Day 1 – Pennsboro to Petroleum, WV – 20 miles
I woke up in Marietta, Ohio. The town held no appeal beyond proximity to Parkersburg and its position on the Ohio side of the river; across the way in West Virginia, hotels announced strict limitations to essential workers, so it seemed better to circumvent than test those. Yesterday’s flight from Portland was met with an […]
Day 0 (Part 3) – Fear and Loathing
The drive home from Parkersburg, West Virginia took two-and-a-half days, replacing a walk that should have lasted another four-and-a-half months. I took the most direct approach. At times, that brought me in line with towns I would have encountered along the walk–Logan, OH, North Platte, NE, Twin Falls, ID. The whole final approach, along I84 […]
Day 22 – West Union to Pennsboro, WV – 12 miles
When I was a kid, I remember mourning the historically boring moment into which I was born. The Cold War was on its last legs and then concluded before I was politically aware. Sure, the US would continue to participate in hot wars and other military engagements, but these were largely abstractions; nobody I knew […]
Day 21 – Clarksburg to West Union, WV – 32 miles
After so many strenuous walks, today was a mellow, relaxed stroll by comparison. After passing through central Clarksburg, a sizable town that was the home of Stonewall Jackson, I spent the bulk of the day in quiet countryside, low rippling hills still often flanking me on either side but rarely having much impact on the […]
Days 18-20 – Canaan Valley to Clarksburg, WV – 85 miles
On Thursday night, I lounged in bed, satisfied with a couple of days of strenuous but lovely hiking through Dolly Sods, when America took a sudden turn. In a jarring chain reaction, one social institution after another shut down; somehow, the shuttering of sports leagues, professional and collegiate alike, made the reality of the emerging […]
Days 16 & 17 – Keyser to Canaan Valley, WV
For as long as I’ve been thinking about the American Discovery Trail, it seems like I’ve also been thinking about Dolly Sods, West Virginia. It’s the first genuine sliver of wilderness on the walk, but more significantly, it’s the highest point east of the Rockies, peaking around 4500 feet in elevation. It marks the Eastern […]
Days 14 & 15 – Paw Paw to Keyser, WV – 43.5 miles
While I awoke in West Virginia on Monday, I did so knowing that the day would actually be my last in Maryland and on the C&O Canal. After four full days, plus a bit of a fifth, this would bring my time on the towpath to an end. Despite some initial reticence, given the tedium […]
Day 13 – Hancock, MD to Paw Paw, WV – 31 miles
Once again, I popped across the Potomac to spend the night in West Virginia. This section of the C&O is much like the first, with almost nothing interrupting the tranquility of the towpath. Fortunately, there was one stopping point right near the middle of the walk, Bill’s Place in Little Orleans, so I was grateful […]
Day 12 – Williamsport to Hancock, MD – 27 miles
I wondered if each day’s walk along the C&O would feel similar. For the most part, they haven’t. That said, today’s had resounding echoes of yesterday’s. Once again, I followed the C&O all morning, including a stunning stretch in which the land along the left side of the towpath slipped away completely, leaving me walking […]
Day 11 – Harpers Ferry, WV to Williamsport, MD – 25 miles
Today’s walk had a distinct Civil War theme to it. Harpers Ferry is steeped in that history; the house where Stonewall Jackson was headquartered there was just a few houses away from where I slept. It was a very appealing target, positioned at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the hotly-contested mid-Atlantic. […]