BSA Troop 719 -- C&O Canal Bike Hike 2003

The troop had decided that they wanted to start collecting the segments that are available for the C&O Canal Historic Trail patch, so in April, we decided to go on a bike hike from Hancock to Little Orleans. When we left, the weather was threatening rain (that was kind of par for the course this spring), but we managed to get loaded up and on the way without getting wet. We got to camp at Ft. Frederick and managed to get most of the personal gear setup and put away before the bottom dropped out of the clouds. But man, when the bottom dropped out, it rained, and thundered, and lightened...whew!!! However, with a little ingenuity and a lot of teamwork, we managed to get setup safely.

We were slated to set out early Saturday morning; however, there were more calls for thunderstorms, so we waited until they had cleared. The original plan was to shuttle the bikes to Hancock to start off the hike, but with the late start, we began from camp. Due to the weather this year, parts of the C&O path were washed out, so the beginning of the hike from Big Pool to Hancock was made on the paved Western Maryland Rail Trail. The first checkpoint with the SAG Wagon was to be made in Hancock with a determination to be made whether the C&O was passable from there to Little Orleans (it was). A couple of the younger scouts used Hancock as a lunch point and headed back to camp from there. The rest continued on the unpaved canal trail to Little Orleans. The SAG Wagon did pickup one rider slightly injured from a fall; however, the rest of the guys completed the trip without incident. Enjoy the pictures!

By the way, if you have ever wondered what the definition was for "SAG Wagon", I have obtained one from one of the parents who is an avid cyclist. SAG Wagon (noun) 1. stop and give up; 2. sore and give out; 3. snacks and goodies (a personal favorite); 4. support and gear (from the real bike guys)!