Just when I thought this would be a detour free trip, BAM a dreaded detour strikes.
Here’s what happened. Just east of Paw Paw Tunnel on the C&O, there was a landslide. Even worse, other parts of the ravine are likely to come crashing down as well. For safety the National Park Service has closed the cut on the east end of the tunnel.
And so a Detour.
All trail traffic is being detoured over the Tunnel Hill Trail. This detour will likely take us about an hour to climb the steep hill and descend again (there’s a reason the canal tunneled here as well as two railroads)
This is already a big mileage day (40 miles), so hopefully we won’t make it to camp too late. Our campsite for that night is Devil’s Alley, 11.3 miles from the west end of the tunnel. In case it is getting late or we are exhausted after such a climb and descent (which we will definitely be pushing our bikes) there are two campsites in between the tunnel and our planned site. They are Sorrel Ridge at 1.7 miles from Paw Paw, and Stickpile Hill at 6.4 miles. The only problem with stopping early means a longer day of riding the next day, a day that is already 43.3 miles long. Stopping early would change that distance to 52.9 and 48.2 miles respectively. Of course we could always stop at other campsites than planned the next day too, just as long as we reach Lock 22 on the last night.
So that’s whats going on. Be sure to check Linking Up for more details on the detour.