Waiting Around + The C&O, Part 1
Swains Lock Campground, Montgomery Co., MD [C&O Mile 16.6] • 2026-08-19
Apologies for the delays in posting these entries. West Virginia has been a lot, and I have frequently been without service.
The bike still needed to be worked on at the shop. It was waiting for a part, so while I had assurances it would be ready by the end of the day, I had no assurances it would be early.
To pass the time, after getting things packed up I headed to the National Gallery of Art and walked around for a few hours. I’ve been here before, almost a decade ago, and it was fun seeing paintings that I mainly knew from my camera roll again.
I didn’t mention this earlier since it hasn’t been super relevant, but the area around the mall has actually been very annoying to walk around. As part of Trump’s Freedom 250 events this summer, they’re holding an Indy car race in the capital, so they had a bunch of the roads fenced off to prepare for that, with kind of confusing places to pass through.
After mailing a box with my old pannier, water bottle, pan, and postcards homewards, I sat around the neighborhood with the bike shop to wait. It was ready at about 5, so I took it, rode back to the hostel to get my bags, then turned west to continue on my journey.
The route through DC was lovely (or would be, if everything was normal). I managed to get to the Mall and rode past the Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool (currently drained and fenced off), and Lincoln Memorial (with this weird thing by USAA on the front steps).
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Trail starts in Georgetown and continues up the Potomac River for 184.5 miles. I will be spending a few days riding it in its entirety, but for now I was just trying to make it to the first campsite before dark.
The first section of trail leaving the city is beautiful, and a few miles before the campsite there was a waterfall. The Potomac River is pretty wild here (hence the canal), and I think it is pretty amazing how this sort of place can exist so close to the city of DC.
I set up camp while night was falling. Even after it was dark, it took a long time for the air to cool down, so I had a hard time getting to sleep.
Route Map
Gallery
