After I'd recovered from the hilly 50-mile Knobstone walk last year, I thought about attempting a longer distance. Hearing of the 100k (62.14 mile) "One Day Hike" from Washington DC to Harper's Ferry, my goal was set. The One Day Hike follows the C&O canal tow path, an uncompromisingly flat surface with only minor rises at every canal lock. Without the constant up and downs I'd experienced on the Knobstone, I figured I could successfully add another 12 miles to my longest day hike. However, I also knew I'd have to train specifically for this flat surface, the towpath I'd hiked along in Scotland had taught me that flat surfaces had their own difficulties.

Hills and varied trail surfaces force different muscles into action while resting other sets. A flat surface can repetitively pound the same spot on your foot and invoke the same muscles for hours. With that in mind I added several long walks on the local rail-trail to my training to condition myself. And two weeks prior to the event, I completed a 39 mile hike on the marginally-hilly Tecumseh trail with another local hiker.

As the plane banked over the Potomac and tray tables were restored to their full upright positions, I decided to finally make a plan for today. Normally, I'm a hyper-organized traveler with time tables and lists, but this time I really hadn't made any plans for my morning and afternoon in the capital. From my map I selected a metro stop and a rough plan to walk down the National Mall toward Watergate and the start of the C&O. There I'd find the starting point and figure out how far it was from my hotel.

Few tourists were out this early, but the crowds slowly gathered as I walked through the new WWII memorial. Throngs of junior high school students and their teachers on field trips mobbed the monuments. A sudden hunger drove me north toward George Washington University where I found a small restaurant catering to the student crowd. With my one item carry-on backpack I blended in with the student population, at least until I ordered a spicy thai curry lunch in the sea of 10:30a pancake breakfasts. Oh well, my whole day would be shifted with the goal of an early bedtime.

Fortified I headed toward the Potomac and took in the view of Rock Creek merging with the capital's river from the Kennedy Center. Rock Creek was also the start of the C&O canal, it's mile 0 marker and first lock should be located right around the boat center.

Crew teams were pulling hulls from the water and cleaning boats as I strolled by. I imagined the Potomac would be a much more interesting rowing experience than Indianapolis's Eagle Creek park where I'd spent a high school semester rowing crew.

Unable to locate the marker, I turned north and caught up with the C&O where 4 locks ran through Georgetown. Wandering into the Park Service's offices I asked about the Mile 0 marker and was assured I just needed to walk through the crew teams to reach it. A Park Service tour boat came through the still functioning locks before I returned to the mouth of Rock Creek.

On a little cape of land, above a tiny beach, I located the Mile 0 marker and sat down to watch the river traffic and planes travel by.

A 12 minute walk brought me to my hotel and I began to plan for the next morning. "3 am start, supposed to be there at 2:30, I should allow 15 minutes for the walk, another 5 to check out, at least 10 to wake up and make coffee, etc, I should be up a bit before 2am. . ."

After a short rest at the hotel I walked further north through town and had a simple dinner at a pub in the Foggy Bottom area. Returning to the hotel I organized for the next morning, setting out my breakfast, filling up my water bladder, laying out my clothes and pre-taping my feet. On my training walks I'd learned that my shoes and insoles would blister my heels where the two met, but a long horse-shoe shaped strip would effectively wrap and protect them. I set two different alarms and hoped to fall asleep with the sunset light still slipping past the ends of the blinds.

"No walk can be simultaneously an endurance test and a pleasure."
        - Arron Sussman & Ruth Goode's The Magic of Walking

I woke up a few minutes before my alarms feeling as well rested as I could hope for. Picking up my pack I found a large wet spot soaking the mattress of the other bed. Going into panic mode I realized my reliable-for-years bladder had chosen a poor time to spring a leak. Wiping off the pack and draining the bladder I cast about for a replacement. The fridge had come stocked with two overpriced natural spring water bottles, normally I'd never touch them, but the $9 for 1.5 liter capacity suddenly seemed less a rip off and more a godsend.

Coffee made, two pairs of socks donned and shoes loosely tied (to allow for swelling feet) I left the hotel in the cool night air attired more for a running race than a night on the town. More people were out than I would have expected at this time, including what looked like 6 nuns crossing the street. Figuring the caffeine hadn't kicked in yet, I hurried on to the boat center.

The few people already standing around reassured me that I was in the right place. I didn't even need to ask when I saw others clad in running shoes and shorts. I talked with a few of the other walkers and finished my coffee, surprised at the number of stars visible while still within the borders of DC.

A van pulled up and discharged 10 or so hikers and I heard someone say "That's the group from Indianapolis". I'd heard about a month ago that the Indianapolis Hiking Club was coming to this event as well, of the 90 people registered, well over 10% would be Hoosiers. I often joke about the Indy group being the arch rivals of our Bloomington Hiking Club, but I wandered over and introduced myself. They were a friendly group and we had some friends in common.

After check-in we received a brief talk of last minute instructions and were told we'd walk along the Potomac to the Kennedy Center, then turn and come back. That would ensure our hike today would end exactly 62.14 miles later at the Highacre center in Harper's Ferry. It would also mean all the mile markers along the canal would read one mile shy of our actual distance done. I'll admit to being a little disappointed that we would start right at the Mile 0 marker I'd taken the time to track down the day before.

With no fanfare we were set off. I figured I'd take it easy as long as we were crowded together. A portable cassette player provided some amusement playing the theme from "Chariots of Fire". Quickly I saw people headed back my way and knew we'd reached our turn-around and would soon step on the C&O to let it lead us on to West Virginia.

The pack reached the cobbled towpath and we walked by the street lamps of Georgetown. Few people were using flashlights yet as we dodged the uneven bricks and cars at the road crossings. Quickly we felt we'd left town, and were alone with the still waters of the canal and beyond an occasional car passed by on a parkway.

More headlamps and flashlights turned on, but the surface was so regular that I never used mine. The pack of walkers was slowly spreading out as people ducked behind trees or picked up the pace. A few people would jog a short distance, then settle into a walk again. For the first few miles I'd leap frog these participants as I kept up a steady 4 mph pace.

I hadn't felt cold at the parking lot, standing around, but now that I was moving my hands and torso felt the cool night air and any slight breeze. Thinking I should have packed gloves I pulled down my sleeves to cover my hands.

I was walking with a local who lived right outside of DC in Maryland. David helped the time pass with stories of the history near the C&O and we both discussed our climbing and backpacking trips and jobs and training hikes.

Behind us the sun began to lighten up the sky and a morning mist rose up from the canal. Blue herons would leave their perches and fly ahead to be startled again. I started paying attention to the flowers along the canal, mostly phlox, may apple and violets.

We'd passed through the first aid station quickly, just refilling our water bottles. I may not be the fastest hiker, and had no plans to jog today, but I did count on moving quickly through the aid stations. I'd eat and drink while I walked, stopping only to attend to blisters or use the porta-potties along the trail. A half hour or more could be spent enjoying the chairs and the sensation of being off your feet at the aid stations, but I'd have none of that until I reached Highacre.

We could hear the roar of water on the Potomac as it thundered over Great Falls to our left. The canal itself opened up, filling a space called Widewater where I had to stop for a photo of the lake-like calmness and the rising mist. This section of the towpath had been newly reconstructed and a dedication ceremony was scheduled for this afternoon. The NPS ranger had recommended it to me, but I told him I'd better be well past this point by then if I'd have any chance of making it to Harper's Ferry.

Our second aid station arrived after 23 miles and provided breakfast items. I took a banana and a muffin and a small amount of coffee. After a quick stretch we were off again, having passed a few people who lingered longer over the buffet. The muffin was devoured quickly, too quickly, as it sat in our stomachs like a brick. We joked about adding a dry bagel or powerbars to the mass, but hoped the carbs would fuel us to lunch time.

After the breakfast stop, the towpath and canal had risen well above the Potomac and the woods blocked our view. Parts of the canal no longer held water and we were left with a long green tunnel to march through. I spotted some Virginia Bluebells that must have snuck across the Potomac from their native lands, but otherwise this section felt dull and less scenic than the first 12 miles.

David was dealing with some growing blisters on his heel and kept searching the towpath for the smoothest and least graveled path. We stopped a small campsite and were passed by Mary, a hiker from Indianapolis who we'd been leapfrogging all morning. Shortly after Mary, Jeff came up and complained bitterly about trying to catch "that short old lady all morning". He seemed pretty agitated and I worried what would happen if he did catch her. The non-competative, cooperative nature of this walk espoused by the event management seemed imperiled.

An interminable grass farm passed us on the other side of the canal and I took to watching the endless poison ivy on the path's Potomac side. Finally, the mile 30 marker came into view, our half way point (31 miles walked).

The volunteers at the Edward's Ferry water station setup a large Scooby Do inflatable and laughed as I photographed them and their blister kit. David stopped to treat the blister that was on a grand tour circumnavigation of his heel, leaving a trail of red, raw skin.

I continued on, walking alone, and decided to pick up the pace a bit. I passed a few runners in the next 5 miles before reaching White's Ferry, the lunch stop.

I came into White's with a real mission. I had formulated a check list of tasks and set about completing those as quickly as possibly and moving out: Load up on food, fill water bottles, check for blisters, change outermost socks, and start walking again. Many of the hikers who I knew were just ahead of me had stopped for long breaks at White's to enjoy a leisurely lunch or take advantage of the staff helping to doctor feet.

Finding myself blister free, I was changing those outer socks when 3 of the Indianapolis hikers checked out of White's. Thanking the volunteers, I quickly left and tried to catch the trio.

Rita, Cindy and Cathy seemed to welcome me into their group. We had some mutual friends who hike with both the Indy and Bloomington groups and we'd all just completed a 50 miler last year. The miles seemed to go much faster as I could match their pace and let my mind settle in on their conversations. As it turned out, the One Day Hike would be a much easier mental challenge than the Knobstone 50 where I hiked by myself almost the entire day.

After the water stop at Monocacy, the trio stopped for a short bit and I pushed on at a pace I figured they could catch me in a few miles. I felt I needed to hike a few more miles solo to help make the challenge "mine".

Sure enough, after 3 miles the 3-way conversation was right behind me and I fell in with their pace again. Shortly after talking about oatmeal-raisin cookies (which we'd heard would be at the aid stations) Rita took off jogging ahead. I joked that she was going to beat us to all the cookies at the Point of Rocks dinner stop. However, she had just ran out of water and wanted simple H2O.

We were in and out of the dinner station quickly, but Rita stayed behind to wait for her husband and finish with him. The first half mile out of every aid station was becoming the hardest challenge, all our lower body parts were screaming for us to stop and we walked with an odd jerk until we'd beaten our feet and knees into submission and some semblance of rhythm returned to are walk.

At our 50 mile point (the 49 mile marker) I managed to leap up and click my heals in celebration. I definitely felt better now than after the 50 miles of the Knobstone. For the three of us, this would all be pushing our previous distance records.

We were passing more and more 50k walkers who had started at Edward's Ferry ahead of us. Most of them seemed to be in groups of 2-4 friends who'd all talked each other into attempting this event.

Leading into the last aid station, the canal towpath disappeared under a gravel road which seemed as interminable as the grass farm we'd passed after Seneca. Finally we arrived at Brunswick, which sported a flamingo theme and I called out "Thanks volunteers. We love you!" as we left knowing we could finish this last 6 miles.

We visited a porta-potty just out of the aid station that was inconveniently located down a 30 foot embankment. Climbing back up to the towpath hurt, but in a different way, and after 56 miles of flat, different wasn't so unwelcome.

For a half mile we slowly regained our cruising pace, keeping a constant distance behind some walkers ahead of us. Finally, Cindy snapped and must have grown tired at watching their backs. She picked up the pace and for the last 3 miles we passed 4 or 5 other hikers as the Appalachian Trail joined the tow patch and we moved closer to the Potomac.

Kayaks and river rafts were shooting the rocky rapids below Harper's Ferry when we passed the 60 mile marker, the last one we'd see. Just ahead was the Shenandoah River joining the Potomac, and then we could see Harper's Ferry and West Virginia.

We were directed up some narrow steps and onto a walkway on the railroad bridge. We'd finally left the C&O. Once down on the other side we passed the armory John Brown had taken in armed revolt. When a volunteer directed up a steep road, we were ready to revolt. Fully half of the whole day's elevation gain had to come in the last quarter mile.

We struggled on tired legs up the brick side walk and wondered if they couldn't have rolled out a nice thick mat to ascend instead of this hard surface. Another volunteer pointed us up an even steeper road and warned us to watch out for cars. At this point we couldn't have dodged out of the way of anything moving faster than 3 mph, so we just prayed for light traffic.

My left thigh suddenly cramped up, and I nearly fell on my side right in the road. Luckily it was short lived and I didn't have to crawl the last 200 yards. Ahead we saw the sign for Highacre and another volunteer, which by now we knew meant another increase in grade. Sure enough, the drive way leading up to the Highacre house was our steepest yet.

Once we were spotted coming up the driveway, volunteers and other walkers started cheering and shaking rattles for us. I managed to finish strong by hopping up the stair case 2 steps at a time to complete the walk. We'd finished before sunset (our goal) and under 17 hours.

I later found out that the toughest challenge wasn't the consistently flat surface, or starting again after every aid station, and it wasn't even the climb up to Highacre. No, waking up at midnight and trying to climb out of bed and make my way down the hall to the hostel's bathroom on ankles that wouldn't bend, sore legs and numb swollen feet was the crux of the day.

Photo Galleries: Prep and Pre-hike | Hike Day

External Links: One Day Hike | NPS C&O | Craig Tyndall's 2002 walk

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