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Previously: AT, Shenandoah - Duncannon

Fresh Beaver Wood Chips

Potomac Heritage
National Scenic Trail

Homestead Strike Memorial

Great Allegheny Passage

Wednesday, October 26, 2016
From 2-7am, I read in the Pittsburg bus station, after an overnight ride from the Appalachian Trail at Duncannon. At some point, over the PA it was announced that those without tickets were not allowed in the bus station, and there would be a check. For a while, I was a bit worried that being kicked out of a bus station would be a new low in my life, but things worked out. From tonight through Sunday, some chance of rain is predicted, with the highest chances Thursday. When I left the bus depot and a taxi driver began to harangue me, I had a little fun explaining my plan to walk to Washington. I walked through the arriving workforce and the lights in downtown Pittsburg into a beautiful sunrise. The first few miles were on a noisy and ugly freeway median, but the alternate 3 Rivers path across the river might be more interesting next time. After crossing the Hot Metal Bridge, there were always multiple rail lines, some still active, and historic and present industrial sites. The river had many bridges and barge tie points, and in one area barges had been sunk and filled with dirt to protect the riverbank. However, being an engineer, I enjoyed walking through the scrap sorting and other industrial yards and remnants. I was chatting with some historic preservationists at the Homestead Pumphouse after their meeting, and they gave me a ride to buy a bike. I got one with fenders because rain is predicted for most days of my ride, but the frame is a little small for me. I saw White Tail Deer and Woodchucks, and photographed one roadkilled Woodchuck.
Miles: 38
Camp: Cedar Creek
Maps: Great Allegheny Passage Handout

Bridge

Woodpecker Holes in Brick Morter

Mine Discharge In many Superfund Sites around the US, Iron Pyrite, Fool's Gold, Iron Sulfide, FeS2, naturally occuring in a mine, weathers more readily after disturbance from mining, and contaminates ground water with dilute Sulfuric Acid. The acid in turn dissolves Iron and Heavy Metals, further contaminating the ground water. Some of the metals precipitate when the water reaches the surface, discoloring the ground like this.

Thursday, October 27, 2016
Today's ride was less industrial. There were plenty of small settlements and always an active rail line across the river, but most areas felt less developed. I saw a Bald Eagle and some Beaver felled trees. It rained lightly of and on through the day. Yesterday and today I rejected camping early at free camp areas with multiple AT style shelters because semi-homeless, not quite mentally with it guys seemed to be living in one of the shelters. There are 4 such sites, and it may be that some guys live walking or riding up and down the trail every few days, sleeping in shelters when it rains or always. Things like this happen on the major hiking trails much less frequently, perhaps because of the difficulty of walking between towns. Coking beehive ovens, coal seams, and many trickling waterfalls were highlights today. There are, on the GAP, occasionally fix it stands that have basic wrenches, screwdrivers, tire irons, and a pump.
Miles: 40 78
Camp: Ohio Pyle
Maps: Great Allegheny Passage Handouts

Coke Oven Thousands of these ovens once heated coal to drive off all elements but carbon, as other elements would contaminate and weaken steel. The purified coal is known as Coke. Coke is used both as a fuel to heat iron ore and as a source of carbon to strip oxygen from iron ore. Earlier in history, wood was reduced to charcoal, also fairly pure carbon, by much the same process and for the same reason. Making Iron or Steel from Coke or Charcoal, Iron Ore, and Limestone Coke or Charcoal is burned to produce Carbon Monoxide, CO, and heat: 2C + O2 → 2 CO A balanced Boudouard reaction keeps Carbon Monoxide present in a Blast Furnace, an oven which produces steel from Iron Ore, Iron Oxide, Rust: 2CO ⇌ CO2 + C Ores and Oxides of Iron: Iron(II) FeO Wüstite Black Rare Iron(III) Fe2O3 Ferric Oxide Hematite Dark Red Main ore of iron, Ferromagnetic, readily attacked by acids Iron(II,III) Fe3O4 Magnetite Black Exhibits Permanent Magnetism, Ferrimagnetic The Carbon Monoxide strips Oxygen from the iron oxide to produce molten iron and carbon dioxide: 3Fe2O3 + CO → 2Fe3O4 + CO2 Fe3O4 + CO → 3FeO + CO2 FeO + CO → Fe + CO2 Limestone is used to strip other impurities from the iron. Limestone decomposition yeilds calcium oxide and carbon dioxide: CaCO3 → CaO + CO2 The calcium oxide formed by Limestone decomposition reacts with acidic impurities in the iron, such as silica, forming a fayalitic slag which is mostly calcium silicate, CaSiO3. SiO2 + CaO → CaSiO3

Waterfall

Friday, October 28, 2016
I spooked 3 Whitetail Deer and saw a Belted Kingfisher. The weather cleared by lunch, but the promise of a shower and laundry drew me a hostel. Rain is likely Sunday afternoon and night, and again Thursday and Friday, but the weather will probably be sunny otherwise.
Miles: 27 105
Camp: Rockwood Hostel
Maps: Great Allegheny Passage Handouts

Rat Snake

Waterfall

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
National Historic Park

Tow Rope worn Grooves in Stone Blocks of Canal Lock Walls

Stone

The C&O Canal is often right next to a Railroad. Railroads were crude, just a little better than dirt roads, when the C&O Canal was started in 1828, but were by far the superior technology by the 1870s. Competition with the B&O, Western Maryland, and other nearby railroads had everything to do with the limited success of the C&O Canal.

Wooden Boat Bumper in Canal Wall

Unstable Canal Structures are often Backfilled to
prevent complete collapse. Lock 48.

Lock Gate

Layers in Stone Blocks of Canal Lock Walls.

Saturday, October 29, 2016
A Rat Snake lying across the bike path was quite reluctant to move. There were frogs, turtles, and Mallards on the C&O Canal. Several tunnels and long bridges were interesting.
Miles: 53 158
Camp: Iron Mountain Site Mile 175
Maps: Great Allegheny Passage, C&O Canal Handouts

I found it curious that these Lock Hinge straps were always cut
into the surface of the top of the Stone Lock Walls.

Railroad Bridge Joint

Red Sandstone Lock Wall Repaired with Red Clay Bricks and
Various Types of Stone

Mud Wasp Nest
One Cell Subdivided by a Later Insect

Layers in Stone Blocks of Canal Lock Walls.

Sunday, October 30, 2016
I stopped to look at many locks, culverts, drains, and other canal structures. The differences in construction materials and quality between sites were more than I would expect. The Paw Paw Tunnel was in good shape for its age. I saw White Tail Deer, a 12" snake, turtles, frogs, fish, and a Great Blue Heron. A burger at Bill's in Little Orleans was a treat. I camped soon afterwards as light rain had started.
Miles: 35 193
Camp: Indigo Neck Site Mile 140
Maps: C&O Canal Handout

Paw Paw Tunnel, 3,118 feet

Indian V-shaped Weir Fish Trap in Potomac River

Railroad Bridge Joint

Rust formed in Paint Blister

Monday, October 31, 2016
I saw a beaver and a hawk carrying away some prey. I took a few picture of a dead mole. Lunch and groceries in Hancock were nice. The Western Maryland Rail Trail had different types of interpretive displays than the canal, and was usually just above the canal, giving a different viewpoint than the towpath.
Miles: 40 233
Camp: Jordan Junction Site Mile 101
Maps: C&O Canal Handout, Western Maryland Rail Trail Handout

Snake

C&O Canal Aqueduct with Missing Wall

Efflorescence on Concrete Bridge Pier

Stalagtite Straws from Dissolving Cement

Tuesday, November 1, 2016
I saw a Pileated Woodpecker and some White Tail Deer. A walker told me the Montour Rail Trail, partially encircling Pittsburg, terminates at the airport, and therefore might be a different and more distant start for a future repeat trip. The Panhandle Rail? Trail, 25? Miles, to Weirton?, West Virginia, might be another more distant starting point. The Three Rivers Heritage Trails might be more complete by then and provide different routes through Pittsburg. A system of rail trails from Pittsburg to Lake Erie is 60% complete. Any of these options may not have camping and would therefore require research into lodging. The GAP PDF map shows parts of these trails. The same walker recommended I hike the uppermost segment of the Billy Goat Trail as it runs along impressive rapids. I saw tow rope wear grooves in a few stones today. There were several V fish trap weirs in the Potomac River. I missed the Ferry Hill trail and exhibit.
Miles: 38 271
Camp: Huckleberry Hill Site Mile 63
Maps: C&O Canal Handout

Only a few locks towards DC had these horizontally pivoting Drop Gates,
and only on the upstream Gate of the Lock.

C&O Canal Aqueduct Iron Railing Lap Weld

Harpers Ferry NHP

Culvert - Repaired once with Reinforced Concrete and Collapsed Again

Railroad Bridge Joint

Lock Gate

Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Today's theme was Harpers Ferry. I first walked up the Civil War military road to the naval battery on Maryland Heights. It was steep and I was sweating like a pig. The placard said 300 Marines and Sailors had hauled multiple 9000 pound guns up the same road at the start of the Civil War. So much for feeling sorry for myself. The entire river gorge was fogged in, so I saw little point in continuing up the hill to other viewpoints and fortification ruins, usually just holes in the ground. I crossed the Potomac and visited all the Harpers Ferry museums and walked to all the ruins on Virginius Island in the Shenandoah River. Then I hiked to ATC Headquarters by a clockwise route picking up as many historic sites and viewpoints as I could.
Miles: 15 Camp: Harpers Ferry Hostel Mile 59
Maps: C&O Canal, Harpers Ferry Handouts

Lock Gate Iron Hardware

Western Maryland Railroad Bridges

Insect

Thursday, November 3, 2016
I got pictures of several collapsed culvert tunnels, whereas before I had seen many sinkholes, but not tunnel structure. One lady had complained yesterday that in spite of complaints, the park refuses to fix the culverts under the C&O Canal. The former B&O, now CSX, rail line had many coal trains running. I wondered if efficiency-wise, it wouldn't be better to burn the coal at the mine and build low loss transmission lines rather than running coal trains. The Catoctin and ? rail tunnels had nice brick portals, and some rail bridges were of beautiful stone work. I saw many White Tail Deer, Great Blue Herons, and Turtles. A hawk eating on the towpath flew his prey across the canal, and a Turkey Vulture flying among the trees was nowhere near as graceful as if he were in free sky. There were two woodchucks. A black shiny 30" snake was in a pocket on a canal wall. Some canal works were better maintained, lock gates are rebuilt, and the canal is sort of filled now that I'm approaching DC.
Miles: 42 328
Camp: Swain's Lock #21 Site Mile 17
Maps: C&O Canal Handout

Bridge Over Bypass Flume

C&O Canal Aqueduct Iron Railing

Friday, November 4, 2016
There were again many Great Blue Herons, White Tail Deer, and turtles along the CO Canal. Several locks had horizontally pivoting gates with fancy winches at the upstream gate only. I walked the Olmstead Island Trail to the the Potomac Great Falls and Billy Goat Trails A and C. The river gorge was deep and pretty but I was surprised at how little water there seemed to be, as compared my feeling of a great deal of water in the Shenandoah and Potomac at Harpers Ferry. I reached the Potomac River Tidewater at mid afternoon. There was enough time before dark to secure 6 nights of lodging at $240, a train ticket to San Diego at $269, and a few groceries. I also picked up a weeks worth of cotton T shirts, underwear, and socks. After months of wearing sweaty, smelly plastic trail clothing, being clean and wearing cotton, and not expecting to be sweaty, smelly, and muddy again tomorrow, was a great luxury. I pondered the fact that this year I've hiked and biked well in excess of 5,500 miles and I feel great. Sure, I'm a bit saddle sore and my knees hurt some days, but that will be gone in a week or two. After half a dozen years of being retired and hiking full time, I think the plan has worked quite well for me.
Miles: 22 350
Camp: Hostel in DC
Maps: C&O Canal Handout, PATC D, DC Handout

Insect Larvae Gallery in Hollow Tree

Canal Boat

Lock Bypass Flume Gate

Washington
District of Columbia

Bas Relief

Flower

Saturday, November 5, 2016
The museums typically open at 10am, so beginning at dawn, I walked to the many monuments on the Mall and tidal basin. I liked the artificial waterfalls at the FDR memorial. Among the museum displays, Death and the Children, a 2002 film short, stood out as both being funny and expressing many ideas about death. The National Gallery of Art east building encourages engagement by passing out sketchbooks and pencils and allowing photography. People were enjoying themselves and studying the art much more than at typical museums.
Miles: 10 360
Camp: Hostel in DC
Maps: DC Handouts

Granite only looks like this in the Smithsonian!

Sunday, November 6, 2016
The morning walk was to the end of the peninsula of East Potomac Park. I've now seen most of the museums on the mall. The west building of the NGA, in contrast to the east, seems to be going for the stuffiest, most sleep inducing museum on the planet. I had to leave when I started to slump on a bench.
Miles: 10 370
Camp: Hostel in DC
Maps: DC Handouts

Sedges, Rushes, Grasses

Monday, November 7, 2016
I rode the Mount Vernon Trail, the Four Mile Run, the Washington and Old Dominion trails, and returned by the Custis Trail. I saw many Canada Geese, Mallards, and Great Egrets. There were side parks off the bike routes.
Miles: 51 421
Camp: Hostel in DC
Maps: Mount Vernon Trail, DC and Alexandria Bike Route Handouts

Leaves floating in the Tidal Basin.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016
I rode the Custis, Bluemont, Washington & Old Dominion, Chain Bridge, and Capital Crescent trails. I turned back early when I noted the air pressure in the rear tire was low. The W&OD wasn't exciting enough to risk getting stuck miles away from DC. I saw a hawk grab a rodent from a bushy pile of vines just ~5' after he registered in my vision. He flew off behind some trees with the prey hanging below. I stopped to examine the Alexandria Aqueduct ruins which once floated C&O canal boats over the Potomac, as I hadn't really figured out their significance when riding the canal a few days ago.
Miles: 35 456
Camp: Hostel in DC
Maps: W&OD, DC and Alexandria Bike Route Handouts

Squirrel

Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Considering all the hiking I do on National Park, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife, and Indian lands, I thought I'd like to see the Department of the Interior Museum. But it was a disgrace, displaying little more than a few pictures of movies being filmed on public lands. I cheered myself up watching millions of dollars moving around in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and saw a few museums I'd missed on the first pass. It rained intermittently.
Miles: 10 466
Camp: Hostel in DC
Maps: DC Handouts

Snake Lady

Thursday, November 10, 2016
I visited the National Zoo, and especially enjoyed the reptiles. The H Street Walmart a couple of blocks from DC's Union Train Station had a selection of cheap bikes and equipment. Bikes with gears or racks were only a little more expensive than the one I bought. I never had to ride far on steep ascents in my backpack on this path, but for other routes gears and racks might be worthwhile. I then boarded the Capital Limited Train 29 to Chicago. One downstairs room was dedicated to vertical bike racks. The bikes didn't need to be boxed or disassembled. As I rode along the C&O Canal, I recognized a few sites. I saw many White Tail Deer. It was too dark to see much after Harpers Ferry.
Miles: 10 476
Camp: Train 29
Maps: DC Handouts

Train to San Diego

Friday, November 11, 2016
Not much of interest happened.
Miles: 0 476
Camp: Train 3 Southwest Chief

Saturday, November 12, 2016
There were many White Tail Deer, Red Tail Hawks, and a large funnel cloud of birds, with many more on the ground below, in the cornfields of the great plains. I saw herds of Pronghorn Antelope.

In New Mexico, I saw Pronghorn, Great Blue Herons, and Canada Geese. Some mountains to the north were snow covered.
Miles: 0 476
Camp: Train 3 Southwest Chief

Sunday, November 13, 2016
From the Pacific Surfliner Train I saw Brown Pelicans, Ducks, Geese, etcetera, as I passed the coastal wetlands. I spent the afternoon with Gene.
Miles: 0 476
Camp: Deerhorn Valley

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