Walking with the Walrus

C AND O CANAL VOLKSMARCH - DICKERSON MD USA
SATURDAY, AUG. 16, 1997

by Kevin Shaw
W ell it has been a few weeks since I last did a volksmarch for several reasons. But on the (so far) hottest day of the year here in the Washington DC area, I did a 10 km volksmarch in the fourth of a series of walking the C and O canal towpath over the next few years. There were 5 and 10 km options (out and back type trail) starting out of the Dickerson Conservation Park, and a longer 15 km trail that was one-way with a car shuttle getting you back to the start, out of Whites Ferry. I opted to do the 10 km trail, as a worker since my club, the Seneca Valley Sugarloafer Volksmarch Club, was the host local club running the event in conjunction with the Maryland Volkssport Association.Robin and I were to walk the course, and put up a 10 km turnaround sign at the Indian Flats Hiker-Biker campground.
S omehow I got to the start at the Dickerson Conservation Park about 0730. Already the temperatures were in the muggy 80s, though in the shade, which this walk was mostly in, it wasn't too bad - yet...The natural surfaced towpath looked quite serene and quiet as we headed out in a few short minutes after arrival. We had to make the sign up, and my daughter Robin contributed to this effort. India and Peaches, my beloved canine dynamic duo, were quite eager to get on the trail.
W e passed numerous interesting features on this section of the towpath. The first was the Pepco Dickerson Power Plant,a looming, very large structure off to our right. The stagnant water of the initial canal we walked along was replaced with fresher, moving water from the warm water discharge out of the power plant. There actually is a special fishing area set up in this warm water area, but on this day no one was fishing there.
A fter another km or so in the woods, we hit lock 27 and a slight hill. It was a bit sunnier at the lock, and the heat was starting to build. We had to let the pooches cool themselves on occasion in the canal and to get a drink of water.
S hortly thereafter, the woodsy trail became more of an isthmus, with the canal on the right and the Potomac River on the left. Some significant cliffs on the other side of the canal really changed the scene. I started seeing more walkers here, as the 15 km walkers began to proliferate the trail. It was good seeing our AVA VP Diane Evans and many other long time volksmarching friends and fellow club-members.
W e emerged from the woods at the only checkpoint at the Monocacy Aqueduct. Crossing the Monocacy River was on a rather different type bridge, with numerous crossing rods to climb over; no big deal on foot but a big deal if on a bike. This area also was quite open too, therefore hot!
A fter crossing the river, into the cooler, shady wooded trail again, but only for less than 1 km, to the Indian Flats Hiker-Biker Campground, where we put our turnaround sign up. The ground was so hard we couldn't push the sign into the ground (mounted with a modified hanger made into two prongs) so we had to hang it into a tree. A portapotty and an old fashioned water pump sure helped revive us.
T urning around here and heading back, we saw more and more walkers on the trail. In places where the path curved, this really looked quite impressive! Turned out there were about 93 walkers doing the 5 or 10 km trail today, with another approximately 130 walkers doing the 15 km distance. Mile markers 40, 41, 42 were passed on today's trail; they indicate the distance in mileage from the start point down in Washington DC.
A s temperatures soared in the afternoon to and slightly above the century (100) mark, it was a real tribute to the dedication of the workers and the walkers today to come out and work and walk in extreme conditions. Many thanks to all involved that put this walk together! The next one in the series is out of Brunswick, MD, on the 20th of September.
I volunteered to continue to help out after finishing the walk. I returned the pooches home, had a quick bite, and back out to do checkpoint and tear down duty. As it turned out, I was a bit late returning, so all this was already done when I got to the Monocacy Aqueduct checkpoint.I brought our bikes with me, so we biked up to Indian Flats to get the sign, speeding up the process. Returning, we decided to get more of the trail in on our bikes, and I wound up doing the entire 10 km trail on my bike in the blazing 100 deg afternoon sun! It worked as a sweep, which was good, since one woman was not back as of 1:30. I found her walking back, and assured her that the end was near!
I t was good to get back on the trail once again. It was my 325th volksmarch event, so I must send in my books soon! Let's hope that no. 326 will be in cooler conditions! See you on the trail!

Area and Walking Information

Seneca Valley Sugarloafers
AVA Walking Events and Clubs
About.com Washington DC
About.com Baltimore, MD
US National and State Parks

More Walking With the Walrus:

Kensington, Maryland April 12, 1997
St. Michaels, Maryland April 26, 1997
Rockville, Maryland, Gunston Hall Plantation, Virginia, May 3-4
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, May 10
Guy Mason Park, DC, May 24
Flower Valley/Rockville MD, May 31
Washington DC National Trail Day Walk, June 7
New Freedom, PA, June 15
Ft. Belvoir, VA July 4
Seneca Creek State Park, Gaithersburg, MD Sept. 13
Bolling Air Force Base GLOBAL Walk Sept. 21
West Laurel, MD Oct. 4
Baltimore Oktoberfest, MD Oct. 11
Annapolis Oktoberfest, MD Oct. 12
Louise F. Cosca Regional Park, Clinton, MD Nov. 2
Westminster, MD Nov. 9
Washington, DC Veterans Day Nov. 11 and Seneca Creek Park
Black Hills Regional Park, MD, Nov 22-23, 1997
Hershey Holiday Walkfest, PA, Nov 29, 1997
Alexandria Scottish Walk, VA, Dec. 7, 1997
Union Station Walk, DC, Dec. 20, 1997
Carderock, MD, Dec. 27 1997
Rockville, MD Jan. 10, 1998
Fairfax, VA Jan. 31, 1998
Rockville, MD Feb. 7, 1998
Washington, DC Feb. 22 and Thurmont Maryland Feb. 21, 1998
College Park, MD, March 7, 1998
George Mason University, Fairfax Virginia and Olney Maryland, March 14-15, 1998
Emmitsburg, Maryland, March 22, 1998
Jug Bay, Maryland, March 28, 1998
Roosevelt Island, Maryland, April 5, 1998
Roanoke, Virginia, April 11, 1998
Cedarville State Forest Maryland, April 26, 1998
Butlers Orchard Farm Market, Maryland, May 3, 1998
Union Mills Homestead, Westminster, MD June 15, 1998
Hagerstown, MD August 15, 1998.
Baltimore, MD 10/12/98
Patapsco State Park, MD 10/31/98
Seneca Creek State Park, MD 11/7/98
Kentlands and Gaithersburg, MD 1/9/99
Darnestown, MD 1/9/99
Calverton, MD 1/13/99
Kenwood (Bethesda) MD 4/10/99
C and O Canal Paw Paw Tunnel 4/17/99
Franklin Farm, Herndon, Virginia 4/24/99