Sunday July 12 Day 58 Arlington to Brunswick MD 68 miles

Although I had thought about getting an early start on this the first day of my homeward journey, in fact I took my time getting out the door, and then before I got to the elevator I noticed that the tire I had changed two days before was a little flat. Apparently I had not done a perfect job. I did it again, this time merely replacing the inner tube with another. Finally I was off, onto the trail into DC and then with some fussing around in Georgetown, onto the Chesapeake and Ohio tow path. The canal was built in about 1840 and was an important transportation link between the coastal communities on Chesapeake Bay and the hinterlands to the west. It, like the other canals of the era, was eventually displaced by the railroad. The C&O property is now owned by the National Park Service. Only some parts of the canal are maintained, but all of the tow path, save one washed out place, is open as a hiking and biking trail of some 185 miles. It was in quite heavy use, especially near Washington on this Sunday. It is not paved so it is a little tougher to ride than a paved path, but it is very flat. There are unimproved camp grounds about every five miles once you get outside DC. They have a water pump and a portapotty. The quality of the water is checked every two weeks. About 5:00 a thunder storm broke. I had just arrived at a private camp place, one of just a few that exist along the trail. I was able to take shelter and the storm didn't last long, but the effect on the trail was pretty severe, turning it into a pretty muddy place. Once the storm subsided I rode on, but before long what had been a light rain became a downpour. I continued on until I got to Brunswick and there. I went into a campground owned by the town. I and the bike were both covered with mud, but I found the showers and washed off my feet, shoes, and legs. As I set up my tent there was only a slight rain. Soon after I and all my gear were inside the sky opened up for a third time. There were a couple of small dripping points in the fly, but after about 20 minutes the rain subsided and I slept without incident. Again, as in Delaware, there were no mosquitos.
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