Day 42 Cumberland, Md to Little Orleans, MD (40 bike miles; 2816 cumulative miles)

After getting info from the local bike shop (where Kriss also took a shower), we headed south from Cumberland along the Potomac River on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath towards Washington, DC. We had been told that the trail was not quite as smooth as the Great Allegheny and we found this to be true.

Still our road bikes worked fine, although we would not go nearly as fast.
We soon came to our first lock, lock 75, and also the lock keeper's house. As I was to learn, the lock keepers were on call 24/7 and were also responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the lock. For this they received a house, an acre of land and $150 per year salary. I chatted with an artist who was capturing the beauty of the site on canvass.

The water in the canal varied considerably - some parts were dry, in other places it was covered with algae or duckweed, and the water was clear where it flowed more quickly. There were many turtles and other wildlife on and adjacent to the road.

The Town Creek Aqueduct at Milepost 163 was well restored and demonstrated how the canal was able to cross the various creeks and rivers that would enter the Potomac.

Around Milepost 155 was the Paw Paw tunnel. Construction of the 3118 foot long tunnel was begun in 1824 by a Methodist Minister. But he soon went bankrupt and the tunnel was not completed until 1850. To accelerate construction, two shafts were dug from the top of the mountain so that construction of the tunnel could proceed in 4 directions! Entering the tunnel I could barely see the light at the other end. There was no other light, so I held onto the railing in the pitch dark with the canal below me and to my left and kept walking until I got to the other side. I encountered no one else in the tunnel until I was almost through.

As I emerged from the tunnel, I found a boardwalk that went through the very narrow gorge and, shortly after, Lock 66.

Rickey and Judy met us with Tiggy at the 15 Mile Creek walk-in campsite and we went for a very welcome dip in the Potomac. Earlier they had found an available campsite in nearby Little Orleans. Even though we could have gone further we decided to grab it since it was still Memorial Day weekend. A restful afternoon was appreciated by all as was a great supper at the campsite.