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Sunday, August 05, 2001

By Lawrence Walsh, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Biking from Confluence to Fort Hill in Somerset County used to be a haul. No longer.

A 6 1/2 mile of the Great Allegheny Passage between the two towns has been completed.

Finally.

No longer will bikers have to climb hilly Route 281 from Confluence to the Fort Hill turn-off, ride their brakes down an even steeper hill, pray no vehicles meet them going through the one-lane underpass below the railroad tracks, cross the steel bridge over the Casselman River and climb a short hill to rejoin the bike trail.

Although the official opening of the passage's newest section won't occur until Aug. 24, it's open now.

And what a ride it is.

The new section starts near Route 281 and the Youghiogheny River, crosses a bridge that spans the Casselman and continues to a new concrete underpass below Route 523 near Harnedsville. It then crosses a narrow two-lane road on the other side of Harnedsville, goes over another bridge over the Casselman and then passes a picturesque farm.

With the meandering Casselman on the left, the trail straightens out and the scenery takes over.

Magnificent.

Along the way, two major tributaries of the Casselman -- Cucumber Run and McClintock Run -- splash over a series of small waterfalls before flowing through culverts under the smooth, crushed limestone trail. Hemlocks and hardwood trees provide shade along the way.

Linda McKenna Boxx of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, the umbrella organization for seven rails-to-trails groups, cannot contain her enthusiasm for the newest section of the Great Allegheny Passage.

"It is so gorgeous," she said, "Its completion gives bicyclists the opportunity to pedal 100 miles of former railroad right-of-way from McKeesport to Meyersdale."

Events are planned on Aug. 25 at several towns along that 100-mile route. Confluence, named for the site where the Youghiogheny and Casselman rivers and Laurel Hill Creek converge, will celebrate with a chicken barbecue, an old time baseball game and music provided by disc jockey Jason Baluch.

"We believe the completion of the trail to Fort Hill will bring more visitors to town and we're prepared to welcome them," said Ray Silbaugh, president of the Confluence Tourism Association.

Some already have arrived and stayed overnight, said Linda Holliday, who, with her husband, Bill, operates The Point Guest House at the junction of the Youghiogheny and Casselman.

"In the past two weeks, our small business has seen a significant increase in the number of cyclists passing through. I knew the link-up would be important to Confluence's economy, but this appears bigger than I imagined."

The owners of The Parker House, another guest house; the River's Edge Cafe and Bed and Breakfast and Danny's Restaurant, expressed similar sentiments.

"Some people are seeing Somerset County for the first time, and I'm damn proud of that," said Hank Parke, director of the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce and president of the Somerset County Rails to Trails Association.

Parke's dedication to both jobs often means a seven-day work week. "It hasn't been easy," he said, referring to the development of the passage. "We're not done yet, but we're well on the way."

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new section will be held in Confluence at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 24. Federal, state and county officials have been invited, including Gov. Tom Ridge; U. S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, who has helped obtain crucial federal funds for rails-trails; and Secretary John Oliver of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Also on hand will be representatives of rails-trails groups that make up the Allegheny Trail Alliance, all of whom have donated their considerable talents and thousands of hours to extend a bicycle route from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

They belong to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, Steel Valley Trail, Montour Trail, Youghiogheny River Trail (North), Youghiogheny River Trail (South), Allegheny Highlands Trail (Pa.) and Allegheny Highlands Trail (Md.).

"The Confluence to Fort Hill link ... is what we've been working for for the past 10 years," said Bob McKinley, manager of the Regional Trail Corp. The corporation is a non-profit organization created by Allegheny, Fayette and Westmoreland counties to acquire, develop and manage rails-trails projects in southwestern Pennsylvania.

McKinley said the Great Allegheny Passage, already designated a National Recreation Trail, enables bicyclists, hikers, cross-country skiers and people with disabilities "to discover the region's singular beauty in river gorges, mountain vistas and sweeping cityscapes.

Don Briggs, National Park Service coordinator for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, said the continuity of the trail will help to tell the story of the region.

"It will provide an avenue to connect local sites with national stories focusing on the [war between the French and British to control the frontier], industrial history and conservation."

Court Gold, executive director of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, said the Great Allegheny Passage already has spurred economic development in many of the trailhead towns where guest houses, bed and breakfast establishments and restaurants have opened in recent years.

The Great Allegheny Passage has cost just over $33 million to date. The federal government contributed $17 million, the state supplied almost $11 million; private sources donated almost $4.8 million and several counties paid a total of $300,000.

Rails-trails advocates predict the investment will pay for itself many times over because of the economic development it will generate and the jobs it will create.

The Allegheny Trail Alliance has asked everyone who uses any part of the Great Allegheny Passage from Aug. 24 to 26 to keep track of the number of miles they traveled and record it with the alliance

For more information on the Great Allegheny Passage, call 888-282-2453 or 724-853-2453 or click on http://www.atatrail.org/ata-home.htm.

Short takes

Bids are due Aug. 22 to install a new, 8-inch-thick steel-ribbed liner in the 3,300-foot-long Big Savage Tunnel. The state Department of General Services has two months to award the bid and, if the weather cooperates, work on the eight-month project could begin this fall.

Mapmaker, designer, editor and writer Bill Metzger of Mt. Lebanon would like anyone with knowledge and/or photographs of the small towns along the Great Allegheny Passage, especially those from Meyersdale to Connellsville, to e-mail him at smilinbyll@aol.com.

Don Olson, president of the Pittsburgh Off Road Cyclists, is forming an advocacy group to challenge the Pennsylvania Game Commission if it attempts to curtail mountain biking in state game lands. For more information, call 724-864-8668 or e-mail dolson@Robicon.com.

Pennsylvania Adventure Racing is conducting a series of unique 50-mile races this summer in Ohiopyle State Park. The next one will be Sept. 23 and consists of mountain biking, trail running or hiking, kayaking, orienteering and ropes (optional). Participants can compete as two-person teams or solo. For more information, call 412-363-6862 or click on http://www.paadventureracing.com/.

Allison Hartsoe, 30, a McCandless native who now lives in Sausalito, Calif., returned to Erie, Pa. July 21 en route -- by bicycle -- from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Hartsoe, who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro last summer, accepted an offer from a friend, Hunter Wornall, to join him on a 52-day America By Bicycle trip. They started June 10 in San Francisco and finished July 31 in Portsmouth, N.H. The group averaged 80 miles a day, had only five rest days and put about 3,800 miles on their bodies and bikes.

Lawrence Walsh can be reached at 412-263-1488. His e-mail address is lwalsh@post-gazette.com.