Hello Level Walkers,
Two philanthropists have made a donation to the C&O Canal Trust to fund installation of 15 benches upriver from Great Falls. Their donation is a thoughtful gesture for towpath users. To date almost all donors have chosen more popular downstream locations for their benches.
Because Jim Heins and his VIP crew do all the installation work, the Canal Trust has invited the C&O Canal Association to provide input on the precise locations of the benches.
The Canal Trust has designated 15 places for benches: Swains Lock, Seneca Creek Aqueduct, Point of Rocks, Brunswick, Harpers Ferry, Lock 38, Snyders Landing or Taylors Landing, Williamsport, Four Locks, Hancock, Little Orleans, Paw Paw Tunnel, Oldtown, Lock 75, and Cumberland.
If you are familiar with one of these places or are willing to scout one out, you can use the bench location specification form to submit a location to Jim Heins at jheins57@verizon.net by January 14. (If you can send it earlier, Jim would be appreciative.) Jim will review the locations, consolidate our inputs, and send the information to the Trust, who will submit the locations to the park for compliance review.
The most challenging aspect of this process is describing the suggested location so that someone else can go back and find it. You have a few options:
- If you can provide the exact GPS coordinates, that’s great.
- Mark the location with a colorful ribbon.
- Use your cell phone to take a picture of your hiking companion standing in the location. You can send the photo to Jim.
The bench location specification form gives some guidance on selecting a location.
Thank you for your support of this project.
Above – Bench installation at Great Falls, Level 6, November 5, 2016
Level Walker 