This morning we took advantage of the relatively favourable weather conditions and slept later than expected. Our hammocks are quite comfortable and they afforded us a decent sleep although we have no shelter above us if the weather changes.

We packed up our camp and set off on our second day of the expedition with a vague idea that we might make about 10 miles a day and finish within two weeks. Hawley was the next town on our route. We continued on the towpath for a while before it became overgrown again and we decided to leave the canal and hook up with the US 6. We were covering about 2 miles per hour which brought us into the Hawley area at around 12pm having passed lock 32 (101.49) and lock 31 (100.49) on the way. The locks are impressive reminders of the physicality of the canal and it becomes a thrill at lock 32 to find iron work and the remains of huge wooden posts in the lock bed.

We met a great guy today named Leeroy who remembers his father working on the Canal. His property includes a section of the canal and a pond where canal boats were kept. He walks us the length of his property along the towpath and discusses his memories and hopes for the future of the canal.

After walking for some time a cliff began to rise above us to the left separating us further from the road while on the right the river sticks closely to the canal. We stopped for a break at a rock fall site where there are signs of a campsite, recently used and stone seating made from stones taken from the landslide. At this rest point we built a cairn and scratched into a flat slab the words ‘Jones & Roa Expedition 2007’ as a marker of our presence in the area.

We set off again and were managing to walk for an hour then take a half hour break. This good progress was interrupted suddenly by the increasing difficulty of the terrain. The canal is so tightly packed between the cliff and the river that it completely disappears and seems to go underground before reappearing replete with towpath. We slogged through this area with many parts completely overgrown and no sign of the canal. Plants and bushes grew above our heads and marsh land and rough, loose cliff faces were some of the hazards we had to navigate. We had a couple of near falls on the cliff face as we tried to balance our way along precipitous ledges.

Eventually the ground became gentler and we descended from cliffs to flat and grassy remains of the towpath with the canal running quietly along side it. This section took much of the afternoon and we were planning to set up camp around 7.30pm. Finally we came to a steel and concrete bridge which crosses the canal and the river (95.09). We took a shorter than expected break here interrupted as we were by a gun toting local who seemed extremely suspicious of us. He grudgingly pointed us in the direction of the north section of Kimble’s road and we continued on that route passing the site of lock 23.

Pressing on we wanted to find a good spot to set up camp and as we could see the towpath from the road we kept an eye out for a campsite as we passed lock 21. Just beyond lock 20 (93.98) we pitched up for the night. We were extremely fatigued but we chose a spot on the towpath, just hidden from the road on the left and on the right the towpath wall descends about 9 feet to join the very edge of the river bank. Ahead of us there is a gap in the towpath and so we are sleeping protected on three sides. Protected from what we don’t know but protected nonetheless.

It is getting dark now and the fireflies are spectacular tonight, they seem like flitting ghosts above us in the trees and below us in the sunken trench of the worn out canal bed.