I chatted with Patrick this morning as I packed and he waited for Jaime to awake. She arose and I departed about the same time, wishing them the best on their trek forward.
The first five miles of the day flew by on the WMRT. Then, back to the C&O. Sigh. Except for a slightly longer than brief stop for groceries in Williamsport due to a failed shortcut, the day was mostly about cycling.
In Shepherdstown the trail upgraded to crushed gravel, similar to the Erie Canalway—a significant improvement. No WMRT, but far better.
At my intended hiker biker site for the night, a multi-family with screaming children populated the site. I decided to make the reach for the next one, 20 km away instead of the usual ~10 km bringing my day to 94 km.
Considering the late start from a cold morning and talking with Patrick, some/Internet work, and the slightly misdirected shopping, I arrived at the Huckleberry Hill Hiker Biker site in late afternoon, with the next site another 20 km. Well-populated, but I found a separate site off in one corner (with the only table!). Taking a dip in the Potomac, a large group pulled in.
I spent the evening chatting with the six of them, all named Robert (apparently a thing; they’d even left two more Roberts behind who don”t cycle). They’re headed to Cumberland, but Robert might head to Albany afterwards to cycle part of the Erie Canalway, which conveniently I could provide recent information.
I’ve been corresponding back and forth with a friend in DC (Charlotte, who cycled with me in Portugal) trying to get schedules (mostly mine) to line up do we could cycle together for a bit. I’ve lucked out to be arriving at DC on the weekend, but at my current pace I’d blow through and miss Charlotte. Finding a spot on a Friday could also be tricky. The 134 km the day before pushed me ahead of schedule.
So I plan a short day tomorrow. That will put me just outside of DC. I can meet up with Charlotte Sat. morning. A short day also means I arrive at the campsite early enough to alleviate concerns about finding a spot on a (now) holiday weekend. I should also be able to pass into and back out of DC that day, instead of ending in DC on Friday night.