I think I first heard of the One Day Hike from reading other blogs. It is a non-competitive hike that is held every year. People start at about 3 AM in Washington DC and hike up the C&O Canal ending just past Harpers Ferry, WV. They have until midnight to complete their hike. There is also a 30 mile option. I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough to try either of those yet, so I saw they needed bike patrol volunteers. This is something I wanted to try for a long time. I often see cyclists at races, biking the course with runners. Honestly, half the time that I am doing a race I am wishing for my bike anyway – so this seems like a pretty good compromise! I contacted Frank, the coordinator, and requested a shift.
c&o canal
Bikepacking Trip – Day 2
If you missed day 1 of my trip – start HERE! 🙂
I woke up in Leesburg, VA, packed up my panniers, and headed out to the front desk to wait for the shuttle to take me back to the Ferry. The 3 guys who were cycling the whole trail were on my shuttle again and we wished each other well as we got off the ferry and started the final portion of the trip to DC. They told me they would be taking their lunch break at Great Falls if I wanted to join them.
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 7
This video shows how you get from Georgetown to mile marker 0 on the C&O trail. It can be a little tricky to find – a lot of people think the trail ends in Georgetown, but SURPRISE!! You have to go about .5 more miles or so along the Rock Creek Park Trail and then turn into the parking lot for the Thompson Boat Center, pass a bunch of row boats and BOOM! Mile marker 0. It is such a lovely view to end a great bike trip! 🙂
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 6
Cycling through Georgetown into DC on the C&O Canal Trail.
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 5
Here’s the 5th episode of my bikepacking trip – I got to explore Great Falls along the C&O trail which was AWESOME!!
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 4
Here’s episode 4 of my bikepacking trip to DC – this is the start of day 2. I take the ferry back across to the C&O trail and see some pretty cool wildlife along the way – including a giant pesty bee and a deer that jumps right in front of my bike!
Bikepacking Trip – Day 1
I was supposed to bikepack the GAP and C&O trails from Pittsburgh to DC on my week of vacation, but a hurricane decided to crash my trip so after going through MANY backup plans I decided to still go, but cut my trip short. I was having trouble finding a train ticket for my bike, finding a ride, finding hotels…etc. After MUCH research I decided to start at Harpers Ferry where my dad dropped me off, bike to White’s Ferry and take the ferry across. From there a shuttle would pick me up and take me to my hotel in Leesburg, VA. The next day I’d take the shuttle back over to the C&O trail and continue into DC where I would spend the rest of the week cycling around the city. I haven’t been to DC in….I can’t even tell you when the last time was.
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 3
Here’s vlog post #3 of my bikepacking adventure – I ride my bike through great dane size dog poo, some really nice cyclists help me out when my phone dies and I needed to call the hotel shuttle, and I got to take the ferry across the river!
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ENJOY!
Harpers Ferry – DC part 1
I am trying something a little different for this trip – I started a vlog – every sunday I will post a new video of my time from my bikepacking trip from Harpers Ferry – DC.
ENJOY!!
blisters and bug bites 