Walking DC and the C&O Canal

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Walking

Walking with the Walrus

Washington DC, USA
C and O Canal Volksmarch 10 KM Trail
Saturday APRIL 19, 1997

After a period of over 6 months, from October 13 till today, I had not been able to do a 10 km volksmarch because of my injury of October 24, 1996. Today I did it, some 3 months and 13 days after my corrective surgery. I am tired, but my knee is feeling fine, albeit a bit stiff, but it was iced down after walking, and that felt good. My tired state is more of a normal state that comes from not walking 10 km in a while, not related to the injury directly. My legs in general are tired, but my feet are OK.
The walk started out at Fletcher's Boathouse in Washington DC right off canal. This was a March for Parks walk to benefit the C and O canal, co-sponsored with Walking Magazine, Clairol, and First USA Bank. Since this walk took place entirely on National Park property, we could not pay for our walk at the start point, so envelopes were provided to mail in our payments later on. Otherwise, registration went smoothly and after a little wait for all to arrive, we were off. Marty Brumback, Jeff Stuart, my daughter Robin and her friend Erin (who did her first 10 km volksmarch today- Congrats, Erin!) and my faithful canine companions India and Peaches were my walking cohorts today.
And it was a glorious day! Brilliant blue skies, cool temperatures, and a dry canal towpath that just opened completely a day or so ago (construction forced detours in portions, even for the workers walk only a week ago) was full of walkers, rollerbladers, and bicyclists. Since we found out the towpath was completely opened, we stayed on that route and did not take the Capital Crescent Trail, a rails to trail part that is paved, rather than gravel/dirt, until we were coming back near the end.
The towpath trail today started out in the woods a few miles above Georgetown, which got us into a nice pace on the flat, relatively smooth surface. There was a 5 km option also from the Boathouse start point, plus a special 17 km walk that required a shuttle van from a different start point, the first of 16 walks planned over the next 3 years to "walk the C and O canal" in its entirety. I knew I was going to have enough of a challenge to do 10 km today, so I had to decline the chance at the 17 km distance unfortunately. There were about 200 walkers registered for the 17 km distance as I understood it, with about 160 registered for the 5/10 km distance. So as we proceeded towards Georgetown, we ran into many volksmarchers in the opposite direction, always something I enjoy. Though cool, the sun was intense, so the pooches, particularly black-coated India, enjoyed occasional dips in the canal. Many other pooches out on the trail also provided a lot of social interaction for Peaches and India.
In Georgetown, the canal changes a bit, into a narrower trail, with brick or hardtop taking over at times from the soft, forgiving dirt. We crossed over on a bridge over to the other side, and climbed a few slight hills to cross some Georgetown streets. We passed the C and O Canal Visitors Center, where their own walk started earlier, and where the Park Service and the National Parks and Conservation Association had lots of free information out for the taking, and helpful people to answer questions, including the fact that this was not the checkpoint/turnaround spot.
Marching on, we continued to follow the canal through more of Georgetown. Eventually we had to run along Rock Creek Parkway after crossing a few more bridges, then to the Thompson Boat Center, our checkpoint/turn around spot. This boat center was a real beehive of activity, with many crew teams assembling for a meet later on in the day. We found the checkpoint on the far side of the building center, where Jo and Chuck Merkel were staffing the checkpoint quite amicably and admirably. Chuck pointed out that a bit further on was the Mile 0 Marker, the official start point for the canal towpath. A small beach area a bit further on provided a great spot for the pooches to cool off once again in water that deepened quickly.
We turned around and headed back towards the start point. We saw a few things at the beginning that we did not see on the way out, but after Georgetown, the woods looked about the same, so, as I mentioned earlier, we did drop down a flight of stairs onto the Capital Crescent Trail about 2 miles from the finish. This paved trail has no canal but it does get you closer to the Potomac River, and even more rollerbladers and cyclists, since the surface is smoother than the towpath. We all started getting tired towards the end, and the finish looked great as we approached. One last dip in the canal for the pooches to cool their hot feet and then it was finish time.
Thanks to Carl Frock there for manning the table, and for all the great efforts by the Maryland Volkssport Association and the other sponsors for putting on this outstanding event. I look forward to the second walk in the canal series, out of Great Falls MD, on May 17. As I type this this evening, I now can start planning on doing more 10 km walks, and there are so many great ones coming up. It is a tired feeling tonight, but a good feeling. And my pooches, particularly India, are more content than they have been in a long time.

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