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| | CO Canal MP 140.9-150.0, MD | | | |
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CO Canal MP 140.9-150.0, MD
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| Hiking | 10.37 Miles |
197 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.37 Miles | 3 Hrs 14 Mns | | 3.21 mph |
| 197 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I barely slept Monday night, after hiking the canal from Cohill Station to Little Orleans. Too sore. No idea why, as the towpath is basically flat. Nonetheless, after only one day’s rest, and despite lingering stiffness, on Wednesday we headed out.
Getting to Little Orleans is straightforward. Driving to Bond’s Landing, in the deepest depths of Green Ridge State Forest, can be confusing if you have not been there before. Bring a GPS and follow the directions below! 🛰
It was quite foggy, particularly over the Potomac River, when I finally started hiking the towpath at 8:40 a.m.
MP 141.0: Or, more accurately, 9:00 a.m., as I first spent 20 minutes checking out Fifteen Mile Creek Aqueduct. There’s an interesting info sign there, discussing labor relations with the canal workers. Fifteen Mile Creek Aqueduct’s name is heftier than it’s structure. At 110 ft. long, with a single 50 ft. arch, the aqueduct is the best preserved of the canal’s six single-arch aqueducts. The Irish laborers who built the aqueduct are buried at nearby St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
And that was it for the next 2½ miles. (There really isn't much between Little Orleans and Bond's Landing.)
MP 143.4: There’s a well-worn footpath up to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club cabin on Property Dr. — which you can follow a mile back to Bill’s Place in Little Orleans, for a short 3½ mile loop. Otherwise you are committed to either hiking the towpath another 12½ miles to Paw Paw, or having someone drive deep into Green Ridge State Forest to shuttle you out.
MP 144.5: Devil’s Alley CG is right on the Potomac River, a ½ mile past Lock 58. It has a picnic table, grill, fire pit, direction & distance sign and doggie doo bag dispenser. The well hand pump actually had a working handle, but I had places to go and things to do, so I didn’t wait for the pump to give water. Not sure I’d trust it anyway, as the pump is only 20 ft. from the portapotty. 
While the towpath curled around 500 ft. below Point Lookout, the sun finally woke up. There still was not much fall color, but at least now I was able to “pop” the the backlit leaves.
MP 146.5: Lock 59 had an interesting approach in that it looked like a rocky v-shaped creek bottom than a canal bed. There was no nearby cliff for rocks to tumble off of, so I wonder how it got to be that way?
MP 147.0: The next mile of the canal was filled with water. About milepost 147.7, directly opposite some scarey looking buildings, was a small “land bridge” you could bail across to Kasecamp Rd., which loops around the base of Stickpile Hill, connecting at one end to Bond’s Landing, and at the other to Carroll Rd. (See driving directions, below.)
MP 149.3: Another two mile walk to the next item of note, Stickpile Hill CG. I did not get a good look at it, as a couple of folks were setting up an early camp there, and I did not want to intrude. I assume it has the usual amenities. I just waved, said “howdy”, and kept on keeping on.
MP 149.6: Lock 60 had perhaps the single best fall color tree on this segment. But there was a non-collapsed house on the landward side and, unsure where the park ended and private property began, I stayed on the towpath side of the canal.
MP 150.0: My always supportive wife was parked where Bond’s Landing Rd. crosses the towpath, not down on the landing itself. She had some difficulty negotiating the narrow road through Roby Hollow, including having to back up our rental SUV when a minivan wussed out on a creek crossing. I downed an adult libation, then we stopped at Point Lookout on the way back to Little Orleans, and on to our basecamp in Hagerstown.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/770180087
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Bond’s Landing Directions: At Little Orleans, rather than making the sharp left to Bill's Place, continue across bridged Fifteen Mile Creek. Immediately bend right onto Oldtown Orleans Rd. Distances measured as total distance from Fifteen Mile Creek. In 2.8 miles, turn left off pavement onto dirt Carroll Rd. Point Lookout, 300 yds. ahead on the left, is worth a stop. Past Point Lookout, Caroll Rd. gradually decreases in width & quality. A car could drive it, but SUV recommended, especially for a couple of creek crossings. After 5.8 miles, just past Roby Cemetery, there’s a confusing 4-way intersection, that resembles an X more than a +: Don’t make a sharp left, and don’t continue straight-ish & up, instead bend left onto Kasecamp Rd. & down. Kasecamp Rd. turns left, paralleling the landward side of the C&O Canal. After 7.2 miles, turn right onto Bond’s Landing Rd. Park wherever. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
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Wildflowers Observation None
Couple of blooms -- if you looked. Best plant color was the wild berries by the second railroad bridge. |
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