Team Huffowicz

Welcome to the 2016 Huffowicz Bike Tour!

We are...

Biking and camping the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal trails from Pittsburgh to DC!

This summer, Team Huffowicz is taking to the trail like never before! Join us as we travel over 335.5 miles from Pittsburgh, PA back home to Washington D.C. on these two famous bike trails.

We will be posting updates from the trail (hopefully each night), and we will be uploading pictures from our trip as we ride along.

Here are links to the trails:

Great Allegheny Passage
C&O Canal

Day 1: Train from DC to Pittsburgh

At long last the day is here. All our gear is packed. Our shopping is done. The cats are being looked after (THANK YOU CASEY!). The panniers are loaded and we're off to Pittsburgh. 

Today we take an Amtrak train from DC to Pittsburgh, where we will overnight and begin our bike trip tomorrow morning. HUGE shout out and thank you to Sofie, who dropped us off at Union Station this afternoon!

We will get into Pittsburgh around midnight and will spend the night in a hotel in the business district near PNC park. Tomorrow morning we start the trip!

Jessi and I have been looking forward to this trip for a long while. We've been training hard over the years to build up stamina in order to be able to do long tour trips like these. We've plotted our course and we're planning to do a mix of camping and overnight stays in a hostel and a hotel along the way. 

While waiting to get on the train at Union Station, Jessi and I met 3 bicyclists from Lehigh County (PA), who just did a 3-day trip on the C&O from Cumberland, MD to DC. They reported that the trail is clear and not too may folks are on it. They had no trouble finding campsites, and there was no trouble getting water on the C&O Canal all the way down to DC. This is heartening for Jessi and I! We had read that certain parts of the trail (although mainly still - the Great Allegheny Passage) are experiencing water dead-zones.

While on the train, we met the Director of Media Relations for the Great Allegheny Passage, who is volunteering with the National Park Service this weekend for the NPS Centennial. How cool is that?!

We are planning for the trip to last 6 days in total, and we are expecting to arrive in Georgetown on Friday in the late afternoon/evening.

Day 2: Great Allegheny Passage Trail Pittsburgh (mi 150) to Connelsville, PA (Mi 89) 

61 miles

Today was an eventful day! We woke up in Pittsburgh in a ritzy hotel in the downtown business district after arriving around midnight the night before. Our journey today covered just under half of the Great Allegheny Passage trail. The elevation works out so that we have a slow but gradual climb along the Allegheny Passage trail until just after our next stop, and after that we have a steep drop down from the Continental Divide all the way home. Nice huh? We did a larger mile day today, so that we could break up the remaining incline into 2 days. Hey, we're on vacation....no need to kill ourselves here...

We gathered our gear and biked to DD for some breakfast and then made our way down to the unofficial start of the trail at Point State Park, which is a peninsula at the confluence of the three rivers that flow through Pittsburgh (Bonus points if you can name them without looking them up). Pittsburgh is an INSANELY beautiful city. It was awesome biking down Pittsburgh's historic streets to the park to start our trip.

I took a few 360 degree images of Point State Park and then we headed off on the Three Rivers Heritage trail network in search of the Great Allegheny Passage start. Ok here's where I have to stop and say...

Dear Pittsburgh,

Hi! I loved sleeping in you and you've got some awesome buildings. Biking in you was fun, but there are these things called signs. Signs show you where to go and are ESPECIALLY important for snooty bicyclists who are looking for the trails. Seriously, please get some signs and then maybe write things on them. Pro-tip: You could even put arrows on the signs to show the direction of travel to trail-heads.

With love,
Team Huffowicz

OK! Now that we've gotten that over with...

We crossed over the Liberty Bridge to the South Side Flats of Pittsburgh and biked along the river. The Pittsburgh area fire and rescue folks were out today practicing their drafting from the river and spraying right back into it. There were at least 10 vehicles parked along the river doing this. It looked like a riverside fountain!

It was a seriously hot day for biking. We drank lots of water today! We left the meandering river to follow the old tracks of the Union Railroad Company. Along the way both on the river and next to the tracks were the husks of the industrial powerhouses of this region. Factory buildings lay in ruin, in a stream of brick and girder, reeking of yesteryear. Some look like they are in decent shape. Others are boarded up and rotting. 

We stopped in McKeesport at a Subway to get some lunch and then continued on past the US Steel plant there. Moving through a park in Boston, PA, I noticed a groundhog on the left side of the trail. He was maybe 6 ft away when I passed him. I pointed him out to Jessi, who was behind me by just a little bit. Suddenly the groundhog sprung into action at my passing and made a desperate run for the opposite side of the trail. Unfortunately, he ran straight in front of poor Jessi, who had been riding with her hands in a secondary position away out of reach of the brakes. She tried to slow, swerve and miss the ground hog, but alas, the ground hog got clipped in the face by her front tire as she helplessly passed the the tumbling creature. He got up, shook himself off and ambled into the brush. Jessi felt terrible about it, but we kept a healthy sense of humor about the ridiculous nature of that whole occurrence and the incredible odds of its happening. 

I am lobbying to get Jessi to accept her trail name to be "Groundhog Slayer!" Has a ring to it, no?

Along the way, we passed numerous cool waysides about cable cars over the river, mine disasters, and a polluted waterfall. The waterfall is called "The Red Waterfall" and it stems from polluted ground water from a nearby mine, founded in 1909. The rock and mud around the falls are stained read from the acidic rusty water passing over the fall.

It was great to be out on the bikes! While the weight on the bikes was a bit more than we'd bargained for with the slight incline and higher mileage, we had a great time out on the trail! The places we passed through were both dismal and gorgeous. It's so fascinating how you can move along this trail and witness all strata of life from a socio-economic standpoint. One moment, we are biking through an economically stressed former industrial town, and not too far down the road, we are biking by log cabin mansions! It's very telling. This level of difference between the poorest and the richest in our country seems to underline the recent electoral events concerning a disaffected section of the American people and their willingness to vote for a certain dangerous political figure, who claims that he sees their plights.

So finally we make it in to Connellsville, PA. We grab a shelter to bed down in, sign into the registry, and hightail it over to the nearby NY Pizzeria for ALL OF THE PIZZA! As we're eating, the skies are darkening. Now, I knew there would be rain tonight...no problem. Then, we start hearing distant thunder...GREAT. we pay our bill and walk out of the restaurant JUST as it starts to rain. Ponchos on, we scurry over to our shelter, stuff the bikes inside and begin to lay out bedding. As we're bunking down, the weather took a decided turn for the worse. The thunder was accompanied by lightning... lot's of it! Before we realized it, we were stuck in a severe thunderstorm with pouring rain and VERY close lightning strikes. We had a strike that seemed like it was about 50 ft from the shelter. We watched a nearby tree be struck, then break, and then fall down to the river. It was INSANE. Thankfully the adirondack shelter we are hunkered in is sitting on stilts and is grounded! There were some seriously distressing moments.

As of now, the storm has moved off enough for me to feel safe tethering my Surface Pro 4 to my phone and posting this update.

Tomorrow, we are off to Rockwood, where we will be staying at a hostel...showers and clean bunks! We're looking forward to it!

Day 3: Connellsville, PA (mi 89) to Rockwood, PA (mi 44)

50 mi (with a detour in Ohiopyle for some sight seeing)

So today was the "uphill charge!" Today, we gained 1135 ft of elevation in 40 miles.  We split the ascent to the Continental Divide up into 2 days, and man are we glad that we did. It's almost all down-hill from here! Notice the MOUNTAINS in the map above along our route....yeah...

OK...so the grade is an average of 1.5. It's a gradual climb, but 1.5 with bouts of quick hill changes at intersections for 6 hours...well...it eats away at your soul! Haha!

After the harrowing storms last night, we were ready to get some distance from Connellsville and their super lightning attracting bridges! I walked out of our shelter in the early morning sunlight and greeted the day with my jaw on the concrete pad in front of me. That lightning blast we saw last night left a gaping hole in the river-scape of Connellsville. I've included a picture in the carousel at the end of this post. 

We packed up the stuff in our shelter, Jessi got us some breakfast (fed the morning coffee-monster wife), and still a bit sore from the day before, we hopped on the bikes and went for it. The weather was cool and glorious compared to yesterday. Also different from yesterday, today's ride was almost EXCLUSIVELY under canopy. Sunblock? What's that?

Today was the day of stunning bridges, raging rivers, waterfalls, and canopy shrouded paths. I took some great action shots of Team Huffowicz crossing bridges over those raging rivers and near to waterfalls!

A local man stopped by the shelters this morning and struck up a conversation with the guys in the shelter next to us, who arrived mid-storm and soaking wet. He wound up giving us some great trail advice about stopping on Ohiopyle to grab a bite to eat at the Ohiopyle Bakery and Sandwich Shoppe. They bake their own bread and goods daily and it was amazing! Jessi and I also got a cookie-dough cream brownie...because...hey we earned it ok!? Geez! Housed in the same shop, is "Bite My Weiner Ohiopyle," purveyors of fine hotdog products. Oh yes...before you ask, there are pictures! The Connellsville local cyclist also let us know that we HAD to go and see Cucumber falls while we were in Ohiopyle. We checked it out and it was, indeed, awesome! We also stopped in at the cool Ohiopyle visitors center and checked out this really awesome biological waste water project going on. The center also had a really cool mock up of people in a raft shooting the rapids there and a 3D topographical map of the park just like Lake Meade, NV. 

The guys who got caught in the storm and sheltered next to us last night have been locked in a cat and mouse game with us all day. I'm calling them the "Trail-bros." There was a very strong element of "bro-ness" going on with these guys, kind of like frat boys on vacation. They seemed to be picking on the one a bit, and I was worried that there might be a "bro-down" coming, but thankfully he took it like a champ. They came here from Colorado to ride the gap from Pittsburgh to DC. Also, they LOVE Jessi's trail-name! They call it at her excitedly when they pass by, "Hey, Groundhog!" I love it! Keep bro'ing on Trail-bros!

We made our way down to the main falls at Ohiopyle and got a great look at the falls and the opferkessels (aka panholes) in the surrounding rock from the water pooling over it for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Some of them were huge and deep. Why the fascination? For me it helps to put things into perspective. In the grand scheme of things, formations like these help to give me some tangible perspective about the relatively short time lifespans we have and how little we really accomplish in that short time if we don't make things a priority. It takes many many human lifespans to accomplish something like weather the rock into circular depressions. It takes one human lifespan to reach out and make the world a better place for those around you.

OK deep, feel-goody things aside, we struck out from Ohiopyle towards Confluence, PA, where we pulled off the trail for some saddle soreness advice from a local cycle shop. There we met Brad (a DC refugee and DoD retiree) at Confluence Cyclery, who gave us some sage advice on saddle-soreness and turned us on to the Western Maryland Rail Trail as an alternative to the KIDNEY POUNDING first part of the C&O Canal. It runs parallel to the C&O and eventually you can link back up with the C&O later after Big Pool. Pavement instead of ruts, roots, and rocks? YES PLEASE!

We let the Trail-bros know the next time we saw them. They will be taking that route too. 

After chugging up that soul-killing grade for what seemed to be DAYS, we finally made it into Rockwood, PA! Saddle sore and hungry, we checked into our hostel, started a load of laundry, and got the first showers we've had in 2 days. I know...rank right? I don't want to talk about it. Other topics not up for discussion...baby wipes and their uses while camping.

...moving on...

We are the only people here tonight. Apparently it's been an especially slow season for businesses on the trail this summer. While checking into the place Jessi made two new furry friends. Two cats seem to live outside the hostel and were super friendly. They approached Jessi and wanted ALL the pettings. We ambled our sore tired selves over to the shoppes next door and ordered two giant pizzas. Jessi ordered a banana split on the way out, which we shared in the hostel, before she went to bed and I went to the common room to write this on the wifi. There is NO CELL RECEPTION here, so we'll be catching up with folks tomorrow when we get into Cumberland.

Tomorrow's ride will be a challenge for the first part and then more of a downhill coast for the rest. Lodging plan for tomorrow is the Ramada Inn, another shower-having facility (YUSSSS!). 

Peace, love and Trail-bros from Team Huffowicz, everyone!

 

Day 4: Rockwood, PA (mi 44) to Cumberland, MD (mi 0)

44 mi - Completed Great Allegheny Passage Trail!

Wow! What a day! 

So how do I put this delicately... right now we're in a hotel in Cumberland, showered and fed...and I've got two TRASH BAGS full of ice on my quads. On top of that, sits my surface pro as I write this! Oh yes...it feels so gooooooood! Let's, you and I, make a pact right now, NOT to talk about where else these bags of ice were before they sat on top of my thighs? Cool? Ha! See what I did there?

All last night we were serenaded by the gentle music of passing train whistles and the loud clattering of tracks from approximately 75 ft behind the hostel we stayed in. CHOOOooooo CHOOOOOooooooo!

We actually barely noticed. We were so tired, I'm pretty sure that the train could have been rolling over me at that point, and I would have been fast asleep.

We woke up this morning, packed our gear together, grabbed some pictures of the hostel, and promptly got back on the trail to continue our climb to the Eastern Continental Divide after a breakfast of bike champions  (cold pizza for me, egg sandwich-like thing for Jessi).

When we left Rockwood, PA it was hazy and quite chilly. A dense fog sat over the area. Moving through the haze was like cycling through a cloud. We burned through the haze as we climbed from 1800 ft up to Garrett, where the sun beat down on us over the gorgeous farm fields and mountains. Near one of those farms, I spotted a bunch of peacocks down below the trail. I looked up on the trail and saw 2 peahens (female peacocks) crossing the trail in front of us! They looked so completely out of place in Southern Pennsylvania, but they were beautiful.

The sun warmed us up as we biked in and out of canopy covered sections of the fine gravel trail. By the time we hit Myersdale, the sun had warmed us up a bit much for our taste, so we took an extended break to enjoy the town and visitor's center there.

OK...now this is the part where I explain, "I'm not a 'trainiac,'" and you say, "yes, Josh, normal people think trains are cool and, in fact, take exorbitant amounts of time out of their day to tour train museums and explore a cabooses when they find them." 

Ok cool. I'm glad we got that out of the way because...

There was an ACTUAL tour-able caboose sitting out next to the  visitors center. You could climb INTO the caboose and look at the crew quarters, open up cabinets, take a nap on a bunk...whatever. (Please hold the caboose jokes...just kidding! They're hilarious!). Anywho, this place also has a museum with actual working model train sets running at the push of a button. They had 3 displays and a little build-your-own wooden piece-together track set with Thomas the Tank Engine toys. You know, the ones for the kids.

So naturally ... after I finished building a pretty epic Thomas the Train Engine track and then testing it out with Thomas and Sir Topham Hat (you have to test these things once you build them...I'm just saying...it's a safety thing), I walked around the room looking at the various bits of train memorabilia, starting and stopping the train sets as I went. No voices from the model trains for the conductors? No problem! I had that handled! Oh yea...did I mention that the train museum portion of the visitor center was oufitted like a train? Yeah...because it WAS.

 Meanwhile, Jessi chatted up the local visitor's center employee about the town, although more specifically - where to find coffee. We wound up deciding that we'd spent so much time there that we might as well grab some lunch. So we saw a subway advertised on the town visitor board, so we made for that. It's located right next to a local sandwich shop too...sigh...

Unable to make up our minds we went to Sheetz just across the street. Yes that's 3 sandwich places within less than a block. Oh well! Sheetz is a Western PA thing, so we thought...when in Rome, do what the Pennsylvanians do. I even extended this to my sandwich order and got fries on top my sandwich (that's a Western PA thing for the un-indoctrinated, and yes, it's weird).

Lunch was had. Fruity drinks were quaffed. Can I say quaffed there? I don't care anymore. I'm tired!

We got back on the trail and made for the continental divide and the Mason Dixon Line. Finally, at 2402 ft. elevation (reminder that we started at 1800 ft.) we reached the divide. It's all down-hill from there folks, literally. at 2402 ft. we go to DC at 15 ft. So there was a lot of "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" as we dropped about 1000 ft. after the divide.

It felt like fate was FINALLY smiling on us. It was pure biker karma. It was 2 days of slow gradual ascent, followed by the pure bliss of rolling down a giant hill!

There were some seriously stunning views of Southern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the surrounding mountains from those heights. It reminded me a bit of Shenandoah and Jessi thought the view was akin to the Pinnacle in Hamburg.

We found ourselves at the Mason Dixon Line in no time and took ample pictures. There is a monument there and some cobblestone, which shows the line created by surveyors. There are even tiny monuments of surveyor's tools on the ground to augment the experience. A large stone monument

We breezed through some amazing tunnels, including the Savage Mountain tunnel, which was just over a half mile long! It was so cold inside once we left the sunlight behind! Bike lamps were a must. The tunnel, an old railroad tunnel, is named for John Savage, a famous surveyor. Apparently there is a story that he "narrowly avoided cannabalism" during an expedition. So there's that...

We blew through Frostburg, MD and basically sped down the mountain like deranged test pilots in Space X jets (yeah, I went there). We followed the Western Maryland Railroad tracks all the way down into Cumberland, MD. Along the way we passed through some cool train tunnels and saw some turkeys crossing the tracks (the birds, not slow-poke riders).

Once in Cumberland, we promptly located the ZERO mile marker for the Great Allegheny Passage and had an epic Team Huffowicz high-five moment, which shook the ground around us for at least a 25 ft. radius (from awesomeness)!

We celebrated and took pictures and looked around a bit. Jessi needed a front wheel true at the bike shop down the trail about 100ft from the 0-mile marker so we headed there and I mapped our route to the hotel.

We checked into the hotel, showered (oh thank jeeeebus), and walked back downtown to our selected dinner destination, The Crabby Pig. We picked this place because it's perfect for us. Jessi eats no pork, I eat no seafood (eww you people are disgusting). Also...we really had need for margaritas. As you may know, margaritas FUEL Team Huffowicz. It is an indisputable scientific fact. The BBQ was sub-par, mostly because it was reheated. Their crab was great, according to Jessi (eww).

And now is the part where we wind up full circle...ice bags...pact to NOT talk about...well you know...

Tomorrow we will restart the mile counter at 184.5 to mile 0 in DC. Our trip includes some pretty amazing things tomorrow, including the LEGENDARY Paw Paw Tunnel. I'm very excited about that! The next three days on the C&O we are scheduled to be camping in Nat. Park campsites wherever we decide to stop. Tomorrow will also be a bigger mile day (somewhere in the area of 60). We're going to be relying on that gradual elevation loss until that party ends near Hancock.

No Trail-bros sightings today! I was deeply disappointed. I hope they are well and progressing unhindered in a bro-manner.

That's it for today, put down your Thomas the Train Engine tracks and get yourself a margarita to celebrate with us!
 

Day 5: Cumberland, MD (mi 184.5) to Hancock, MD (mi 125)

60+ mi (with backtrack to campsite)

This will be a short blog post today, as there is barely enough cell service here to connect. As for images, I may have to upload later. 

I am currently writing this post from inside our tent. It is pouring rain outside, and we are patiently waiting for the rain to stop. Ok, well I am waiting for the rain to stop. Jessi is still sleeping.

Yesterday we started the mileage counter over again on another trail, the C&O Canal. Now at milepost 125, we are on the home stretch!

The scenery was absolutely beautiful as we made our way out of Cumberland with exception to the sewage treatment plant on the way out of town. THAT we could have done without I think.

Our path wound around the mountains in northern MD today and included a rather famous, long and narrow tunnel, known as the Paw Paw Tunnel. Before reaching the tunnel, we stopped in Oldtown, MD for lunch at a local school. Yeah I know that sounds weird, but check this out...this high school was bought out by an entrepreneur. The man and his wife now operate a restaurant inside the old school building as well as a car shop for repairing antique vehicles. The couple also live in the upper floors of the school! Class photos line the restaurant portion of the building, and here's the really weird part...the owner actually went to school there. He and his wife now live and work in the place where he went to high school. That gives me the shivers! I think if I could buy the place where I went to school (and it IS actually for sale btw) I'd burn it to the ground and dance maniacally in the ashes, not live in it!

We met two fellows at the restaurant who told us that the nearby toll bridge is the only private toll bridge in operation currently. Apparently the owner charges for passage in and out of MD/WV. They are brothers, and they are taking the trip to DC together from Pittsburgh. It was cool to meet another group on the same course. We asked for a small ice cream just as a little something to keep us going, and the waitress brought us both cones of chocolate ice cream with half a foot of ice cream on them! It was ice cream madness! The cones were structurally unsound from the amount of ice cream that was on them. It was AWESOME!

We left Oldtown and made our way to the Paw Paw tunnel. Approaching the tunnel was chilling, literally. As we got closer and closer to the tunnel, the air grew colder and colder! The tunnel is just over a half mile long. They started building it in 1836 and it was completed in 1850. They had to stop halfway through building the tunnel because of a lawsuit and financial troubles. It feels VERY old, and the old bricks leak from the groundwater moving around the mountain that it is carved into. The walking path is VERY narrow. You would not be able to get two bikers through it, going in opposite directions without some serious lifting and maneuvering. It is a walk-your-bike only tunnel, and the floor is now full of ruts, puddles, and shifted debris. There is no electric lighting in this tunnel. You must use a flashlight to make it through. The tunnel goes on for over a half mile, so with bikes and lights it felt like forever...oh yeah...and it was TOTALLY CREEPY. It has that old musty smell to it. You know what I mean? When you catch a whiff of something and you know just from the smell, "Wow! That's seriously old!"

Once on the other side, feeling a little less boxed-in, we took a break from our long walk on hard concrete with biking cleats to enjoy the scenery. The scenery did not disappoint! just . below us in the canal was a water snake, which was hunting insects. We stood there and watched gracefully slink through the water in search of prey.

Just up the trail a small herd of deer were feeding on a nearby knoll. They crossed over the canal path right in front of us. One of them remained close by and I snapped a few pictures.

After the tunnel, the landscape was a mix of small gorges, rocky outcroppings, meadows, and farm fields. With the warm sun on our back, we buckled in and pushed towards Hancock. We rode through canal locks 75-56. At lock 56, we turned onto the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT). We were told about this trail by the owner of the cycle shop in Confluence. It's a paved trail that follows parallel to the C&O Canal trail. Being paved, it's not the kidney pounding rough trail that the C&O is. It was a welcome break. We felt like we were biking on air for 10 miles into Hancock. Along the way, we saw cliffs and caves carved out of the mountain by the old railroad. The only thing left of it now, is the path, the cuts through the mountains, and the old electric poles, which still have sagging, broken un-shielded wires hanging from them.

We arrived in Hancock and made our way to Buddy Lou's, a place we heard of from someone we met on the trail. It was FANTASTIC! I highly recommend it. The food was great and the drinks were sublime. They make their own sour mix, so the margaritas were extra good! The waitress told us it was her first time making the margaritas for a customer. We kindly informed her that she was doing it right! at about 8:30 we jumped back on the bikes and back-tracked 2.5 miles on the trail to our campsite for the night. The site we are staying at is called White Rock. I will find out sometime this morning why it's called that I imagine.

We set up our tent, and our neighbors stopped over to let us know that there was rain on the radar. The sweltering heat was a challenge but the falling temperature brought on by the rain as the night progressed made things better. 

At this point, it seems like the rain has slowed to a reasonable pace. Time to pack up camp, get our there and hit the pedals!

Today's journey takes us down through Williamsport, MD and Shepherdstown, WV (where we had our "mini-moon") to Haper's Ferry. There, we will make camp and make preparations for the next day (Friday) when we are planning to arrive home in DC!

Sof is going to pick us up in Georgetown, and we will be VERY excited to see her. The trip will culminate in a much needed trip to Guapos, or as Jessi and I so often call it on social media, "a wild cheesemoose hunt!"

No Trail-bros again today. We think they are likely way up ahead being bros and doing bro things.

Making a Day 6 post may be challenging later, so it might be delayed by a day. It may only get posted once we are home depending on conditions. Just a heads up!

Have a great day everyone!

Day 6: Hancock, MD (mi 125) to Brunswick, MD (mi 55)

70 mi

Today was an epic push and perhaps it was a bit too ambitious for us. After 209 miles on the trail, we decided that we wanted to modify our travel plans to push a little farther today so that we could stay in another hotel, do some laundry, and get showers.

We spent last night snuggled up in our tent. As you know from yesterday's post - it poured rain on us all night! I don't think either of us got much sleep.  I got up this morning at took some gorgeous pictures of the river from just below our camp site.  We got up early, broke camp, and headed to the Potomac Grill for hot coffee and a big breakfast to fuel our long day.  The staff at the Potomac River Grill was fantastic - really friendly and curious about our ride! Of course, wherever Jessi goes, she always seems to make a new furry friend. As soon as we pulled into the Potomac grill parking lot, a cat emerged from the woods and made a b-line for Jessi for a petting and belly rub session. On our way out of town, we stopped at Sheetz for subs & chips for lunch! 

The first part of our morning was glorious! We finished the last ten miles of The Western Maryland Rail Trail. A beautiful paved trail was the way to go!  When the trail ended we transferred over the C&O where we continued riding, and where we will be until our journey ends. The trail was especially muddied and potholed due to the overnight rain. The riding was more technically challenging that we are used to. It was difficult going, but at about 1 p.m. we arrived at Williamsport (mile 100) for lunch. We found picnic benches and enjoyed the company of fellow travelers - all of whom were going the opposite way. The trail is beautiful. It follows the Potomac River and the Canal. It affords some spectacular views, and in some cases, you ride through the canal locks. Most parts of the canal are overgrown and drained. Even if you filled the canal up with water now it would be useless for boat traffic. There are full-grown trees in the canal, and the canal frequently ends at major road crossings, only to continue on the other side of the road. The lock mechanisms are still there, but they are constructed of wood and are dilapidated. They have that same "old" smell, which you can detect while riding by as the sun bakes them.

After lunch we continued on our way! With 45 miles to go, we knew we needed to chase daylight and make time along the trail.  Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. Somewhere along the trail Jessi twisted her ankle and peddling for her became a massive chore.  Speed dropped from an average of 12 mph along the trail to about 8 mph and frequent breaks were required. 

We ended up not rolling into beautiful Brunswick until after 9 p.m. last night. After a long, slow day we were completely exhausted. We found our hotel room, which was conveniently attached to a 24-hour diner. We showered and got some much needed dinner. Finally, we fell asleep dreaming of the last 55 miles - praying for a miracle cure for a sore, twisted ankle to allow us to complete the ride.

Day 7: Brunswick, MD (mi 55) to Washington DC (mi 0)

55 miles - HOME, GLORIOUS HOME!

Total Trail Mileage: 334.5 mi
Total Mileage: 345.13

WE MADE IT!

After 6 days of biking along two trails, Jessi and I arrived home to DC. Over the past 7 days we have covered many many miles, journeyed together towards a common goal, learned a lot about each other, carried each other through good times and bad, and we learned some valuable lessons. We tested our physical endurance to the maximum, and we found that if we set our minds to it, we can do it together as a team, Team Huffowicz.

We woke up early in the morning at the Oak Tree Inn in Brunswick, MD, and I did a load of laundry in the guest laundry there. We wanted clean clothes to wear for our last day on the trail. We had 55 miles to go after a harrowing day before. The Oak Tree Inn in Brunswick is a truly awesome place. The staff was so incredibly kind and down to earth. They were super helpful and they were EXTREMELY understanding about our late arrival the night before and some very difficult circumstances that lead to our late arrival. They went out of their way to take care of us. I will be forever grateful. 

The hotel was seriously the cleanest and nicest place I have ever stayed overnight. The room was fantastic and the shower was phenomenal. Thee Oak Tree Inn has a contract with the railroad (CSX) to have 18 rooms available at all times to workers coming off the line in need of a place to sleep and recharge. This would explain why I saw what I saw when I turned on the TV in our room! Haha! I'm going to keep this blog PG-13, so if you REALLY have to know...you can ask. Otherwise I'm pretty sure you can guess.

There is a 24-hour diner attached to the Inn, and the diner also serves as the hotel office. The diner seems to be kept at a cool 53 degrees, but it was welcome after a hot day on the bikes.

Jessi's ankle was better that morning, but her right knee was showing some seriously bad signs. We sat down in the morning and evaluated the possibility of calling the trip off right there in Brunswick and having Sofie come and pick us up. After careful thought and self evaluation, Jessi decided that we had only 55 miles to home and that we should at least try for it. She is a trooper! There are things about my wife that still surprise me. Her resolve to carry through with this trip to the end is truly amazing. She's a rock star....MY Rock Star (you can't have her)! We decided that we would pace ourselves and make frequent stops when needed for her.

We completed the load of laundry and packed up our gear for the day. We dropped our pannier bags off at the training room, where our bikes were very kindly being stowed. Hungry, trail weary, and hurting from places that I don't want to talk about right now, we ambled down to the diner for a meal. While at the diner, we met 4 women bicyclists, who were out for the day on a training jaunt. They are planning to complete the same trip that we are doing and were out taking their gear on the trail for a practice ride. One of them lives in Old Town Alexandria! They were super cheery, polite, and very excited about the day! We had the opportunity to share some trail gems with them that we learned on our way down. Jessi gave them a business card with our blog written on it in case they have any questions for us about our trip. Ladies, if you're reading this, feel free to get in contact.

We let Sof know that we were going to make an attempt to get home on our own, and off we went. We rolled about 1.7 mi down the steep hills back to the trail and began the final 55 mi leg of our journey. The trail today included an impossibly long climb up past numerous hiker/biker campsites. We stopped and re-fueled at a few of them, pumping water from the wells before moving on. 

We arrived at Point of Rocks, MD and took a short break before moving on. People were putting in and out of the docking area there with canoes and kayaks. The bridge over Point of Rocks was lovely. 

We proceeded to our next stop at White's Ferry, which is the only privately operated ferry on the Potomac River. It still carries, vehicles, bicycles, and people across the river. Cars were lined up to cross the river as we approached. The actual craft is called the General Jubal Early, named for the famous confederate general. It gave me chills. I don't fully understand why people have chosen to continue to memorialize individuals such as Early, Stuart, and Lee, given their cause. Please don't try to lecture me about "heritage" or "struggle for state's rights," because quite frankly, both of those arguments boil down to one single thing: a legacy of exploitation (of all types) and murder.

When we arrived, one of the women from the diner met us along the road. She was driving her bike back home to Alexandria now, their training trip had been completed. She let us know about the sandwich shop at the ferry house, which also sells cold drinks. At this time, I feel the need to acknowledge how wonderfully nice everyone we met on the trail has been, especially these ladies.

 A motorist stopped as I was taking pictures of the National Park signage and told me that I should go down and take pictures of the ferry house. He told me that the ferry house has flood level markings on the house for all of the floods that have affected the area. It was massively cool!

We hopped back on our bikes and pressed on passed gorgeous canal locks and aqueducts toward Great Falls. Before too long, we were witnessing familiar sights of the breathtaking Potomac Gorge. We arrived at Great Falls (mi 14), one of our favorite DC-Area National Parks (on the MD side) and stopped briefly for a picture before coasting down the hills and dropping 100 ft more elevation. It felt fantastic to be so close to home. The trail is very familiar to us from here on. We knew we were close to home.

A few canal locks later and some beautiful rocky outcroppings, we could see Roslyn, a DC suburb in Arlington VA, over our right shoulders. Slowly, DC buildings came into sight and the Capital Crescent trail emerged beneath us. The trail became incredibly busy with folks out for day trips. Finally, we arrived in Georgetown and found ourselves crossing a small foot-bridge to the other side of the canal to continue. The ramp on the opposite side of the canal is so washed out that it is nearly impassable. The signage is scratched and unclear about where to go in order to continue along to the end of the trail. Jessi will be contacting some NPS colleagues about it. It was seriously dangerous, not ride-able, and scary. We basically walked our bikes through most of Georgetown. When we found an opportunity to try, we hopped back on the bikes to complete the final mile. It was at this point that Jessi broke her shoe. The fastening mechanism broke and loosened her whole shoe. she was able to temporarily fix it to ride again on the last 1/8th mi stretch. 

While walking up one of the brick foot paths, an elderly woman stopped me with a question, "Excuse me, but how far does this trail go?" I laughed and let her know that, in our case it went to Pittsburgh, PA. The woman did a double-take and her husband let out a gasp. I clarified that the C&O terminates in Cumberland, but the Great Allegheny Passage picks up from there until Pittsburgh. Her conclusion: "So I could get on this trail and go quite a way in that direction [points north]." I shook my head in acknowledgement.

We hopped on the bikes and came round on the trail by the Rock Creek Parkway. The parking lot came into view and we saw Yoshi (that's the name of our very green car)! We were so relieved! Sofie was waiting there for us with a great big smile! She had Gatorade for us and salted cashews! It was heaven. It was surreal. Jessi and Sofie began the task of putting the rack on the car, while I continued the 1/8th of a mile to mile marker 0. I had to see it. I had to touch it. It would only be real once I felt it against my fingers, once I stood in front of it.

Mile marker 0 is located behind the Thompson Boat Center. You have to pass in front of the river portion of the center where the docks are located in order to get to it. You go around the corner of the building past a fence, and along a narrow footpath to get to it . It marks the end of the C&O Canal in the most anti-climactic way. It's a granite marker(more grand that the others) and it overlooks the Potomac River and DC/VA. There is NO SIGNAGE to find this marker. I had to ask a dock-worker in order to find it. I took a few pictures and went back to Jessi and Sof in the parking lot.

There were no more Trail-bros sightings! Wherever the Trail-bros are, we wish them well and we hope they are somewhere in a bar bro'ing out over their accomplishment!

We came home, where the kitties were VERY happy to see us. Thank you, Casey Blake, for taking such good care of them while we were gone! We showered (much needed) and then went out to Guapos with Sof for the most deserved margaritas in human history!!

Thank you so much for following along with this blog! If you have any questions, feel free to send any to teamhuffowicz@outlook.com.