The Dismal Swamp Canal (Day 012)

From: Elizabeth Dock, Deep Creek Lock on the Great Dismal Swamp Canal, Deep Creek, VA MM 10.7

To: NC Visitors’ Center, Great Dismal Swamp, NC MM 28.0

L/L: 36 30 40N 76 21 35W

Distance Traveled: 17.2

We're in a parade of six boats on Great Dismal Swamp Canal

Weather: Overcast; cool temp range low 50’s to low 60’s; windy above but light and variable in the

protected canal

Comment: Perfect! A dismal day for the Dismal Swamp Canal. Motoring was easy as the engines loafed for three and one-half hours. The scenery is pretty; the leaves have begun to change colors. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not spectacular like New England fall colors, but it is nice just the same.

We traveled the canal in the company of five other boats. Two of us joined two boats already tied up at the visitors’ center while the other four kept going.

We’re in for some cool and snotty weather for the next several days, so we are slowing our pace. We have covered 178 miles since leaving the Solomons four days ago. Aside from our rather short 17 mile day today, the others have been over fifty mile days.

Flotsam in the canal. Surprisingly, with only four miles of canal left for tomorrow, we have yet to hit any submerged objects. If we don't bump into anything tomorrow, it will be the first time we made it through the canal without any bumps at all!