Great Falls of the Potomac

Great walk today along the gorge of the Potomac, starting and ending at Great Falls.  And they were superbly great today, as advertised.  The river and falls are much bigger than I'd imagined from the photographs, so I owe much greater respect to this seriously great river now.  The churning, boiling falls is like a giant multi-tiered cascade, very broad and sufficiently rumbling to be humbling.  My not so great cell phone camera got me an okay shot (above) before the battery died.  I managed to place my finger in the view for special effect.

The hike along the river gorge is easy and sporting.  Vertical rock walls enclose the torrent for a quite a distance and rock climbers were staking out positions along the brink as we headed downriver mid-morning.  Below the wild water, the river looks inviting for a paddle or float trip.  The woods are barren still, although thin sprays of green are showing up here and there.  Grass blades are pushing up beneath last fall's oak leaves.  I'm starting to recognize poison ivy, not to be messed with I'm told.  Saw a pair of vultures hanging out on the rocks across the river.  A pileated woodpecker hammered unseen somewhere behind us.

I also learned about an interesting annual hike folks like to do around here, simply called the One Day Hike.  It follows the C&O Canal Towpath from Georgetown to Harpers Ferry, which only happens to be 100 km away.  Yes, that's 62 miles of walking in a day.  You start at 3:00 am and must finish by midnight.  It's a flat trail, but holy guacamole.  You can also whimp out at 50 km (31 miles).  I checked the website today and the hike is April 30th, but boo-hoo-scooby-doo, registration is already full.  Darn.  Actually, I'll have to keep my eye on this, in case there's an opening.  I could have a compulsive moment and decide to go for it.  Or not.