Swain's Lock to Pennyfield Lock

Monday, January 18, 2010

1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

3 miles from Swain's Lock (mile 16.6, Lock 21) to Pennyfield Lock (mile 19.6, Lock 22)

6 miles roundtrip

Total to date toward goal =  14 miles (170.5 to go)

Temperature about 50-degrees

We missed our volunteer project for MLK Day due to electrical problems (waiting on the electrician) so instead headed to the C&O to enjoy the beautiful weather on this federal holiday.  We saw more people on this trip, and the parking lot at Swain's Lock was nearly full.  On the towpath, we encountered about 20 people, mostly bikers in groups and a few runners.

This is a less remote part of the path, with large homes visible on the hills above and behind the canal.  There are many little islands dotting the Potomac River on this three-mile stretch and it is quite narrow in places.

A WSSC water treatment plant is less than a mile north of Swain's Lock; there you can walk right up to the river and look at the water rushing by.

We saw a Great Blue Heron on the canal, several groups of ducks, goldfinches, a few downy woodpeckers, crows, vultures, geese, and some nuthatches.  Hawks circled overhead and along the river; we spotted one when its large shadow moved over us.  We saw huge nests in the very tall trees along the Virginia side of the Potomac.   We saw a bald eagle flying low along the water, moving north, with a fish in its mouth.  It flew into the trees on the Virginia side (you can barely see the eagle flying low over the water in the photo directly above).

The canal was still frozen in some places.  The melting ice had some beautiful patterns, presumably from the plants waving below the thawing surface.

Most of the ice had melted from the trail and no snow was left in the woods.  There was no ice in the Potomac.

This was the first walk where we did not spot any pileated woodpeckers.  Reasons may be that the woods were less dense, humanity was closer, and the water treatment plant was nearby.  We also saw carcasses of two deer, in different places along the far bank of the canal.  They were near the high fences around the water treatment facility and presumably a predator was able to corner them as a result.

Pennyfield lock #22 is undergoing construction. The lockhouse is quite attractive and in very good shape.  It is one of the four Canal Quarters lockhouses that are available for rent to the public in a partnership between the C&O Canal Trust and the National Park Service.  The rentals have varying amenities (some do not have heat or plumbing).

It was a perfect day for a walk.  It felt like early spring.  Seeing a bald eagle was pretty special and spending time with my favorite 25 year old was priceless.