Bears & Birds

 Time for some wildlife sightings.

Bears have been visiting our wildlife camera on a regular basis lately.

Mama bear and cub. (October 24)

Dancing bear - the camera caught a running bear with all four feet off the ground. (November 7)

This may be the largest bear I've seen around here - prowling through the woods at midnight. Looks good and fat for the winter. (November 24)

Most likely the same bear, three days later at 8:30 AM - if not, there are two large bears running around the woods! (November 27)

In the meantime, our other camera caught a nice time sequence of crows.

Taken over the course of one minute: First there was just one crow, then two, then three, and finally four before they left the scene.

And lastly, a brilliant red cardinal - probably the same male that spends the entire day trying to get into our house banging into our windows and deck door.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to my tripod, so the resulting photo is a bit blurry.

Allegheny Trail

Today the Monday Morning Hikers tackled a small section of the Allegheny Trail. We started at the Jerry's Run trailhead and turned around at the top of Allegheny Mountain - the Virginia-West Virginia state line and the Eastern Divide. We waited for cooler weather (for the required physical exertion) and leafless trees (for better views). For a summer view of this same trail, check out an earlier blog post.

The start of the trail. It's muzzle-loading season for deer, so blaze orange (or other bright colors) were recommended. We also noted that the trailhead kiosk had been repainted and notices updated. The day started cool, but an uphill hike required shedding layers pretty quickly.

Sometimes the trail blaze still works even if the tree has changed position.

Approaching the top.

At the top. The guidebook says that the sign was known to be there in 2017. We can now vouch for its existence in 2020.

On the way back down. As expected, the return trip took a good bit less time.

The view from the top of the trail is still obscured by a lot of trees.

For about half the hike, the trail follows a ridge that snakes up to the top.

A male Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). The eponymous question mark is apparently on the underside of the wing.

GAP - C&O Canal - Day 9

 Tuesday, 20 October 2020

White's Ferry (Leesburg) to Washington (Georgetown), 32 miles

The last day of the ride had some spectacular sights: wildlife, Great Falls, beautiful vistas.

Resurfacing was underway from milepost 25 to milepost 23. We had to ride around piles of "crush and run" and small heavy equipment. And we mentioned to each worker how much we appreciated their work on the trail!

Resurfacing the towpath.

The Seneca Creek Aqueduct is the only one made from red stone -- the same stone that was used to make the Smithsonian "castle" on the mall in Washington. The upstream arch was destroyed in a flood in 1971 and has been replaced with a bridge.

Sue at Lock 22.

It was a good day for wildlife. Here a great blue heron was searching for fish from rocks in the Potomac.

We finally had a day that was warm enough for turtles to emerge from the canal to get some sunny warmth on a log.

A "small" flume separating Olmstead Island (left) from the river bank (right). Olmsted Island is really just an impenetrable set of boulders in the middle of the Potomac. A boardwalk crosses Olmsted Island for a view of the main channel. 

The main channel at Great Falls.

A panorama of Great Falls. The river drops over 70 ft in less than a mile with numerous 20-ft drops.

The overlook on the Maryland side (where the previous two pictures were taken).

"Widewater". Below Great Falls the canal enters a wide channel that was formerly part of the river. It is protected from the current Potomac River by a guard wall. Mother Nature doesn't always respect man's intentions and floods have been known to top the guard wall and flood this section.

Milepost 0 is in a well-hidden location where Rock Creek enters the Potomac. If you don't have a map, it would be nearly impossible to find -- you have to go through Thompson's Boat Center to get there, and this definitely feels like you are trespassing on private property.

We haven't gotten any better at selfies.

Washington panorama from the Key Bridge. After completing our ride, we had to cross the Potomac to pick up a rental minivan in Rosslyn to drive back to Pittsburgh and retrieve our truck.

GAP - C&O Canal - Day 8

Monday, 19 October 2020 

Harpers Ferry to White's Ferry (Leesburg), 26 miles

This was our shortest day of our trip, only 26 miles -- and entirely resurfaced in the last two years. What a treat! By the end of the day, we've ridden bikes through two states (Pennsylvania and Maryland), but spent the night in four states (adding West Virginia and Virginia).

Harpers Ferry: A final view of the bridge over the Potomac.

Lon walking his bike across the pedestrian bridge. Even on Monday morning, there were quite a few tourists in Harpers Ferry.

An osprey nest on the bridge. Ospreys will put a nest on any high flat surface that is near water.

Pushing my bike up a steep bank after cross a small creek on a footbridge. After taking a tumble yesterday while trying to ride across a similar footbridge, I walked over all remaining small bridges.

Catoctin Creek Aqueduct

Catoctin Creek

Sue on the Monocacy Aqueduct.

The Monocacy Aqueduct is the longest aqueduct on the canal, with seven arches spanning a total of 516 ft.

Canal and towpath (Potomac off to the right). Sometimes the canal water is reasonably clear (foreground), and sometimes it's covered in algae and other vegetation (background).

Someone had added Jack O Lanterns to the wall of Lock 26. Lon joined them.

Our night's lodging was on the outskirts of Leesburg, VA, so we crossed the Potomac on the "Historic" White's Ferry (toll $2 for bicycles). White's Ferry is the last operating cable ferry on the Potomac, and the only way for vehicles to cross the Potomac between US-15 at Point of Rocks and I-495 just outside Washington. We got a shuttle ride to the hotel.

GAP - C&O Canal - Day 7

 Sunday, 18 October 2020

Williamsport to Harpers Ferry, 40 miles

It's Sunday, so we shared the great scenery and historical sites with a lot of people. Harpers Ferry was particularly crowded.

Lon bikes along the "Big Slackwater" section of the towpath. In this 2 1/2 mile stretch above Dam 4, the canal disappears and the canal boats/barges used the river. As you can see, it was difficult just to make room for a towpath, much less a canal, too, between the river and the rock bluffs.

The Big Slackwater section of the towpath was opened in 2012 after a $19 million restoration project.

McMahon's Mill

Dam 4

Sue at Dam 4.

The guard gate at Dam 4 protected the downstream canal from flooding.

Towpath. The depression at left is the remains of the canal. The Potomac is off to the right.

In several sections the Potomac was filled with large boulders -- similar to the James River at Richmond.

North bank (Maryland side) of the Potomac at Harpers Ferry: Lock 33, "Maryland Heights" cliffs, and two railroad bridges crossing the Potomac. Just below the railroad bridge, the Shenandoah River enters the Potomac.

Two railroads emerge from a tunnel in Maryland, and then immediately cross the Potomac into Harpers Ferry, WV. The bridge on the right has one of the two tracks turned into a footpath across the Potomac. This is also the route for the Appalachian Trail. Harpers Ferry was crowded shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists.

To get to the footpath over the Potomac, you had to climb up about 25 feet on a busy, spiraling staircase.

High Street in Harpers Ferry. Despite how it looks, this is a steep street!