VMO: C&O canal towpath bikepacking

For some reason I can’t stop thinking about this. I really want to do the whole C&O towpath next year. I just impulse bought all the bike spots on the Floridian 40 to Cumberland at 3:57pm on the Friday of memorial day 2026. As that is almost a year away I will post more about it later but this is just my obsession right now so here is the basic information:

• splits are roughly 60/60/60 with a little wiggle room depending on which campsites we go with and how much we do Friday night
• the cost of this trip is $53 for your train ticket
• for this train, you can just hand your bike fully loaded to the guy at the train luggage car and they will give it back to you at the platform in Cumberland, super easy
• I’m making this VMO+previous bike experience, we don’t really have bikepacking levels but you should be confident with basic bike maintenance and have the knowledge, tools and materials to fix a flat tire, fix a broken chain, wrenches for your bike’s nuts and bolts, etc. you should also have a bailout plan in case of emergency since nobody will have a car
• you will need a bike that can handle gravel
• the tickets are changeable and refundable so you can catch the train at a different spot if it would be more convenient (Alexandria, Rockville)

Map (please add any fun side quests or food!):
https://caltopo.com/m/0U4NSRV/AAB0T1CNG65HMTAK
I can take 4!