Day 3 – Lunch In Confluence
Today’s Blog Entry
We spent a quiet Saturday morning in camp watching the rainy weather forecast. When we finally saw a good weather window we grabbed our mountain bikes and headed out for today’s adventure. We walked the bikes down the rather steep 1/4 mile connector trail from the campground to the Great Allegheny Passage (no need to start the day with an ER visit) and turned eastward.
After crossing the Youghiogheny River on the High Bridge – our third time in three days – we passed through the borough of Ohiopyle, which was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday. From there it was a long uninterrupted two hour ride along the river (upstream all the way) to the small town of Confluence, so named because it sits where the Casselman River and Laurel Hill Creek meet with the Youghiogheny River.
We had a relaxed lunch in Confluence at a pleasant B&B called the River’s Edge Cafe. We just happened to share the dining room with one couple that used to live in Williamsburg and another where the husband graduated from my same high school south of Pittsburgh and is friends with the teacher that we are meeting Tuesday evening for dinner. It was definitely a ‘small world’ kind of thing!
The long lunch gave us and our muscles a chance to recharge just a bit for the ride back to camp. In theory it should have been a downhill run the whole way as we were riding downstream with the river, but the slightly rolling nature of the trail and a fairly constant headwind meant that it was still a bit like work for most of the ride. Let’s just say that I was glad that I opted for iced tea instead of something from the grown up beverage menu at the cafe.
This section of the Great Allegheny Passage runs almost entirely through a lush forested area complete with tall hardwoods, mountain laurel, rhodendron, and rock outcroppings. In spite of that we saw surprisingly few people considering the quality of the trail and the proximity to Pittsburgh. We liked the trail so much that we have tentative plans to return in October to repeat the ride when the leaves are turning.
By the time we arrived back at the rig we had ridden or walked for just over 24 miles. That’s enough for one day …
Today’s Map
Today’s Photos
