C&O Canal Trail: "A Shitshow Squirrel-Path Tour of Hell"

07/29/12 239# 21m

Pretty, sunny, blue sky day. Rode 21 miles on the Panhandle Trail. Nothing memorable, really, just a great ride. The new/improved western section of the Panhandle really rocks.

I have struggled in the past to effectively describe the qualitative difference between the GAP Trail (Pittsburgh to Cumberland) and the C&O Trail (Cumberland to DC). Generally, I say "The GAP is a modern trail built to contemporary engineering and safety standards. The C&O is a swampy Civil War donkey path". Although I think this eloquent turn of words makes the comparison quite obvious, repeated experience proves that my description fails to convey the desired knowledge.

This week I read the perfect description in a Pgh-to-DC trip report by Dani Kramer: "When people say the C&O towpath is rustic and primitive, what they mean to say is that it is a shitshow squirrel-path tour of hell."

She can write. It's a great trip report, recommended reading.