Welcome to TowpathJoe.com!

My name is Joe Hage, aka Towpath Joe, and for the last 19 years I've had the pleasure of living and working on an Island in the Potomac River, and for the last 19 years I have been writing about my experiences living there. Sycamore Island is located just two miles from the DC/Maryland border, the landing for the ferry boat is at mile 6.5 on the C&O canal and its accompanying towpath. After so many years of living and working along this towpath like I have, it's easy to see how I acquired my new moniker.

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My long stay on the Island is ending now, but my adventures on the Potomac river have just begin, and I'm looking forward to writing all about it. I'm so excited to have this website so that I can continue my writing and continue to share all that this area and this river has to offer.

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The theme of this new site is to explore the unique natural history of the Potomac River watershed and to share the many adventures and recreational opportunities that it has to offer.

 

Now that I am untethered from the Island, I can wander, and through my story-telling, take you with me to many of the common, and not so common, places in the area. My plan is to do regular posts about short day trips and also include longer stories about my multi-day paddling trips.

 

My hope is that I can inspire you to get out and appreciate the river and the natural world, and maybe learn to value it as much as I have.

 

This new site will be all about my new experiences, but naturally it will also include many of the stories that I wrote while serving as Caretaker of the Sycamore Island Canoe Club. My time there can truly be described as life-changing. Crossing the river everyday on the ferry for 19 years has allowed the river to weave itself into my life and has given me a perspective that I feel is uniquely mine. It truly is a part of me. Being so up-close and personal with the natural world for all those years has given me a feeling of being connected to the earth that I don't think I could have found anywhere else.

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Of course, the themes of conservation and stewardship are very important to talk about as we explore our dwindling natural resources, and changing climate, so the site will also include links to local conservation groups like Potomac Riverkeeper Network, Potomac Conservancy, Rock Creek Conservancy and Little Falls Watershed Alliance, and links to other sites with samples of my writing and my conservation work, like sycamoreisland.clubexpress.com and canalbycanoe.com

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