Harper's Ferry Biking, August 8-9, 2018

It was a short drive to our next stop, Brunswick Family Campground.  The attraction here was that the campground was nestled between the Potomac River and the abandoned C&O Canal and, more importantly, the C&O Canal Towpath, which is now part of a great bicycle trail connecting Pittsburgh and Washington, DC.  Although Karen and I are not likely to traverse the entire trail, this section was attractive as it gave us walking and cycling access to some nice spots including Harper's Ferry and Brunswick, MD.  All without having to move the RV!

Our first day we rode our bikes to Harper's Ferry and back.  Due to a lot of rain and storms over the past weeks, the C&O Towpath had a lot of mud and puddles.  It's about six and a half miles each way to Harper's Ferry, so we felt this would be a good day of exercise.  And it was!  Although the trail is quite flat following the river bank, we still had to contend with a number of other bikers which meant we often had to stick to our own side of the trail taking us directly through several quite muddy puddles.

Confluence of Shenandoah River (from right)
as it joins the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry

Karen climbs the stone steps that
eventually lead to Jefferson Rock

There is a lot of history in Harper's Ferry, especially around the period just before, during and after the US Civil War, to be learned from the National Park Service, local displays and buildings. 



We walked a couple miles around town and up to Jefferson Rock, above town.   We also walked through the renovated train station (which I had ridden past on many Amtrak trains, but never ventured off the trains) and enjoyed a pleasant lunch at a nice restaurant appropriately called "Almost Heaven," as we were now in West (by God) Virginia.  We discussed climbing the hillside trail across the Potomac from Harper's Ferry, but decided it might be too much exercise since we still had to ride our bikes back to the campground.  It was a wise decision!

The AT crosses from Harper's Ferry over the Potomac via that bridge

The signs and blazes of the Appalachian Trail were frequent and prominent, so we found ourselves thinking often of our friends, Rocket and Rockette (Roger & Gail), who hiked through here on their trek of the Appalachian Trail last year completing all 2,181 miles. The more we learn about the AT, the more impressed we are with their achievement.

Karen's bike where the AT departs the C&O heading north.
The wooden post displays the white blazes of the AT.

Karen's mud-spattered back at the end of our ride

When we finally made it back to our campsite, but as the photos attest, our backs were speckled with mud spatters from the puddled C&O Towpath trail.