Day 43 Washington, PA to Confluence PA

Mingo park covered bridge.

 Leaving Washington PA we expected big hills; we're entering the Appalachian  mountains after all. Our expectations were met and then some. The steepest one was 17%! Many were long and steep, but we made it up them all; no walking the bike for us. About 20 miles in we went through Mingo Creek County Park. It was gorgeous, but we had to rejoin the real world and
                                                                                       returned to Route 136.

Sculpture at our lunch stop.

YRT passage.

After toiling through the roads of PA, we were thrilled to enter the Youghiogheny River Trail (YRT) (try saying that 3 times fast!) It is part of the Great Allegheny Passage, a non-motorized  multi-use trail. The surface is crushed limestone which is fine for the tandem's wide tires, but I wondered how my skinny tired brethren were doing. It turns out, they did just fine.  

On one side of the passage is the  Youghiogheny (pronunciation???) river. On the other, trees seem to grow out straight from the hillside which rises 50 or 60 feet high. It is hard to describe. I took scads of pictures and none did it justice. In places the forest grew so thick the trees blotted out the sun. Huge boulders jutted from the soil, defying gravity. Cliffs rose up sometimes right next to the trail and others beyond large stands of trees. The trail itself ranged from a wide well worn path to a two track trail. I guess it just depended upon use. One element that surprised John and I was the lack of amenities... like water. The cities were few and far between. For city dwellers like John and I, it is hard to remember that there are such remote places left in America.  The YRT is a rail-trail, which means it cannot exceed a 2% grade :). It was built on the bed of an old railway. In some spots the trail widens and then narrows. John and I wonder if that is a legacy of the the railway having two tracks in some places and single lines in others.

Just when you think you are out of touch....

At lunch we were treated to a meal by a Big Ride alumni, Fred Husak. He provided a huge spread for us: subway sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies and drinks. It was located in a park that is in the path of the trail. John and I lingered over lunch enjoying the company of Fred and his family. We had just 30 miles of trail to go.

Our climb (and fall) for the day.

Caution: rocks may fall

After lunch, the trail became more of a two track and yet we began to pass more housing. Sometimes it was rows of homes and others were single dwellings on big pieces of land. After crossing a bridge we came across Ohiophyle, a city on the trial. It is on the river and had all the tourest shops one might look for. I found myself explaining to a local, that we had started our journey in Seattle, Washington, had ridden that day from Washington, PA and were on our way to Washington DC! Quite a coincidence. As usual, they were surprised we had ridden all that way on a bike...but then again so are John and I.

Later, at the campgrounds, I spent thirty or so minutes sitting waist deep in the Youghiogheny. I was right outside of where it is damned and the water that feeds it comes from deep below the surface of a lake. The water was cold. It felt good to sit on a boulder in the water and enjoy all the sounds of nature around me.