Day 4: Harpers Ferry, WV to Hancock, MD

June 27, 2023

In which the rain forecast does not disappoint!

I wanted to get out a bit earlier, but my B&B served breakfast at 8:30, so 9:30 was about as early as I could manage. As it turned out I wish I had left earlier.

Harpers Ferry is a historic town. Look up the raid by John Brown on the town's armory in 1859 as a key civil-war moment. It sits at what was a strategic spot where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet. West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland all converge there.

Now it's a touristy town with little art and candy shops lining a steep High Street. I stayed in a B&B along the right side of this picture - a house made of stone dating to the 1860s.

This is where the Potomac (left) and Shenandoah converge, looking downstream.

After muscling my bike and bags down the metal stairs to the trail, I set off. It was pretty pleasant riding at this time of day. Occasionally the trees on the left would open up and I could see the peaceful river below.This dam dates to 1856. The sign says a brick and mortar dam was built after several rock and debris dams were swept away.

At a couple of points during the day, the trail was paved at the bottom of a cliff. There wasn't anywhere to put a normal trail, so they just built one. I was on the verge of pulling out the drone and getting some footage of me riding along this, but it started to sprinkle, so I held off.

McMahons Mill was used to generate electricity until 1922 when a flood shut it down. The National Park Service restored it later.

Shortly after I passed the mill, it began to rain. The front of the storm came with wind that was whipping the trees around and I began to worry about falling limbs. No lightning, though. When it became apparent that the rain was going to stay for a while, I broke out the rain jacket, which I haven't needed for my last two trips.

This slowed things down somewhat. The trail became muddy and more slippery. I eventually reached Williamsport and stopped for a sandwich. While eating, the rain stopped and the sun came back out.

On returning to the trail, I think it had rained harder ahead of me because there was a lot of standing water. I don't know if you can see the water/mud combination in the photo below, but that was pretty typical for many more miles.

Another dam. I took a breather here and ate a snack. 15 or so miles to go...

Thanks to a tip from a reader, I was able to cut over to the Western Maryland Rail-Trail, which parallels the C&O for a bit. This was paved and made the last 10 miles way more pleasant!

I got to Hancock about 5:00 - later than I wanted to. There is a B&B here called the 1828 Trail Inn. Joe, the owner caters almost completely to cyclists. He had a spray hose in back to wash off the (very muddy) bike, laundry facilities to use, free gatorade and water, and he even gave me a ride to a nearby restaurant as he was heading that way. He's a wonderful human being, and I'm very grateful for the warm welcome I got! If you're stopping here on the trail, this is the place to stay!

Tomorrow's ride will be a long one - 77 miles to Frostburg, MD. I hear the Paw Paw tunnel is still closed, so there is a hiking trail detour. Then some climbing to finish the day. I'll need to get an early start!

Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 157 miles (253 km)

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