What a beautiful trail, and to think it is connected to Washington DC and most people barely know it exists. Any one who enjoys the outdoors should pack a bag and get on a bike (or put on comfortable shoes) and do a coup,e of days down the trail. It’s easy and beautiful.
You get a rare opportunity to see a variety of flora and fauna in a wild environment while witnessing the forest reclaim some “modern” industrial achievements from the last two centuries. The mixture of colored flowers, green leaves, moss covered water, and rusted equipment is enough to make anyone think of dystopian science fiction films where the earth has forgotten about mankind.
Along the trail every 5-8 miles there are free camp grounds, bathrooms, grills, campfire pits, firewood, and water pumps. The water tastes like iodine but it keeps you hydrated and adds to the non-urban nature of the experience. June seemed to be a great time for animal lovers, I saw a fox, many deer, geese, ducks, stork-like bird, something that looked like a beaver without the tail, many squirrels, and a bunch of turtles sunbathing on rocks. It really was a marvelous trip that ,y words don’t do justice, hopefully the pictures will help.
Wandering Oak 
I just read through your posts from the past two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed them. Thanks for taking us with you on your journey, Peter. We can’t wait to see you.