Day two put me in the Big Slackwater of the Potomac. A section where the river widens and slows due to Dam #4, and resembles more of a lake than a river. Some sections of the slackwater are over 60 feet deep. This was a section of the canal where boats would navigate through the deep waters of the river for 13 miles before entering the canal again. It's a popular area with many houses and docs on the Virginia side.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0-ENQWP6hys6nSu4Cp2GHcFfvGVMi8s65MrCQ7-3jvxUlrb8b5tI_K7NsmJuW-8-nps9nJPIfYzn1zTpopyLn3JZ54ux7G1V0yOfnEzTRZcj55UWz6aJ9iHKNb_fUWDZp1pNIhW_acc/s400/3882195231_19560b002c_b.jpg)
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After reconnecting with the canal the rest of the day sped by in a beautiful blur of cliffs, canal, railroad and river. Toward 5pm I reached the Paw Paw Tunnel which is not only 3/4's of a mile of engineering masterpiece but the reason the railroad beat the canal to Cumberland. There is some fascinating history surrounding the tunnel.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYu_8MjUi4NDPeCZOFipa3f4PxVU973GXC8iB_FxkfC-sy33PgICiJBurHD6NDBiqvpnqAettp-zk2qMTFqyLZcKQzHWGXZB0jlWleJeA9PD0IOzWlN3Vr_lIiLAI2e4HiJDZPjDqJAi4/s400/paw_paw_tunnel.jpg)
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taken with the 'blur cam'
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyzDrg79hIxzuRoG57feL8_oTbOwWYwVU9_I4eAjYfW6fGKFa8Gl4WkWKpUonQ7Lbupr6L7WlIJhbRsQo1L0WLTqAjtpr4ZsgLoX1td-uSlCuvEI9BNVSkHrTudBzLVGXiJWOAnKg_Lk/s400/3882203635_9fd4e00639_b.jpg)
The morning was beautiful and unlike most of the trail there was a lot of clearings full of sunlight.
Around a bend I happened upon a group of turkeys which oddly enough had a rabbit in their ranks (not in the photo).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZPf1z7DY8sdsCts8PfPdfPCQP-iPpCGdy7okFIRru4a6TX8-MzePm2mFdlqAnjCXF02UwMbTAC7RPi_AJNUVNJpwiW268EoJ-gbqmC85SNkeJ3tJDeoyt6D6XFQaJrwiOxUfUHOIZKA/s400/turkeys.jpg)
Having a short distance to travel before Cumberland turned out to be quite the motivator. I cranked it out averaging a little over 15 mph and arrived in Cumberland by 9:30 am.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQR2UBe5ZKzQqQOKyrgZE4wYX2b2aei8SsgRZ_IMV_1H3zjWjDWOh1QpWZzg0uVTloCNd7gdyRyoC4__Mx4V1S73nk3AEGQO__WtjG9zS-PHqyYOvTxg6jPtEcOHXGt0Bp3XaUUoAybE/s400/3883000946_47a7fc30a0.jpg)
I had a breakfast sandwich at Cafe Mark and browsed the supplies at Cumberland Trail Connection. The cool thing about Cafe Mark is that there was an electrical outlet right out front where I parked the bike so I could charge the phone before heading back towards DC. (bottom right)
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