| |
|
| | C&O Canal MP 99.4-108.7, MD | | | |
|
|
C&O Canal MP 99.4-108.7, MD
| | |
|
| Hiking | 10.78 Miles |
187 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.78 Miles | 3 Hrs 33 Mns | | 3.04 mph |
| 187 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | My Halloween 2021 plan was to pick up where I left off last Easter, hiking 12 miles from from McMahon’s Mill to Williamsport on Friday, then 9 miles from Williamsport to Four Locks on Monday. But then it rained all day Friday, and into Saturday morning. What with the Chinese Lung AIDs panic still ongoing, the last thing I wanted to be was sick trying to get on a plane on Tuesday.  
So, I called an audible, instead hiking the shorter segment on Sunday, and planning to do the longer previous segment on Monday.
The Williamsport Visitor Center, at Cushwa Basin (MP 99.4), has a large gravel parking lot, picnic table, bike rack, two pit toilets and two portapotties (one handicapped), plus C&O Canal map & info signs.
On satellite view — which tends to run about three years behind reality — Conococheague Aqueduct was under heavy restoration. I was not sure I would be able to cross it. Instead, I went up & over the metal skeleton of the old boat lift / lift bridge to Williamsport Park, then turned right to hike north on the towpath. 🛰
The restoration of the aqueduct over Conococheague Creek is not only complete, but the aqueduct is actually navigable — unlike other aqueducts back down the canal — though it would be a very brief kayak. The water ends at the Fenton Ave. access path. The canal to Four Locks is otherwise dry & brushy, with occasional swampy sections.
I didn’t get a close look at the Jordan Junction Campground, because some shady rando was hanging out there. 
There’s an old house (MP 103.3) on the landward side of the canal. Though farmland is often just the other side of the canal, that is not the case here. Neither is there a nearby canal lock. Nor a historical marker. The house is about to collapse, and not safe to enter. It’s chief advantage is using the back wall for a private whiz.
Pilings for an old railroad bridge (MP 104. cross the Potomac River at Millers Bend. The rail line is not shown on any map, and the rail bed is not visible on satellite view. Unlike Old Rumsey Bridge, there were no historical signs. It’s just there. If you hear any shooting, it is coming from the West Virginia side of the river. 
Erosion has caused the Potomac River to encroach on the towpath (MP 105.6), which here is separated by safety orange plastic webbing. Otherwise, despite 36 hours of rain, the towpath was in great shape. I saw lots of bikers, a few walkers, and one shirtless jogger. 
I could hear Dam 5 (MP 106.5) for a mile before I saw it. Dam 5 has a small gravel lot, a closed lockhouse, a portapotty, historical signs and a doggie doo bag dispenser. A shorter C&O Canal hiking option in this area would be a back & forth between Dam 5 and Four Locks (a 4.5 mile round trip).
Just past Dam 5, the towpath switches from its normal position on the Potomac River side of the canal to the landward side. I don’t recall see that before, except maybe in Georgetown, at the beginning of the canal. Then the canal disappears altogether, as the towpath hugs the cliff of a short ½ mile slackwater.
The towpath returns to the Potomac River side of the canal at Lock 46 (MP 107.4), which has an interesting parallel culvert in its support structure. Lock 46 has a small grass parking lot, which is accessed via Ashton Rd. Fall color had been patchy at best, but from Lock 46 to Four Locks it improved, as I started seeing some decent orange, and even red, leaves. Prior to that, what leaves had color were mostly ripe banana colored. 
Charles Mill (MP 108.0) has been in the same family since it was built around 1790. Now with only parts of three crumbling walls remaining, it is on private land. If there is a physical milepost 108, I missed it while reading the mill’s historical sign.
Four Locks (MP 108.5) was a ⅔ mile cost-saving shortcut across the four-mile bend in the Potomac River known as Prather’s Neck. Built between 1836-1839, a small community of several dozen buildings soon grew up around Four Locks. Though now a ghost town, buildings still extant in Four Locks include the canal mule barn, Stone House, Denton Jacques’ warehouse, the lock keeper’s shelter, Lockhouse 49 and lesser ruins.
Lockhouse 49, which is available for rent as part of the Canal Quarters Program, is located in the middle, opposite Four Locks Landing (a large paved parking lot and boat ramp). The Four Locks area has a portapotty, pit toilet, doggie doo bag dispenser, rest bench, well hand pump (sans handle), info signs and multiple picnic tables & grills. 
I felt good when I finished my hike, but between that and going trick-or-treating with my grandaugter Boo that Halloween night, on Monday, I was just not feeling it for a second 10+ mile hike in two days. So, I again need to recalculate my C&O Canal hiking segments so I can get them done in the next two years.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/643921132 |
|
Autumn Foliage Observation Light
The final mile before Four Locks was easily the best color. |
|
|
Wildflowers Observation Isolated
|
|
| _____________________
| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
