Saturday - Days 3 and 4
After a good breakfast at the Old Clark Inn we saddled up and peddled the one block to the Greenbrier River Rail-Trail.
Shown here is Sharp's Tunnel. It is about 8 miles North of Marlinton. We went through the tunnel and peddled about 2 miles further to Big Run. Betsy was looking for a swimming spot but found none so we decided to head back to the tunnel bridge where there was supposed to be a good place to swim.
The North end of the tunnel.
It was built in 1899 and is 511 feet long with a slight curve to it.
I figgered these two folks here must have lost their Harleys or something. He was wearing a 9/11 "lest we forget" t-shirt with some longwinded "We are going to kick their asses" type quote of W's. Sure glad the war is going so well. We really showed 'em!
This is one of the reasons we love the GR R-T. Surely it has the best scenery of any Rail-Trail in State.
Another reason we love it, Swimmin' holes!
More great scenery.
We saw many miles of Wingstem in bloom on both the Rail-Trail and the roads.
The last time we saw this water tank it was in many pieces laying on the ground. We were very glad to see it have been reconstructed.
After finishing our 20+ miles on the trail we peddled down the road and headed to the Dairy-Queen for some cool treats.
Later, after a nap and clean up we headed over to Beartown State Park near Hillsboro.
'The name Beartown was chosen because local residents claimed that the many cave-like openings in the rocks made ideal winter dens for the black bears of the area. Also, the many deep, narrow crevasses were formed in a somewhat regular criss-cross pattern and appear from above like the streets of a small town.'
There are some really cool places to explore at Beartown SP and the boardwalks and stairs are quite amazing.
This vandalism is just old enough to be cool.
There was significant blown down in the Park and one can see why here. Some of the downed Hemlocks were 2'DBH
"Droop" is a my family nick-name. I will not say why.
There is much bucolic scenery like this in the highlands of West Virginia.
One Tuesday we decided to go hiking at Seneca State Forest. Based on a hiking map supplied by Inn we decided to hike the Crestline Trail. We drove over to the Forest and first stopped at HQ to get our own map. As soon as I walked in the door I saw a prominent sign stating "The Crestline Trail is temporarily closed." Boy, do I know how to pick'em!
Well, we decided to check it out anyway and drove the narrow and windy road up Michael Mountain until we got to a stone barricade at a small turn around. We parked and got out. At the barricade was a very permanent looking sign stating once again the "Crestline Trail is temporarily closed". Not to be worried by such things we started out on foot up the Mountain. We saw this Amanita cloaked in Hayscented fern on the side of the trail.
On the way up the Mountain we saw many beautiful leaves like this one. I think it was from a Sourwood Tree.
When we got to the crest of the mountain the very top where the rock ridge protruded was surrounded by a single strand of heavy wire. There were also newish looking "No Trespassing" signs posted. So, I guess it is safe to assume the reason for closure was some sort of boundary dispute between the SF and an adjacent land owner.
It is too bad as the old and nicely placed step and boulder lined trail have obviously not seen visitors in many years. The once fabulous views are now obscured by the trees.
All the outcrops were covered with this Rock Tripe. I had heard from various sources over the year the Rock Tripe cold be used as sustenance in the event of starvation.
The Crestline trail was only two miles so we decided to hike the Horseshoe Trail which starts and ends at the Campground. This was very nice, if steep 1.5 mile loop. We ended the hikes with a lunch of cheese, almonds, crackers and dried fruit at one of the empty camp sites.