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Fri., May 26, 7:57 PM
We are camped just down river of Paw Paw, eleven miles from our starting point at Oldtown, Md. Our campsite is a rocky beach and a flat, grassy area up the bank above high water. We were on the river today by 1 PM, stopped for lunch, and arrived here by 5:30 PM. Along the way we inspected an old C&O Canal aqueduct. The graceful arches of these aqueducts are classic.
We paddled through several brief showers until it finally cleared up about 3:30 when we put our raincoats away for good. Let's hope it stays that way for the rest of our trip. According to Ray, Theresa was responsible for each shower because she kept removing her jacket each time it would stop. Since Theresa has had to put up with her uncle's good natured harassment since the beginning of these trips twenty-four years ago she can handle it well.
Theresa just fed us a filling supper of kielbasa, baked beans, and "Hob Nobs" (oatmeal cookies coated on one side with a slab of chocolate). Perhaps it is a good thing that we are sleeping in the great outdoors. Ray is in charge of all of our lunches. Today we had roast beef and turkey sandwiches, chips, and "Le Petit Ecolier" chocolate cookies. Eating is something we always do well. This is not a time to lose weight.
The sun is slowly setting and some strange insect is serenading us. The sky is clearing for a perfect day tomorrow. Chris and Robbie, who were supposed to come with us, are missing a great trip.
Sat., May 27, 5:17 PM
Our memorable experience today was stopping at the 3000 foot long tunnel that was constructed to carry the canal through a mountain. You can still walk through the tunnel on the towpath (now bicycle path), see the water in the canal, and imagine what it must have been like to build such an engineering marvel in the 1830's. So much money and effort was expended on a project that the railroad made obsolete even before the canal was completed.
We are ensconced in a well-groomed C&O Canal campsite called "Stickpile", about 25 miles from Hancock, our goal. We paddled 13 miles today and couldn't pass up such a great site with its picnic table, portajon, well water, fire pit with wood, and level mowed tent sites. Being Memorial Day weekend means competition. A couple without a map were actually pulled over at this spot but did not realize the site was up the path. We graciously offered to share but they decided to push on, assisted by a gift of maps from us so they could actually find the next site.
We started under cloudy skies this morning but soon broke out into a gorgeous sunny day on the river. Here we made camp early (3:30), bathed (we are now fit for society, almost), and are relaxing while Jean prepares her famous quinoa, chicken, onion, and peppers supper for us.
The current is swift, the water level is high enough to carry us comfortably over all of the ledges, the wind is often in our faces to tell us we are going the right direction, and the company is stimulating. All we lack is Richie to blame things on, but we can do it in absentia. The dirty silverware found left in the dishpan this morning was, everyone agreed, Richie's fault.
Sun., May 28, 2:34 PM
We were on the river by 9:00 this morning and made good time, helped often by the continued swift current, and made our 16 miles for the day by 2:00 this afternoon. This left us plenty of time to laze about, explore, clean up, read, and be decadent. We are camped at Capacon Junction, across from the Capacon River and a scenic double arched railroad bridge over it. Unfortunately we have the train and the car traffic on a parallel bridge to disrupt our solitude. We do like the amenities of these hiker-biker campsites, though, and have no intention of moving on.
The day has been pleasantly warm here in the shade but almost hot in the sun. A cooling dip in the Potomac was a welcome relief from the heat. Now, once again, we have plenty of leisure time to relax, read, take photos, enjoy the scenery, and explore the nearby locks of the old canal. We are looking forward to Theresa's buffalo chili. Earlier today we even had a cell phone signal but we all reached answering machines. At least we let our spouses know that we were thinking of them. As I write we have our cameras at the ready for when a train crosses the trestle right in front of us. Our goal is to get a shot as the engine starts across. This is truly a leisurely canoe trip, a trip suitable for any "old men" even though two of our company are women and one is downright young.
Mon., May 29, 7:00 PM
We are now back at Theresa's, showered, in clean clothes, and awaiting supper of barbecued burgers, corn on the cob, and potato salad. Today's 10 mile paddle was pleasant, our car was waiting for us in the parking lot at Hancock, and we are content to have completed another memorable trip. The weather is finally turning uncomfortably warm and humid but who cares? We are sitting in air conditioning and ready to plan next year's Old Man's Trip.
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Copyright © 2006 Scott Clark