Day 7: On the road again!

Although the manhunt continues, officials seem to think that the suspect was to the north of Williamsport and our trail led us south.  We thought the drama was behind us, and it was until 9:30 pm (read to the end).

We had a nice continental breakfast at our B&B before hitting the trail.

On the trail, we continued to stop at historic signs along the path, learning about the engineering marvels of the C&O canal and the stories of the civil war battles fought along the Potomac. So much history!

An old mill along the path.

A winch house that operated valves for flood prevention on the canal.

Although the clouds have cleared, the winds have picked up today. The temps are around 60. The warmest temps we've seen so far, but we're downright chilly at times.

For several miles our trail followed steep cliffs along the Potomac. There was no canal along this section. Historically, barges were towed along the river because the cliffs/terrain was not conducive to trenching canals.

The National Parks Service restored this badly deteriorated portion of the trail a decade ago, making this section very bikeable.

Lots of folks on the trail had mentioned the Bavarian Inn in Shepardstown as a great place to eat. Conveniently, we arrived in Shepardstown around lunch.

The food was fantastic. We pretty much ate everything our waiter recommended… schweinbraten, flame roasted Brussels sprouts, German chocolate cake and beer. Of course we needed some nourishment for the ride to our campsite... never mind it was just a short ride down the road.

We’ve stopped for the day at a Hiker/Biker campground called Huckleberry Hill. 

With a pit toilet and a hand pump for water, this spot is a bit more primitive than everywhere else we’ve camped so far, but it’s free and it’s right on the towpath.

We’ve made friends with fellow campers - one from DC and one from Colorado. After comparing gear and settling into camp, we relaxed on the shore of the Potomac to swap stories and soak up the sun. We sat around and visited while we cooked and ate dinner, which was really pleasant.

We settled into our tents around 8:30 pm and an hour later we were awoken by red and blue flashing lights outside our tent. Bob popped his head out and was told by park rangers to "stay in the tent!" After a few more minutes, a ranger explained they were looking for a suspicious green tent that had been reported at the camp site. They searched the area for a few minutes, offered their apologies, explaining that they were being extra cautious due to the ensuing manhunt and wished us a good night as they departed. It wasn't a restful night after that!

Stay tuned to see what our last two days on the trail hold!