Start: Hot Metal Bridge, Mike Marker 145, GAP 9 am

Finish: Ohiopyle State Park, Mike Market 71, GAP 5:40 pm

Total miles: 74

The GAP, I.e. the Great Allegheny Passage, is well-known among touring cyclists. (BTW, I am not a touring cyclist, but I’ve been getting to know some and have been reading their blogs)

It’s a 150 mile rails to trail path that begins in Pittsburgh and goes to Cumberland, MD (my home state!) and connects with the C&O towpath to go to Washington, DC. It’s incredibly well-maintained with numerous services and primitive campsites every few miles. It’s like Disneyland after the last few days of rugged Appalachian roads.

My %!?#& app told me my campsite was 67 miles from my start, but, as we know, it lies like a rug. It was 74 miles. I figured this out after 45 miles. So once again, I had to really dig in to a big effort day with frantic finish to set up camp before sundown.

The trail heads very gradually uphill to the eastern continental divide at Cumberland. It’s not terribly obvious that you’re climbing except that you are always peddling. All in all, it was a wonderful, beautiful ride.

When I reserved the campsite, the very helpful Pennsylvania State Parks person told me that the connector trail from the GAP to the campground was steep. She was understating the case. I had to take everything off the bike after about 1/4 mile because I couldn’t push the loaded bike up the grade without falling down the hill. But I made it. I may have been yelling to the heavens that it was too hard. It’s possible that there were tears. But I got to my campsite in this really beautiful park and am all tucked in. It’s supposed to start raining at 4 am and rain all day tomorrow.