C&O Canal Towpath || Day 2 || 41 miles
- Date: June 15, 2022
- Start: Marble Quarry Hiker-Biker Camp (C&O Mile 38.6)
- End: Horseshoe Bend Hiker-Biker Camp (C&O Mile 79.2)
- Cumulative Distance: 79.2 miles
Between the frogs and other tideland creatures making their nocturnal noises, the Marble Quarry hiker-biker camp was surprisingly loud last night. It was such a different environment than my last adventure out on the Arizona Trail this spring. But I guess that’s what you get when you set up your tent on a narrow strip of grass nestled between a river and an old canal that looks more like a swamp.
I also really struggled to maintain a constant temperature between the heat and humidity throughout the night. One minute I’d be hot and sticky, with my sweaty legs clinging to my down quilt as I tried to kick it off. Then I’d wake again, feeling cold goosebumps covering my bare shoulders, and hastily pull my quilt back over me once again.
When I woke for good at 6 am, just about everything was damp from the humidity. The dewy grass saturated my sandal-clad feet as I walked over to the port-a-potty. And a layer of fine moisture covered my tent, my bike, and the nearby picnic table.
Bridget was also moving around early, but neither of us was in any hurry to get riding. The first little town of the day was Brunswick, Maryland, barely 16 miles up the trail, and I knew I wanted to head over to the microbrewery in town. Stopping for lunch there would put my bigger miles for the day into the hot afternoon, but I was fairly sure a cold beer would make it worth my while.
As I ate a cold breakfast and packed up for the ride to Brunswick, I expected to bid “auf wiedersehen” to Bridget. She had two full weeks to ride to Pittsburgh, and was aiming for lower miles each day. But to my surprise, she was ready to go when I was, and she wanted to ride with me this morning. So we rolled out of camp together just a few minutes before 8 a.m.
It was actually nice to ride down the curved dirt path with someone else this morning. The wildlife along the towpath was in full swing this morning to. Birds were flying back and forth between the trees lining both sides of the trail. Suicidal squirrels darted in front of our tires forcing us to brake or swerve to avoid running over them. And there was the three-and-a-half foot branch stretched across the entire towpath, which actually turned out to really be a long black snake sunning itself.
We weren’t pushing the pace, but the miles went by so quickly with a companion in tow. We stopped to take photos of some of the canal houses and the two aqueducts we rode over, and yet still made it to Brunswick by 10 a.m.
BEANS, Bikes, & Beer
As we reached the outskirts of Brunswick and rode across the train tracks into town, everything pointed to a quiet Wednesday morning. There was no road traffic out, just a handful of cars parked along the Main Street.
The brewery I was aiming for wouldn’t open for another two hours yet. So with time to kill, we made a stop at Beans in the Belfry, a coffee house in an old converted church, where Bridget and I leisurely enjoyed our lattes and charged our phones in the available wall outlets.
After soaking in the atmosphere, and receiving more than a few side-eye glances from the surly cashier (we didn’t even smell bad, I swear), we reluctantly decamped and headed to the local bike shop.
I had two tasks to take care of here in town. First, I hoped to get a rag and some chain lube. These muddy trails were doing a job on my bike chain and gears, and I needed to do a better job of cleaning up each evening. My efforts were only 50-50 though. I found a dual chain cleaner and lube product, but not any rags. I guess my bandana would have to do. And l Bridget found a two-pack of toothbrushes at the convenience store across the street (which she split with me), so I could use to knock down any big clumps of dirt, I guess.
I also got the bike shop to true my rear tire. As we were riding toward town, Bridget noticed my rear seemed to be making a slight figure eight with each rotation. I confirmed the wobble’s presence once I stopped and gave my rear tire a spin too. So it was definitely worth my time and money to have someone at the bike shop give it some attention.
Bikepacking is significantly more stressful than backpacking. I’ve never paid this much attention to my gear before. I’m feeling this constant low level anxiety each day about everything that could go wrong with my bike. Flat tires. Muddy chain. Tires that aren’t true. It’s a bit much, to be completely honest.
Even after our trip to the bike shop was complete, it still wasn’t noon yet. We continued to linger about town, but we needed to get out of the sun. It was turning into a real scorcher of a day. Lucky for us, the brewery had a fest tent set up over its outdoor patio, and we could relax out in the shade until opening time.
At 12 p.m. on the dot, the brewery opened for business, and we were the first guests of the day. I wavered over which of their many IPAs to order and the bartender offered to let Bridget and I sample whatever we wanted. A risk-free proposition if I ever heard one!
With a pint of the Fire Station Keeper (or FSK) IPA in hand, we settled into the refurbished fire-station that housed this lovely little brewery. Bridget and I shared a giant fresh-baked pretzel with 3 different mustards. And even she had to agree it was great pretzel, which is pretty high praise from a native Bavarian.
By 1 p.m., we agreed it was time to get going. We’d lingered around Brunswick for nearly three hours – drinking coffee, going to the bike shop, and enjoying a pint and pretzel at the brewery. There was much more trail ahead of us. So we mounted up our bikes and headed back across the train tracks back to the C&O once again.
TWO MORE TOWNS
Our next town was Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, but neither of us really wanted to head across the bridge into town. I’d been to Harper’s Ferry during my Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2019, and we’d only just left Brunswick about six miles earlier. We did, however, climb the stairs up to the railroad tracks to get a photo of the iconic tunnel leading out of town.
Bridget was planning already on only riding few more miles after this stop too. Her goal was to stop for the night at the Antietam Creek campground – a National Park Service campground up near mile 70, which cost $20/night. Stopping there would give her an approximately 32-mile day, whereas I had my eye on a hiker-biker camp another 9 miles farther up the trail.
When we arrived at Antietam Creek though, Bridget realized it wasn’t much different than the free hiker-biker camps we’d been passing all day. Sure, there were 20 designated sites and each on had its own picnic table. But they were just rustic grassy spots like the one we’d stayed last night.
There was a pit toilet (only a minor upgrade from a port-a-potties as the free campgrounds), but still no running water. It only had the same kind of rusty old hand pump wells we’d been passing up and down the trail! And, even more importantly, there weren’t any other people camping there. She want to be near the safety of other people, not paying $20 to camp alone with no amenities.
So Bridget stayed with me and kept on riding a bit longer. Why stop at this NPS campground when there was a virtually identical (but free) hiker-biker camp just a few more miles up ahead?
But first, we agreed we’d head into Shepherdtown, West Virginia, to see what it looked like. But mostly because I needed to charge my phone again. I’d forgotten to put it in airplane mode upon leaving Bruswick and unnecessarily let the battery drain while searching for non-existent cell service.
As it turns out, Shepherdstown was on the opposite side of Potomac River and at least 100 feet higher in elevation than where we were riding along the water’s edge. Getting there meant taking our bikes up a series of steep switchbacks to the bridge towering above the bike path.
There was no way my legs were going to pedal my bike all the way to the top though. So it turned into a hike-a-bike adventure with me pushing my heavily laden bike up the trail. At least the views from the top were worth it!
WHERE TO CAMP?
Once we arrived in the small college town of Shepherstownd, we found a bakery to huddle in and soak up the glorious AC for the next hour while we discussed our camping plans. Bridget now planned to stop at the Killiansburg Cave hiker-biker camp in just 2.5 more miles, and she was doing her best to try to convince me to stop there for the night too.
I listened to her persuasive pitch, but had to demur. I had a timeline to stick to for this adventure, and it was a much shorter one than hers. I’d already stopped early yesterday because she wanted company. I really needed to get to the Horseshoe Bend hiker-biker campground tonight if I wanted to stay on schedule. I needed to ride at least 40 miles today.
Moreover, stopping at my intended campground was going to set me up with 20 miles to Williamsport, Maryland, for lunch tomorrow. And from there, it was only another 25 miles to Hancock where I could get a hotel and wash and dry my damp, stinky riding clothes, I explained.
Bridget didn’t really want to ride that far though, but she seemed to want to my company for a bit longer. It was her call. She could stop at the next campground or continue riding to where I planned to stop. I was fine with either outcome, but I was heading to Horseshoe Bend either way.
We left Shepherdtown together, riding through the campus of Shepherd University to get back across the river, and the crossing into Maryland.
As we passed the hiker-biker camp at Killiansburg Cave, there was another cyclist setting up a hammock there for the night. Bridget could have bailed on me then if all she wanted was a fellow cyclist to provide her with a comfortable, safe feeling. But, to my surprise, she kept riding!
We continued north, and then the trail suddenly got rough with rippled tread caused by water cutting across the path. This bumpy eroded trail forced me to stand up and get off my saddle to avoid the painful bouncing on my now-tender butt.
From there, the trail vacillated between rough sections and smooth stretches several more times over the next few miles. We had to stay focused to remain upright though the uneven dirt, and then we passed another snake stretched across the trail. What a crazy afternoon this was turning into.
Each time we passed a short brown post with the mile marker, the two of us would call it out to each other. Mile 76…Mile 77…Mile 78… It was like a game.
I could tell Bridget was really growing really uncomfortable beside me with the growing mileage. She was repeatedly standing up and trying to adjust herself to better position in her saddle. So I resorted to the tried and true tool of distraction. I asked about her horse, and her house in Germany, and anything else that required her to tell me a story instead of focusing on her physical discomfort.
After passing mile 79, and Lock 40, we finally saw the clearing off to our left for the hiker-biker camp at Horseshoe Bend. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anywhere as nice as either of us hoped. It was sunk down below the trail, which required us to walk ours bike down several steps or a muddy bank to get to the grassy camping area.
The established campsites were off on either end of the campground, but they were pretty moist and muddy too. As I went to scout each one, Bridget suddenly announced her tent was gone!! It had somehow come off her rear bike rack. She’d fastened to her tent to her bag with some bungee straps, and it was now missing.
Ah man! When did that happen? She needed a tent for sure tonight too. There was a 50% chance of rain, and I definitely didn’t have room to spare in my small tent.
With no other choice but to backtrack and find it, Bridget unloaded her bike to reduce the weight, then headed south back down the trail in search of her lost tent. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to ride the entire seven miles back to Shepherdstown before she came across it!
About a half hour later, Bridget returned with her tent in tow. It bounced off her bike at one of the rough sections of trail about two miles back. Thank goodness she found it!! But it stinks that she had to ride four extra miles to recover a wayward piece of gear.
As the sun disappeared, the crazy loud cacophony of frogs and birds picked up again and permeated the night. They were so incredibly loud! I lay there in my tent, waiting for the rain to begin, and somehow dropped off to sleep before I heard a single drop.
Highlights
- Brunswick was a really lovely town. I love that local businesses took a vacant church and turned it into a coffee house as well as turning the old fire station into a brewery!
- Riding with Bridget was actually quite fun. I came out here with the intention of a solo adventure, but having someone else to ride with today made the miles fly by quickly.
Challenges
- Worrying about my bike and everything that could go wrong is definitely weighing on my mind. Bikepacking is a lot more stressful than hiking!
- I’m pretty sure I’m going to hit one of these crazy squirrels who keep darting across the towpath in front of my bike. God help me if I go flying over the handlebars because of a suicidal squirrel.