Allegheny Highlands Trail is a level path in middle of W. Virginia mountains
By BOB DOWNING
Akron Beacon Journal
PARSONS, W.Va. - It was no contest: The yellow jackets won.
I had pedaled from Parsons to Hendricks. I got off my bike in Hendricks (population 317) to check the information kiosk for a new trail map.
A few yellow jackets buzzed. One got stuck in my jacket sleeve. That angered him. He stung me and called in reinforcements.
I took off running and swatting. I got about a dozen stings to my hands, face and the back of my head. Ouch times 12. But there was no allergic reaction; I could still gratefully breathe and swallow.
Welcome to West Virginia's Allegheny Highlands Trail.
The rail-trail stretches 21 miles along U.S. 219 from Elkins in Randolph County to Parsons in neighboring Tucker County. That section opened in 2001.
Most of Tucker County and 25 percent of Randolph County lie within the rugged 919,000-acre Monongahela National Forest. The elevations within the national forest range from 1,000 feet to 4,863 feet.
But the Allegheny Highlands Trail is mostly flat, and that's the biggest surprise.
The trail follows the route of the old West Virginia Central & Pittsburgh Railway that was built in 1884 by Henry Gassaway Davis. Later it became the Western Maryland Railway. That explains the lack of steep grades in a land dominated by mountains.
Now the trail runs an additional 2.63 miles from Parsons with its old railroad depot along the Black Fork River to Hendricks. That pretty section opened in early 2004.
A 1.04-mile section in Parsons was completed in late 2009.
A new bridge is under construction on U.S. 219 at the edge of Parsons for the highway and trail. The trail is now detoured through the U.S. Forest Service's Nursery Bottom forest research center at Bretz.
Parsons (population 1,784) also wants to restore the old 240-foot-long Western Maryland Railway bridge over the Shavers Fork River into a trail-only structure.
A 0.8-mile southern section through Elkins is still to be completed, from Highland Park to the restored Western Maryland Railway station in the Elkins rail yard.
The trail will be 25 miles when completed.
A warning: West Virginia's Allegheny Highlands Trail is different from Pennsylvania's old Allegheny Highlands Trail that now is part of the Great Allegheny Passage that runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md.
But the Allegheny Highlands Trail is a work in progress.
There are plans to extend the trail from Hendricks to the northeast, up the Blackwater Canyon 10 miles to Thomas at the edge of Canaan Valley, and from Douglas to Mount Storm.
That section from Hendricks to Thomas (population 713) will be a steep uphill climb: an ascent of nearly 1,300 feet. You can hike and bike that section now, although it is not yet improved.
Trail supporters are also working with the Allegheny Highlands Trail Partners to connect Thomas to Cumberland and the Great Allegheny Passage in western Maryland.
There will be a guided ride through the Blackwater Canyon from Thomas to Bretz on Sept. 25. The 12.5-mile downhill ride will begin at 1 p.m. Helmets are required.
The ride should take about three hours with rest stops and history stops. Shuttle service will be offered to the drivers of vehicles. The ride is not recommended for children under 10. For more information, call 304-637-7505 or e-mail info@highlandstrail.org.
Some of the best hiking and biking options along the Allegheny Highlands Trail between Parsons and Elkins are found just off the rail-trail on roads and single-track trails that lead into the national forest, according to the Highlands Trail Foundation, a grass-roots group based in Elkins.
The rail-trail provides easy access to empty back roads and wooded trails in the national forest, including those on Pheasant Mountain, for hikers and bikers.
The South Haddix Trail is an experts-only 12-mile ride that starts at Montrose. You ride up an old logging road, climbing a ridge to the east to reach a single-track trail that appeals to mountain bikers willing to climb a steep ridge and savor a wild descent.
You can also access the South Haddix Trail from Moore via Forest Service Road No. 116. It is a loop of nearly 20 miles.
The Upper Shingle Tree/Pheasant Mountain ride is a 4-mile loop from Porterwood. The trail climbs on a narrow-gauge railroad bed and then descends on a forest service road. It is accessible from Forest Service Road No. 933 at the Cheat Cooperative Wildlife Management Area.
You can also ride 15 1/2 miles from Kerens along the pretty Shavers Fork of the Cheat River.
Kerens offers a series of short loops to the west on Laurel Mountain's back roads and trails for beginners and intermediate riders.
The trail foundation lists 11 suggested loop rides off the Allegheny Highlands Trail in a trail map/brochure it distributes.
The trail runs through remote and undeveloped countryside, forests, meadows, farms, wetlands and small towns.
Geocaches have been installed along the trail for people with global positioning system (GPS) gear.
The trail's southern terminus is currently at Highland Park on the northern edge of Elkins, the Randolph County seat and a one-time railroad, lumber and coal town.
The trail was built by the West Virginia Department of Highways as a bicycle accommodation for the new Corridor H highway.
The sections closest to Elkins and Parsons are asphalt paved. The middle section through the farm country along Leading Creek is rolled limestone.
The grade is fairly easy in both directions, but gently descends from the Randolph-Tucker county line in both directions. The high point is between Montrose and Moore.
The easiest way is to start in Elkins, not Parsons.
Parking is available at Highland Park, Gilman, Kerens, Montrose, Porterwood, Parsons, Bretz and Hendricks.
The rail-trail is open to all nonmotorized recreational use including walking, bicycling, riding horses, rollerblading, skateboarding and cross-country skiing. Electric wheelchairs are permitted.
Equestrian use is discouraged on the paved trail sections near Elkins and Parsons.
For more information, contact the Highlands Trail Foundation at P.O. Box 2862, Elkins, WV 26241. You can also check out http://www.highlandstrail.org. You can also get information from the Randolph County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 315 Railroad Ave., Suite 1, Elkins, WV 26241, 800-422-3304, http://www.randolphcountywv.com. Also the Tucker County Convention & Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 565, Davis, WV 26260, 800-782-2775, http://www.canaanvalley.org. You can also get topographic maps of the Monongahela National Forest at the U.S. Forest Service office in Elkins. It is at 200 Sycamore St., Elkins, WV 26241, 304-636-1800. The Internet site is http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf. There are also three bike shops in the area with rentals, shuttles and helpful information:
-Blackwater Bikes, Davis, 304-259-5286.
-Joey's Bike Shop, Elkins, 304-636-0219.
Other nearby attractions include whitewater trips on the Cheat River, the Fernow Experimental Forest, the Otter Creek Wilderness, Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley State Park and the Dolly Sods Wilderness.
Bob Downing: bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com
Steve,John,Mandi,Me, Andy, Greta(she did the abbreviated Rendezvous) and Sara.
