3 Miles West of Little Orleans to 4 Miles East of Cumberland, MD - June 6

Another day of mostly pedaling! Rapids are everywhere and the banks are too steep for me with my bad knee to climb up and boat ramps are all but gone now. I expected a lot of bike portaging along this leg, but not this much. Although I must say I've had fun along the tow path meeting a number of great people and interesting sites.

Today I biked through a half mile tunnel that cut off a number of miles when they built the canal. This canal was to link the Atlantic at Washington D.C. to the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, PA, but stopped at Cumberland, MD for a number of reasons. One being finances and the other - it became obsolete before it was finished. The railroad came through, I believe 7 years before it was done! I guess the government spent money wisely back then too. Maybe they were thinking ahead, that someday a guy with a canoe could use it to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Made camp 4 miles from Cumberland, mainly because I'm too cheap to go all the way into town and get a motel! Plus, I figured I'd spend the night under the stars and try and figure out how to get to the Ohio!