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Carderock; Mile 11.8<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"C&O](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4396\/36010836224_e020bcc9c2_b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy did I stop and turn around at Mile 11.8? Because I looked at my watch and I’d finished the hour. I’m very precise like that. I needed to head back home. Actually I made it about halfway between Carderock and Great Falls (map<\/a>) if I want to get technical about it. Whatever. The Carderock Recreation Area featured all sorts of outdoor activities, not just biking. Lots of people hiked its well-known Billy Goat Trail on the rough stony banks of the Potomac River. Others climbed its cliffs, some of the most easily accessible rock walls in the DC area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOriginal Mile Marker; Mile 9.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"C&O](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4362\/36010834034_f9a70bf101_b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe geo-geek in me loved the marker at Mile 9.0, an historical artifact dating back to the operational days of the canal. Construction began in 1828 and builders didn’t finish it until 1850, although some sections started serving commercial traffic before that. However, railroads competed with the canal even before workers finished digging it. Floods devastated it several times too. The whole enterprise finally ended, abandoned, after the Flood of 1924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That mile marker (map<\/a>) stood sentinel all that time, passed by innumerable mule boats filled with cargo, and then into the present era. It read “9 miles to W.C.” Presumably that referenced Washington City and not the nearest toilet facility. It took a boat pulled by a mule about a week to cover the entire length of the canal so this marker meant two or three more hours to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSycamore Island; Mile 6.5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"C&O](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4419\/36010830864_aed39d364b_b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSycamore Island always intrigued me as I passed it on earlier rides. A private club owns the island, as it has since 1885, and tightly controls access to it. Members take their own hand-pulled ferry across the narrow channel from the C&O trail towpath to the island. They ring a little bell when they want to cross and the permanent caretaker heads to the boat to pull it across. Only the caretaker lives on the island full-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The club didn’t offer a lot of amenities<\/a> by design. Members could take canoes out on the water, enjoy the island’s natural setting, fish, swim, chat with other members, read books, or simply relax. It offered a little oasis of solitude in an otherwise complicated world. Lots of people seemed to want that opportunity, too. Applications<\/a> were accepted only “between January 1 and March 31st on even-numbered calendar years.” Even after that, by all accounts, it could take years for a prospective member to finally get to the top of the waiting list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nLockhouse 6; Mile 5.4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"C&O](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4392\/36844952585_984696aee5_b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nLocks required manual labor to open and close. However, miles of the canal crossed wilderness and few people lived nearby. Lock tenders couldn’t commute to their jobs from nearby towns. So the canal company had to build homes for their employees on-site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of these original lock houses survive and a few can be rented<\/a> for overnight accommodations. The C&O Canal Trust restored Lockhouse 6, 10, 22, 25, 28 and 49 for that purpose, with each reflecting a different historical period. Lockhouse 6 (map<\/a>), pictured above, represented the 1950’s when people finally started to think about preserving the canal. Lockhouse 6 was one of the few for rent with electricity, running water and heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRiver View; Mile 4.5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"C&O](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4397\/36705716551_431bd7c362_b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nI’d seen a little stub trail leading from the towpath somewhere around Mile 4.5 on several occasions. Kayakers seemed to portage to it from a nearby parking lot so I knew it led to the river. I had a little time on my return trip so I followed the stub to its conclusion (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt led to what looked like a parking area (clearly visible<\/a> on satellite), which seemed odd because I couldn’t imagine a car ever driving down the towpath to get to the stub. Maybe it provided a way for emergency vehicles to access the river or something. People sometimes do get into trouble on this turbulent stretch of water. I don’t know. The terminus also included a viewing platform with some great scenery just upriver from Chain Bridge. Barely within the borders of the District of Columbia, it felt a world away from the rest of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGeorgetown; Mile 1.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"C&O](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4396\/36844948045_3a8823cf71_b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy did I stop and turn around at Mile 11.8? Because I looked at my watch and I’d finished the hour. I’m very precise like that. I needed to head back home. Actually I made it about halfway between Carderock and Great Falls (map<\/a>) if I want to get technical about it. Whatever. The Carderock Recreation Area featured all sorts of outdoor activities, not just biking. Lots of people hiked its well-known Billy Goat Trail on the rough stony banks of the Potomac River. Others climbed its cliffs, some of the most easily accessible rock walls in the DC area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The geo-geek in me loved the marker at Mile 9.0, an historical artifact dating back to the operational days of the canal. Construction began in 1828 and builders didn’t finish it until 1850, although some sections started serving commercial traffic before that. However, railroads competed with the canal even before workers finished digging it. Floods devastated it several times too. The whole enterprise finally ended, abandoned, after the Flood of 1924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That mile marker (map<\/a>) stood sentinel all that time, passed by innumerable mule boats filled with cargo, and then into the present era. It read “9 miles to W.C.” Presumably that referenced Washington City and not the nearest toilet facility. It took a boat pulled by a mule about a week to cover the entire length of the canal so this marker meant two or three more hours to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sycamore Island always intrigued me as I passed it on earlier rides. A private club owns the island, as it has since 1885, and tightly controls access to it. Members take their own hand-pulled ferry across the narrow channel from the C&O trail towpath to the island. They ring a little bell when they want to cross and the permanent caretaker heads to the boat to pull it across. Only the caretaker lives on the island full-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The club didn’t offer a lot of amenities<\/a> by design. Members could take canoes out on the water, enjoy the island’s natural setting, fish, swim, chat with other members, read books, or simply relax. It offered a little oasis of solitude in an otherwise complicated world. Lots of people seemed to want that opportunity, too. Applications<\/a> were accepted only “between January 1 and March 31st on even-numbered calendar years.” Even after that, by all accounts, it could take years for a prospective member to finally get to the top of the waiting list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Locks required manual labor to open and close. However, miles of the canal crossed wilderness and few people lived nearby. Lock tenders couldn’t commute to their jobs from nearby towns. So the canal company had to build homes for their employees on-site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of these original lock houses survive and a few can be rented<\/a> for overnight accommodations. The C&O Canal Trust restored Lockhouse 6, 10, 22, 25, 28 and 49 for that purpose, with each reflecting a different historical period. Lockhouse 6 (map<\/a>), pictured above, represented the 1950’s when people finally started to think about preserving the canal. Lockhouse 6 was one of the few for rent with electricity, running water and heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’d seen a little stub trail leading from the towpath somewhere around Mile 4.5 on several occasions. Kayakers seemed to portage to it from a nearby parking lot so I knew it led to the river. I had a little time on my return trip so I followed the stub to its conclusion (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It led to what looked like a parking area (clearly visible<\/a> on satellite), which seemed odd because I couldn’t imagine a car ever driving down the towpath to get to the stub. Maybe it provided a way for emergency vehicles to access the river or something. People sometimes do get into trouble on this turbulent stretch of water. I don’t know. The terminus also included a viewing platform with some great scenery just upriver from Chain Bridge. Barely within the borders of the District of Columbia, it felt a world away from the rest of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOriginal Mile Marker; Mile 9.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nSycamore Island; Mile 6.5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nLockhouse 6; Mile 5.4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nRiver View; Mile 4.5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nGeorgetown; Mile 1.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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