Rocks...

** Please note: You can click on all of the photos below and find a full size image to enjoy. To get the full effect, I urge you to do so.**

On Sunday, I decided to visit Great Falls National Park (Link HERE). It's just over the border in Virginia, not more than 30 minutes drive, and, after Saturday's bike ride, I wanted to be active but not too active.

I was expecting a nice park and a peaceful afternoon. I had no idea...

I get to the parking lot (after using my NPS Annual Pass!) and hear rushing, falling water. Then I see the sign below and I KNOW I've found a place I'm going to like!


I followed the trail to the nearest ledge and was greeted by this...


I had always heard there was a section of the Potomac River that was impassable for boats - that's why there have been various sets of locks and canals built over the years - but I had no idea that Great Falls really meant great falls! From the same vantage point, I looked to the right...


In the distance, you can see that the river curves to the right, and enters a spectacular gorge. Once you are below the worst of the falls, you are in kayakers' heaven. The launch points are not easy to reach - typically they have to carry their kayak a fair distance and drop down through some treacherous terrain - but I bet the ride is amazing.


So I went home thinking that I had enjoyed a nice walk, and some great scenery, but I was a bit curious about the other side of the river - the Maryland side. I knew there was more government land over there, and I had seen people walking on the rocks across the way.

I figured I would give that a shot on Monday (today). The weather forecast was encouraging, and the Executive Naming Committee had mandated some sort of festivities in honor of the christening of the Raft.

As it turns out, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park runs all along the Potomac on the Maryland side. No, really, all along the Maryland side. For 184 miles. (Map Link HERE) The park contains what used to be the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which, according to the National Park website (Link HERE) was "a lifeline for communities and businesses along the Potomac River." The adjacent tow path that was formerly used by mule teams to haul river barges upstream is now a hiking/biking trail all the way to Cumberland, Maryland. It's fantastic.

I want to quote extensively from the National Park Service website here, because this is fascinating:

The canal was literally a man-made river. To make the canal work a complex system of hydrology was constructed. To supply water for the canal seven feeder dams were built on the Potomac River from Cumberland to Little Falls. To control the water, seventy-four lift locks were placed in the canal. Each lock raised or lowered a boat approximately eight feet. The locks allowed boats to travel upstream or downstream and made it possible to overcome the elevation difference of 605 feet between Georgetown and Cumberland. Waste weirs and culverts were added to the canal to divert off excess water. In case of a flood, stop locks were constructed to direct flood waters back into the Potomac River.

Bear in mind, the canal runs roughly parallel to the river, but they are separate. The canal took twenty-two years to build, from 1828 to 1850.

So... me and the Raft head out, with Christ on a Raft on the dashboard, After a brief ceremony in the parking lot, the car is officially named.


I had noticed some side trails that looked like they ran along the river, and I thought that was where I wanted to go. A few hundred yards up the tow path, I see a side path. Then I see this sign:


I KNOW I've found a place I'm going to like. And the route is called the Billy Goat Trail. It's got to be good, right? I had no idea...


Because I know solo hiking can be a bit dicey sometimes, I had dressed properly - with sturdy hiking boots - brought plenty of water, a first-aid kit, raincoat, multi-tool, and flashlight with extra batteries. I also brought Albert. I had been ignoring him recently, and this seemed like the kind of trip he'd enjoy. Once he saw the trail (the narrow ledge - the trail marker is the blue and white vertical strip just in front of Albert), he had to show off, of course, and get to the top of the first ledge ahead of me. But, holy cow, this was the sight that greeted me as I looked upriver...


... a long, twisting, rugged slice of heaven.

The "trail" sometimes looked like this:


And sometimes it looked like this:


Then you'd get to the top of one of the rocky peaks, and you would just want to sit and stare.


Incidentally, this is why I also brought along my mini-tripod, so I could take pictures like this - same spot, but now it has me in it:


Albert still hasn't figured out how to use my camera. Also, it was at this point that I discovered that Albert is a good climber, but he's not much on the descent. When I got to the bottom of this tricky stretch, I turned around to see that Albert hadn't budged.


Wait a minute, you say, Albert isn't in that picture. On the contrary, just to give you an idea of the scale and heights and distances we're dealing with, look closely, Albert is between the arrows:


And this is actually the "trail" - you can see the light blue paint slash on the nearest rock and on the angular rock about halfway up. I had to climb back up there and carry him down.

Eventually, we got to another place where a self-portrait seemed appropriate.


And we relaxed and enjoyed the view.


This hike was easily one of the most fun, challenging, scenic and all-in-all enjoyable I've ever had.

It's hard to believe this is 15 miles from the front door of my hovel, and about the same distance from downtown Washington, DC.