The C & O Canal, occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch, actually is an abbreviation for Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that operated from 1831 until 1924, along the Potomac River, from Washington D.C. to Cumberland, MD. The canals principal cargo was coal from the Allegheny Mountains. Today, the canal towpath endures as a biking/hiking pathway, about 184 miles long.
The Paw Paw Tunnel, about 10 miles from where we are camping, is a notable feature on the C & O Canal. The tunnel was a great engineering feat at the time of its construction. Six tenths of a mile long and constructed of 6 million bricks, it cut six miles off the length of the canal.
You can hike through the tunnel and take a trail back over the top, but a headlamp or flashlight are recommended because it can get pretty dark in the middle. Some people claim that the tunnel is haunted and warn that dogs sometimes get spooked about halfway through. Starbaby “ain’t afraid of no ghosts “ and did beautifully on our morning hike there.
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