C & O Cumberland to Hancock 6

The scenery along the C & O was mostly trees for a long while and it was tough to see very far beyond them but there were sections where it opened up to beautiful country scenes. What caught my attention about this farm was the 2 flags on the right. When I got closer I learned why they were there.

There is a small well kept cemetary about 100 yards off the path. It is dedicated to a Confederate civil war soldier . I have seen several references to the Confederacy in Maryland and it is evident that although Maryland was considered a Union state there must have been a good many Southern sympathizers there.

The guy buried in this grave was born on the farm in above pic--fought in the Civil war for the South--returned home--married and lived til 1916.

It is coming across neat things like this that makes a trip like this very special.

this tells the story of the above mentioned fellow.

This was the scene directly to the right (west) of the cemetary. Not sure what those mountains are but it was kinda surprising to see them after looking at tree trunks for the previous 30 miles.

C & O Cumberland to Hancock 5

This guy kept flying away ahead of me everytime I would get close . This lasted for several miles and I felt like we were buds after awhile.

Another one legged goose. They are very common along the canal. It must have something to do with the stagnant water they stand in.

C & O Cumberland to Hancock Md 4

Scene along the canal. The Potomac River is less than 100 yards on the right (south).

At several points along the path (heading east)you can see the canal on your left and the Potomac River on the right. This was one of those places that reinforced the feeling that I am one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth. Everyone should be fortunate enough to see this place like I did.

This was the second rider I saw this day and when he got closer I was surprised at the interesting way he was dressed--all in black. The path is narrow here so I got off to one side so he could pass. He was loaded for long range travel , riding fast and would not make eye contact.

Another pic of how the canal curves . The Potomac is very close on the right.

C & O Cumberland to Hancock 3

I came across several interesting kinds of wild life. This was one of the more unusual specimens. Probably the largest frog I have ever seen. At minimum this is by far the largest head I have ever seen on a frog.

These 2 ducks were strange in that they only had 1 leg each.

This owl was unusual because you just do not see many red owls anywhere. Once the word gets out ,I can imagine all sorts of bird watchers checking this guy out so they can list it in their book of distinctive rare birds observed in the wild.

I am not sure what these soccer blls were doing in this place. There has to be some type of interesting story behind how they got there in the middle of no where.

C & O Cumberland to Hancock 2

There are many many scenes like this along the route. In my opinion some of the neatest stuff I have seen so far.

It is frustrating in that the camera does not capture the distinctive green that you see so many places along the canal.

I saw only 3 bike other riders on this part of the path. This lady was ahead of me for a mile or so and then she was not there anymore. She sort of disappeared and there were no side paths I could see for her to go. I was thinking that this may be one of those ghost deals you hear about during Halloween time.

C & O Canal--Cumberland to Hancock Md

A short distance out of Cumberland heading east the canal path gets a little rougher and the remains of the canal are very evident. This section of the C & O seems to be less traveled than what I have seen so far There are long stretches of stagnant water with a lot of overgrown foliage --it is very quiet and beautiful. I stopped several times to just look at it all in detail and absorb the scenes. This is something you do not see every day of the week.

This type of pic may look kinda ugly but I found it fascinating.

I kept thinking of how this must have looked and sounded when the C & O canal was in its heyday. Horses, boats, people all making their own distinctive noises.

I climbed up on an abandoned bridge and took this pic facing west. The actual towpath runs on the southside of the canal.

From lo king at these pics one might get the impression that the canal ran relatively in a straight line, but that is not the case. It basically runs close to the course of the Potomac river as it meanders through the mountians towards Washington DC. http://bikewashington.org/canal/

Cumberland Md 3

As you ride the C & O route eastern out of Cumberland there is a nice park that has a canal boat on display. My bike is parked on the walkway behind the boat to provide a kind of size prespective. It was longer than I expected and pretty narrow but afrter seeing the size of the actual canl locks down the trail it all made a lot more sense.

This is a preserved section of the C & O canal and path looking west back into Cumberland.You can see that fountain that Ned and I posed with outside the visitors center in the distance under the overpass.

There were huge flocks of geese landing nearby in a water area I could not see but could hear a lot of goose noises going on.

This was a lucky shot because the camera I use is pretty simple and it took a few tries to figure out how to get the camera moving with the flock and keep it in focus.