Today we rode backwards for 11 miles to Ohiopyle and therefore added 22 miles round trip to the standard length of the trail. It was beautiful and downhill from Confluence. This is the oldest portion of the trail, built in 1986. It is a pleasant ride by the river, surrounded by abundant vegetation and singing birds.
The second hike of the day was on the Laurel Highland Trail, which is 47-mile long. We did not do the whole trail (of course), but rather hiked to a beautiful overlook. The hike started quite steeply. The picture does not do justice to the steepness of the trail. We had to stop for quite a while to observe a very bold, completely oblivious black and white warbler that was wrestling with a big caterpillar in the middle of the trail. It would not give up, and got its price. We chose it as the bird of the day.
Then we stopped at the Falls City Pub for a local brew that just "kegged"; we were then "forced" to drink Stone IPA instead. There was a large group of riders (300+) in the area that were participating in a Rails-to-Trails conference; it felt out of place to be a hiker for a day.
A storm was starting to develop and we decided to bike back to Confluence on time to avoid the downpour. We had a lovely dinner at the River's Edge Cafe and went back to the Lucky Dog Cafe for a post meal refreshment, where we hanged up again with the large group of cyclists.
After the rain, the fog from the river river produced very beautiful pictures.
After the rain, the fog from the river river produced very beautiful pictures.
Beer of the day: Stone IPA
Dinner: River's Edge Cafe
Bird of the day: Black and white warbler
Dinner: River's Edge Cafe
Bird of the day: Black and white warbler