Day 4: To Meyersdale

September 12, 2014

The morning was cooler than previous mornings. 56F, foggy. That makes it harder to get moving. I slept until 8. Breakfast at the bakery, the only place serving food in the morning. After breakfast I went 3/4 mile past Ohiopyle Falls to the well-signed Cucumber Falls trailhead. The trail to the falls is only 500 feet. The falls plunges 30 feet with a large overhang. Worth the short detour!

I want to come back someday to see more of the canyons in Ohiopyle State Park, paddle the middle Yough river, and see Falling Water (Frank Lloyd Wright designed house built on a waterfall).

Cucumber Falls drops 30 feet. 1 mile from the GAP trail in Ohiopyle State Park.

I finally left Ohiopyle at about 10:30. The sky was overcast and drizzly, still in the 50's. I didn't see other cyclists on the trail until after noon. The other riders are bigger wimps than me!

Trail bridge that I crossed yesterday when coming into Ohiopyle.

A spur trail bridge provides easy access to the town of Confluence. I pedaled back and forth through town looking for a place to eat lunch. It's no longer peak season, so some places are only open Friday thru Sunday now. Today's Thursday. Upon recommendation of another cyclist I had an excellent lunch at the River's Edge Cafe.

Confluence is very much a "trail town", with several businesses that wouldn't be there if not for the trail.

I was hoping to run into my friend Gary Gilbert who is biking from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh. Our paths crossed today, but I never saw him.

I bet Confluence had no bike shop before the trail was built.

The town of Confluence is at the confluence of the Youghiogheny river and Casselman river. Now I will go up the smaller Casselman river, the last stream leading to the Great Eastern Divide.

Crossing the Casselman river. New bridge on old supports.

Once again the trail has a barely noticeable grade and the river has a visible gradient most of the time. Today I gradually climbed from 1230 feet to 2106 feet elevation, mostly on a straight path through a tunnel of trees. Monotonous, and frustrating that I can seldom see the river and surrounding mountains. But it's peaceful and serene (when a train isn't going by) with no traffic and hardly any cross roads. And I'm getting through steep mountains on a nearly level trail. I can think of worse places to pedal.

I pedaled through miles and miles of scenery like this.

The path stays close to the river but as usual the vegetation obstructs the view most of the time. The river is 50 feet below, inaccessible. Limestone cliffs sometimes appear next to the trail. A few cliffs have eroded overhangs and dripping water but there was no real "trailside waterfall" today.

The trail makes a gently graded 1.5 mile loop to get around the Pinkerton tunnel. Maybe the tunnel will be open a few years from now.

The 849 foot long Pinkerton tunnel is bypassed by a 1.5 mile trail detour.

Today I saw at least 10 loaded touring cyclists. I also saw many day-trippers going the opposite direction, downhill from Meyersdale to Confluence. The area Bed and Breakfasts advertise packages that include shuttle service for people to ride the trail one way.

Town of Rockwood from the trail. I didn't go there.

Near the end of the day's ride I pedaled over the Salisbury Viaduct. At 1908 feet long it's the longest trestle on the Great Allegheny Passage trail. I detoured down a steep hill to see the trestle from below. I seldom get the opportunity to see the trestle below.

View from Salisbury Viaduct. Few trail bridges have a concrete surface.

I've been hearing several trains per hour while biking the trail, but I hardly ever see a train through the foliage. I suppose most of the unseen trains have been coal trains.

Coal trains are a regular sight in Appalachia.

The 1908 ft (578 m) long Salisbury Viaduct is the longest trestle on the *Great Allegheny Passage* trail.

A couple miles past Salisbury Viaduct I turned off the trail, down a steep grade into the town of Meyersdale. It's a charming town.

I stayed at Yoder's Motel. The building is mostly rental apartments, plus 3 or 4 motel rooms. My $55 room was small, but otherwise fine. The building is fascinating to see inside.

My motel in Meyersdale. Built in 1901 for a doctor's residence and practice.

Glass mailboxes. Stamped tin on the wall.

In the evening I walked around the historic neighborhood. Meyersdale is a real town with historic charm and a few warts. I like it. A pleasant contrast to the curated park village I stayed in last night.

I'm at 2106 feet elevation, not far from the Great Eastern Divide. I even started seeing a few conifer trees lately. Today was cold and drizzly until about 2 PM. Then the sky cleared and it warmed up to 65F. Coolest day so far.

Distance: 48.6 mi. (78 km) mostly unpaved
Climbing: 1283 ft. (389 m)
Average Speed: 9.3 mph (15 km/h)

Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 191 miles (307 km)

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