breakfast we met a group of seven cyclists headed to the same B&B as us tonight in Little Orleans - not surprising, since accommodation options are very limited along the trail. They were using an outfitter to pick up their luggage each morning and ferry it to that night's lodging. Tom and I were carrying all our own gear, approximately 25 pounds each, about one third bike tools/parts, one third water and snacks, and one third clothes and other personal items.
The Fairfield doesn't offer long-term parking, but we could park for free about 100 yards away in a public lot underneath I-68. We'd unloaded last night, so we simply moved the truck, returned to the room for our loaded bikes, topped off our tire pressure, and hit the trail.
Only 184.5 miles to go!
The C&O Towpath is almost entirely flat, making it ideal for biking. In 184.5 miles, the elevation changes only 610 feet. The canal's 74 locks each raise/lower the canal roughly eight feet, causing a brief but abrupt dip in the towpath at those points. We chose to ride downstream. We'll take all the help we can get!
Replica canal boat
Furthest upstream of the canal's 74 locks
The C&O was built entirely on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. So long as we stay on the path with the river on our right and the canal on the left, we'll be heading in the correct direction. In some places the canal has water, often green with algae, and in other sections it's grass-lined or overgrown with brush and trees. The watery sections were home to more turtles than I'd ever seen!
Algae-filled canal
Typical lock and lockhouse
Lily pads in the canal basin
Jana rides the doubletrack
Turtles basking in the sun
Schoolhouse Kitchen in Oldtown is a quirky, good, and cheap place to eat. Plus it's the only choice today unless you pick up something in Cumberland before heading out. We'd ridden for hours without seeing another soul, but we ran into a few other bikers here, including the group we met this morning.
Schoolhouse Kitchen, Oldtown, MD
Good (and only) lunch option
The Paw Paw Tunnel was carved through a mountain to avoid following multiple bends of the Potomac, cutting six miles off the length of the canal. The 3,118-foot-long tunnel is constructed of 6 million bricks and took 14 years to build. Trail etiquette and common sense demand you dismount and walk your bike through the unlit tunnel along the narrow and uneven path above the water. Spooky!
Paw Paw Tunnel
Long, dark, and creepy
Lonely trail beyond the tunnel
The group of seven passed us just after the tunnel, then we caught up to them at the trailhead in Little Orleans (mile 140.9), where we were to meet a shuttle to tonight's B&B, located eight miles up a very steep hill from the towpath. Happily, the timing was such that the group had already summoned the shuttle, so we didn't have to wait. Dave, the B&B owner, transported all the bikes and the other guests, while his daughter, Lisa, transported Tom and me.
Quiet place on the Potomac
Town Hill B&B bike shuttle
There's no evening meal served at the B&B, and the infamous Bill's Place Bar & Grill, located at the trailhead, was closed today, so on the ride up the hill, Dave and Lisa took us to Belle Grove Exxon & Diner, where we picked up some takeout and a six-pack. Extremely not fancy, but it was fine.
Bill's Place, closed today
So we ate at the Exxon
Lodging: Town Hill B&B, Little Orleans, MD. The price was a splurge for us, but since we were splurging anyway, I went ahead and booked their splurgiest room, a king with a private bath. This is the only place to stay in Little Orleans other than a campground, and the next closest option for lodging is in Hancock, another 17 miles down the trail – a long way on a bike!
Town Hill B&B, Little Orleans
I was very pleased with the B&B. The place is very bicycle friendly. In addition to providing the bike shuttle, they have a covered pavilion where bikes can be stored overnight out of sight of any passersby. Across the road is a gorgeous overlook, where Tom and I sat and ate our dinner and watched the sun go down. After 44 miles of riding today over a pretty rough trail, we were happy to turn in early.
Covered overlook, "The Beauty Spot of Maryland"
Western Maryland from above
The B&B has 20 guests rooms, and only six of them were full tonight. Their business is almost exclusively cyclists and groups (weddings, family reunions, etc.), and with a lot of cyclists typically coming from the West Coast or internationally, they'd had just a trickle of bikers come through this year and zero groups. In fact, Lisa told Tom and I that we were their most far-flung guests since Covid.
Tom
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