I left the campground to repeat that lousy trail. Back in Harpers Ferry, I had a couple of quick-marts indicated ahead on the towpath, but decided to take the one most immediately available in Harpers Ferry, even though it was out of the way.
The problem with following a river up into the mountains is that whenever you leave the river, everything is up. A long, steep, climb brought me to the 7-11, where I picked up food and the critical replacement for my failed USB-C cable so I could recharge my phone! All told I had cycled 10 km even before I left town.
Another boring day of river, towpath, canal.
Today I spotted a deer ahead at a crossroads. It took off down the towpath ahead of me. With canal on one side, and, at the time, a fence on other, it had nowhere to go but forward. That worked great until we encountered a hiker coming the other way. The deer freaked out, crashing into the underbrush next to the fence. His progress slowed, I passed it only to realize I’d been chasing a fawn, still valiantly struggling through the underbrush. Looping back around, I scared him out of the brush and he headed back down the trail, hopefully to his mother with a story to tell.
I pulled into a hiker/biker site (Jordan Junction?) around 4 pm and set up camp, if only to have my tent to cower from the ever-present mosquitoes. An hour or so later Dave and Randy pulled in. They’re headed the other way, starting the same day I did. They’re both reasonably local, but it was Dave’s first tour. Unfortunately Dave’s connection with his bicycle seat wasn’t holding up, and he was pulling off in the morning, with family nearby to rescue him. We spent the evening preparing dinner and chatting.
63 km today.