Jim Simm from Hagerstown, MD on 3/19/2015 8:44:51 PM:
Trail conditions so far are muddy. All our snow has melted away and the stuff forecasted for tonight will not last till noon tomorrow. Generally speaking the pump handles are attached around the second week of April. The wells are treated with Iodine and has a peculiar aftertaste. Recommend filling up with good old tap water, which is plentiful if you look for it in either Nelgene bottles or H2O bladders. Spring along the towpath is generally rainy and there are some of the hiker/biker campsites that you have to pay attention to when pitching your tent or you’ll wake up swimming in your sleeping bag. Best rule of thumb is always pitch on the high ground and avoid the “bowls” where rain water pools, some times several inches deep! The condition of the towpath from Cumberland till about the other side of Williamsport is pretty, well, poor. The closer you get to Washington, DC (and all the Doctors, Lawyers and Supreme Court Chief Justices) the better it gets; and so does the traffic. If you are not a purist, you can avoid some of the muck and mud at milepost 136/Lock 56 and switch off onto the Western Maryland Rail Trail, which is packed black top like the GAP trail surface, for about 40 miles then swing back onto the towpath just west of Fort Fredrick state park and on to Williamsport, MD. Have fun, be careful and enjoy the adventure.