Maryland – reboe-cycling

Day 75 - Cumberland Valley, (C&O) to Chisel Branch Hiker/Biker Campground, (C&O) Sept 28, 2015 Antietam National Battlefield Harpers Ferry (intersection with Appalachian Trail ) Brunswick Urban Sounds! work in progress

Day 74 - Indigo Neck, MD (C&O) to Cumberland Valley, (C&O), Sept. 27, 2015

49,71

6541,2

4064,51

18,71

146

36054

10 - 22

A nice day with a bad ending The day was quite uneventful as I rode along the towpath. Squrrels scrambled to get out of my way, a deer family slowly crossed the path, and after 47 km I reached Fort Frederick State Park. ... After climbing the Rocky Mountains, surviving dangerous single trail paths on the Big Divide Mountain Bike Trail, after suffering hundreds of mosquito bites, being chased by dogs, balancing precariously on narrow shoulders with trucks just waiting for a mistake that would enable them to crush me, after going out of my way in more than a thousand ways to stay safe and unharmed - fate got to me when I least expected it: I was collecting wood in the dark (why exactly did I not stop earlier????) for a nice campfire and I sprained my left ankle on a rock and that pain was VERY unwelcome. After a night spent worrying about what consequences this little accident might have for the remainder of my adventure I set out in the morning to find out that although the ankle hurt when walking I could cycle without too much impediment. What a relief. So I'll just have to take the bike to the loo from now on 🙂

The Potomac as I follow it for about 300 kms....

This rock formation is known as "The Devil's Eyebrow".

Day 73 - Frostburg, MD to Indigo Neck, MD (C&O), Sept 26, 2015

106

65,865

6461,2

4014,80

18,74

507

35908

10 - 22

Frostburg is the last town on the GAP before the road winds down gently along the former railroad trail to Cumberland which became important because of the narrow gap in the mountain ringe allowing for the move westward on a fairly small inclination. I only stopped shortly but it was morning and everything was shut down. The town did make a very touristy impression on me. A selfie at the very end of the Chesapeale - Ohio Canal, known as the "C&O" with the cultural and technological winner in the race for open transport lines west, the railroad, I set of south east. The track is quite different from the well-paved GAP trail. Packed limestone with stretches of dirt and interspersed with tree roots slowed down my speed considerably. And the long and winding river more than doubles the direct distance from Cunberland to Washington DC. 184.5 miles or 296 km is the offcial distance, every 5-6 miles there is a primitive campground and the few towns are far off the canal and up extremely steep hills. One of the few exceptions is Hancock, which I will reach tomorrow ... I have decided to eat the first half of my "emergency food packet" which I bought in Germany before leaving home!

At Cumberland the "GAte to the West" with the end of the C&O Canal behind me. I will be following this canal for the next 300 kms being to lazy to climb up and down the Allegheny Mountain Range.

When these locks were built they promised a new access for trading goods with the west, but by 1850, when the canal was not even close to its original aim, the Ohio river, the railroad had long turned out to be the winner ...

The duties of a lockmaster are explained in this restored lockmaster's house.

In front of the Paw Paw tunnel, 1 km long, narrow and slippery path next to the canal: Better to have additional light, no lighting in the tunnel and several collisions have occurred over the last years.

A pump at a primitive campground - the lady at lock 75 informed me that there were issues with the water quality so I was prudent enough to use my water purification tablets for the first time since the Canadian Rockies!

Day 72 - Ohiopyle, PA to Frostburg, MD, Sep 25, 2015

58,409

6355,2

3948,94

18,75

1032

35401

13 - 26

GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) Work in Progress Mason & Dixon Line

Indian Summer is almost here!

This cat really wanted to get my attention. When I stopped to take its picture it came running up to me and tried to rub its head against my legs and even the bike!

At Salisbury I crossed the enormously wide Casselman River Valley on a magnificent steel bridge.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made this town grow starting from 1871

A "Caboose" is the last car on a train with space for the conductor, brakeman and a flagger ...

Meyersdale has a very nice museum on local history and shows some well-crafted model trains and landscapes

In memory of the people who die when Flight 93 crashed near here on Sep 11, 2001

Approaching the Eastern Continental Divide. It's not as spectacular as the one in the Rocky Mountains (it is at "only" ca. 800 meters altitude) but now in fall it shows nice colors!