Kennedy Meadows 8/8/19

I got up and got ready to go home. It took me about an hour to have some oatmeal for breakfast and get everything put in the car. I didn’t pack the tent and sleeping bag, since I plan to air things out when I get home.

With the adjustments I had made it the previous day, it seemed to be a little better with sleeping in the hammock tent last night. I think the sleeping bag I got is not keeping me warm enough, though.

I wanted to say bye to John, the fellow I’d met when I arrived, but he’d packed up and departed earlier, apparently. There have been a few more people coming and going yesterday and today, but still not crowded at all. They say weekends are busy, though.

I saw a California Scrub Jay this morning, come to bid me goodbye.  Good luck trying to find him in these photos!

Kennedy Meadows 8/7/19

It really cooled down overnight, and though the hammock tent worked very nicely for me during the night, I could feel some of the chill where I was directly up against the fabric of the hammock. I made a few adjustments later in the day to reduce the sag a bit.

I had a nice breakfast of Quaker Oats and sausage jerky, then hiked up to the spot by the river with my fishing pole.

 I spent most of the time untangling line and trying to disengage the hook from my clothing or river  vegetation. But I did get a strike, with a couple of seconds of pull, and a splash when I got a shiny glimpse. But then he was gone.

It sprinkled a bit, but all was soon dry again in the warm, dry heat. But I was inspired to set up the rain fly for the tent when I got back to camp.

I also spent some time replenishing my water supply from the river, using the filter system I had brought, which is working out quite well.

After another nice stew and peaches dinner, I went down to a nice place by the river that is right by the campsite and tried to fish a bit more. No luck though.

Kennedy Meadows 8/6/19

I camped at the Kennedy Meadows Campground for a couple of days. I drove up Monday the 5th to attend a meeting of the Orange County RR Historical Society, then drove to Adelanto to stay overnight at the Rodeway Inn. I got there about 11:00 pm, and left the next morning to drive the rest of the way. I got to the campground about 9:30 am and easily found an available campsite. They have 37 sites, and only two others were being utilized (and the folks in one of them had been gone hiking for three days). I talked with the other camper, John, who was very nice, and is from Valley Center! 

I decided to set up at site 37, and putt up my hammock tent and tried it out.  It seemed to work nicely.

Unfortunately I don’t have cell service here, and my phone would not work with the wi-fi they have at the local store, so I drove back to 395 where cell service came back and called Laura to say hi, and that I’d gotten a site.

When I got back to my camp I had a bite to eat, then walked around the campgrounds a bit. It is really pretty here.  

The campground is near the South Fork Kern River, and the Pacific Crest Trail goes through the campground. I hiked up it (north) for a half hour and found a spot that looks like it would be a nice place to sit and fish so for a while tomorrow. There were quite a few swift’s along the trail, which was really fun.

For dinner, I used my old Boy Scout mess kit and a stereo stove to heat up a can of Dinty Moore stew, and also had some diced peaches. 

I also got a fire going, using some wood left by the previous campers, and kindling I’d gathered on the road up to the campground.

My Bike Trip - Father's Day Card

The kids made me a Father's Day card that was based on my bike trip, which I thought was really swell.  They even had one of the little kitties I met on the trip!

My Bike Ride - Leesburg to Wash DC

The final day of the trip!

I had a nice breakfast at the Colonial Inn, then got ready for the last leg of the trip.  While getting the bike ready, I said hello to an elderly gentleman who was working in the back.  The Inn keeper Christie said he was a homeless person the owner "adopted", who does odd jobs and has a place to live.  Pretty nice.

I left the Inn at about 8:20 AM and arrived at the bike return, Bike and Roll in Washington DC, at about 1:20.  I then took the Metro (with help from a nice young lady, Allysa) to Silver Springs.  We also met a nice older black guy who teaches at the American University.  They both got me onto the right road and I walked to Karen and Mark's house, getting there about 3:15.  Karen had offered to pick me up, but I really wanted to show up at their doorstep like this.

Mark and Karen lavished me with hospitality the rest of the day and the next, including a trip to the B&O RR Museum in Baltimore, a fantastic place housed in an old roundhouse.  It has a number of wonderful RR locomotives, equipment, and a couple of model railroads to see.  Even if someone is not a RR buff, the history associated with the railroads is fascinating.  They even have a boxcar provided as a gift from France to commemorate America's Friendship Train in WW II, which carried donated items to France after the war.  You can read about the Merci Train Merci Train here.  This image is from http://msummerfieldimages.com/merci-train/.

Getting back to the bike ride, it was a hot and humid day.  Though there were some short grades, the route was generally flat, and it was a nice ride on a paved path that was the Western & Old Dominion RR track line in the good old days.  This segment is crowded with pedestrians, skaters, and other cyclists, so it was a very different ride than the rest of the trip.  Here is the start of the path; as can be seen, the path is paved and marked and very easy to ride on...

On the way I saw another Black Snake crossing the trail, and two deer that were grazing only a few feet from the path.  I also wanted to stop at a brewery along the path, but they weren't open yet.  I was disappointed - see if you can figure out why from the photo...

There was also a W&OD caboose on display, with a little girl whose mom said to wave to me...

The W&OD path went for a while, then a T-intersection took me onto the Custis trail that went toward the capital, and finally the Mount Vernon Trail, where I got my first glimpse of the monuments across the river...

I crossed the river to get to the Jefferson Memorial...

and from there, made my way to the bike return location in L'Enfant Plaza...

Would I do this trip again?  Well, actually, maybe.  There are other bike trails I'm interested trying, but doing the GAP again would be fun, especially now that I have some experience under my belt about how to prepare.

Hard to believe it's over.  It was a wonderful experience.  I saw so many interesting things, met so many swell people, and there was a lot of excitement along the way.   As they say, "Wow - What a ride!"  

My Bike Trip - Harpers Ferry to Leesburg

The owners of the Stonehouse B&B have a young boy (maybe 12 months?) named Charlie who I got to meet!  Another couple was staying there; fellow was going to start a long hike on the Appalachian Trail.

I left Harpers Ferry at about 8:20 AM after a nice breakfast at the B&B.  I got to the Leesburg Colonial Inn in Leesburg, VA, about 1:50.  It was a really nice ride, and the sky was almost cloud-free most of the day.  I'd expected a muddy trail after the rains the day before, but it wasn't bad at all.  It was warm, so perhaps the water had dried up, or maybe the storms just did not hit this section of the trail.  The first five miles of the tow path out of Harpers Ferry were super - crushed stone and on par with the Pennsylvania portion.  But then a washout had closed the trail!  There had been really bad flooding in 2018 on the Potomac, and they were still trying to repair the damage.  Lots of cyclists were wading through, but I took advantage of a shuttle that the communities had provided, and bypassed the washout.  This also cut seven miles from my ride.  After that, the towpath reverted to the packed dirt surface, but again, very few muddy spots.

Toward the end of the ride, I reached White's Ferry a short ferry ride across the river for cars, pedestrians, and bikes...

Then I took some surface roads to Leesburg.  I visited the library to get my bearings for Saturday's ride, and checked in at the Inn (brick building, second story)...

I borrowed a phone again to text Laura, and called Mark and Karen to let them know of my status.

On the shuttle, I met a guy from Brooklyn who is an editor for the NY Times.  He had visited his father for a day, who lives in Pittsburgh, before starting the bike trip with his son.  His father is a retired dentist and a well-known Model Railroader!

My Bike Trip - Williamsport to Harpers Ferry

In the previous post, I put up a picture of a strange critter.  Those who guessed that it's an autonomous lawn mower were correct!  I was so amazed I knocked on the door of the house there, and a nice lady graciously answered my questions about it.  It runs all the time, though I'm not sure about when it rains, and it docks itself when it needs recharging.  It takes about a 1/8" off the grass blades as it rolls along, and leaves the cuttings on the lawn.  Here's a video of it trundling along...

I had a tasty breakfast at Bay Farms.  The nice young lady who owns it does a great job.  There was another lone cyclist there who is a writer, Jim Hodgson.  He has written books about mountaineering, like on Kilimanjaro.  His trip was similar to mine, and he also wrote a blog about it, Pittsburgh to DC: Riding the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Towpath.

I left Williamsport at about 8:30 AM and got to the Stonehouse in Harpers Ferry at 4:20.  As usual, lots of RR equipment and bridges to see, which I loved...

This was a tough leg.  The trail was good for a while, then went muddy for a couple of miles, and then was ok again.  There were also stony patches which I hadn't seen before...

I stopped at Shepherd's Town for some lunch, which means I was in West Virginia instead of Maryland for a little bit.  On the way I rode through the campus of Shepherd University, which was a treat.

But when I got back on the trail, it began to rain.  It wasn't bad at first, so I put on my rain gear and kept going.  I caught up with the nice group I'd met at Towne Hill, and rode with them.  It started raining hard and we all got soaked.  This would not have been too bad, actually - you get used to it - but my iPhone had gotten wet and stopped working!  😭  I borrowed other people's phones to leave a message for Laura.  Riding with the group helped a lot, taking my mind off the rain, and it was fun when they started singing.  I could join in on some of the songs, like Singin' In The Rain, but didn't know the words on some others, like Annie.  I introduced them the Grateful Dead's version of I Know You Rider!
I wish I was a headlight, on a northbound train,
I wish I was a headlight, on a northbound train,
I'd shine my light through the cool Colorado rain.

We all made it to Harpers Ferry, where I was staying at the Stonehouse B&B (gray house on the left in this photo, which came from Yelp)...

Of course, this photo was not taken on a rainy day!  

Harpers Ferry also has a famous RR tunnel...

(This is actually a painting of the tunnel, by Michael Flanagan.  He changed the name at the top - it really says "Harpers Ferry".  I like this because it depicts how the tunnel looked before part of it was ground away to accommodate new larger RR cars.)

I was able to have my soaked shirt and socks laundered at the B&B, and my soaked short pants dried overnight.  I also tried a suggestion from Rusty, to put the iPhone it in a zip-lock bag with rice to soak up the moisture, which often works - but not this time.  Major bummer.

I ate at the Rabbit Hole restaurant near the B&B, where a young waiter, Jacob, very nicely let me borrow his phone so I could send more messages to Laura.  I was also able to call Harry and talk with him a bit.  

Stonehouse is rustic and charming, and I could watch trains go by from the back patio.

A highlight of this leg was a Black Snake (Eastern Rat Snake) that crossed the path while I was riding by.  Other cyclists had told me they'd seen some, but I had not until now.  It made my day!

I also saw what looked like strawberries along the path, and some folks who know how to spend a sultry morning when living near the Potomac...

My Bike Trip - Little Orleans to Williamsport

The folks at the Towne Hill B&B had an incredible breakfast for us, about eight dishes, all really interesting and tasty. There was a group of 10 bicyclists staying there besides me - five siblings, their spouses, and one daughter. They were a really nice group. And one of the guys works at Northrop in Long Beach!

After being shuttled to the trail, I set off from Little Orleans at 9:45 AM, and reached the Bay Farms Inn in Williamsport, MD at about 5:15.

Starting out, I went the wrong way! I soon got to the spot where the trail seemed to end. I was trying to figure out why, when I heard a voice behind me. One of the members of the Towne Hill group was kind enough to track me down and set me straight. I ran across them a few times on this segment.

Trail conditions today were wonderful. Starting out, the trail had some black stuff on it. Asphalt!

 From Little Orleans, the state of Maryland has been converting the railroad route to a trail, and has paved it! I started the day with over 20 miles of paved trail, with only a short segment of the mucky towpath trail used to route around s RR tunnel where some endangered bats have a colony. And where the paved portion ends, the towpath further was dry and mud-less! Unlike yesterday, today’s ride was very fine.

At one point it looked like it was going to rain, so I put on all my rain gear to prepare for the mud. A half hour later it was apparent the storm had bypassed me, so at a campground I found a restroom, pulled off all the rain gear, and also put on shorts instead of jeans. I had intended to wear the jeans for the whole trip, But it's been so hot, the shorts really are the better way to go. And hosing mud off my legs would be easier than trying to hose it off the rain pants.

Another reason for the short pants was that other cyclists had been telling me about a swimming hole along the trail. Indeed, I came across a group of young adults jumping into the water. They showed me where there were some steps in the rocks to get in and out, and said they guessed the water to be about 70°. They were right! I went in, and it was cool and refreshing and super fun.

On this trip I saw some more RR bridges, a turtle, and also another little strange critter trundling by. See if you can guess what it is! I’ll give the answer tomorrow.

Along the trail there are a number of lock houses that are maintained as structures, but not used. But there are a few that are available for rent!  

I think it would be nice and peaceful to stay in one a couple of nights.

My Bike Trip - Cumberland to Little Orleans

Today I left Cumberland at 6 AM, and reached Little Orlean, MD at 1:30, where I did not have cell service.  Some cyclists came by who kindly called the Towne Hill B&B for me. I had to wait a bit for a shuttle they have, since they are about 8 miles off the trail. I worked on my journal while waiting, and rested. Town Hill is an old hotel from the 1920’s, on the old National Highway, and is really neato...

The shuttle is on the right in the above photo.

The GAP trail ends in Cumberland, and the path continues as the C&O Tow Path. This was not a real pleasant ride, because the trail is rough, had many mud puddles from a rain last night, and goes along the old canal which has stagnant scummy water in it. Lots of mosquitos too. Here is what the trail looks like, very different from the nice GAP trail...

Other cyclists I had met warned me about the trail conditions, so I'd prepared by donning my rain pants and galoshes when I set out. More to protect from muck than from rain. The trail definitely lived up to its advanced billing. Here is how I looked setting out, and at the end...

On this leg of the trip I went through the Paw Paw Tunnel, which was not built for trains, but instead for the canal.

There were also a number of old locks and RR bridges to see...

I also saw a turtle going along the trail, and s deer!

They had both stopped to regard me for a little while. Probably I was the second orangest thing they’d ever seen!

Leaving the B&B in Cumberland, a sweet little kitty came by to bid me s safe journey! His name is Cinders...