Great Allegheny Passage Trail-Overview

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a trail from Cumberland, Maryland to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The GAP Trail is either 149 or 150 miles, depending on what your looking at, long and mainly flat because it once had railroad tracks of the Western Maryland Railway (WM) and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) which have been removed to make a 10 foot wide trail in most areas but always at least 5 feet wide the main trail and 2.5 feet on either side.

The trail winds along side of three Major Rivers: the Casselman, Youghiogheny, and Monogahela. Plus Flaughehry Creek and other water places which is smaller then a river but it still is pretty impressive.

The trail goes over mountains and through old train tunnels. A few towns run right through the trail. One town even has a railroad history museum and visitor center right along the trail with a Pizza place across the street.

The GAP Trail also includes the Big Savage Tunnel which is 3,300 foot tunnel through a mountain, the Eastern Continental Divide, Wymp’s Gap Fossil Quarry (pick up a fossil on your way), the Red Waterfall, Dravo Cemetery, the Mason Dixon Line, and so many different Waterfalls.

Depending on the time of year, you have trees ranging from green, orange, yellow, red, and all the colors in between.

But if you hear a crack, look up to make sure that you don’t get hit by a tree. They do come down across the trail but the volunteers of the trail are great about cleaning them off quickly.

The only motorized vehicles that you will see on the trail are those of the volunteers or if you are crossing a street in a town area. The volunteers also can be seen hiking and biking the trail to ensure for safety concerns are addressed.

Wildlife on the Trail

The wildlife is all around you. Look down for snakes as the areas do have a few different ones, i.e. rattlesnakes and gardener snakes to name a few. Most snakes stay away from the trail due to all the traffic but I saw one off to the side trying to eat a toad.

Once in a while, a deer will be on the trail but generally you have to look up in the forested areas or down by the rivers to see them.

The birds are incredible on this trail. I have seen red ones, blue ones, yellow ones, green ones, black ones, eagles, ducks, geese, “Woody” woodpeckers, owls, turkeys, hummingbirds, and so many more. (I know…Lots of scientifically type names…lol)

There are also toads, frogs, lizards, bunnies, chipmunks, porcupines, little mice, turtles, salamanders, groundhogs, and I think that I smelled a skunk the other day.

Plus horses, lots of puppies, and even a few cats. One was even in a stroller with his family. They said that he just loves to go hiking with them. Another that followed me as if to say, “Keep stepping this is mine. All MINE!”

There are also a lot of insects on the trail including mosquitoes. Bring your bug spray. The trail also has boxes along parts of it. They look like that were put there for birds but these are actually bat boxes. A bats can eat around 8,000 mosquitoes per night, so I welcome the sight of them.

The trail also has a lots of carnivores. Most such as the Eagle are only after small game like mice, snakes, birds, and/or fish. (P.S. if you see an eagle with prey, then watch them while they are flying over head. The prey some times gets away from them.)

There are just two major carnivores that really effect humans on the trail. Wolfs/Dogs and Black Bears. Mostly wolfs will stay away from the trail but before petting a dog, ask their humans.

Black Bears really don’t want anything from human except your lunch. Keep a look out but black bears can smell carcasses up to 20 miles away upwind. They tend to avoid humans. If you see one, check and make sure you are not in between a mother and its cub.

Then just wait for a bit and don’t run away. Usually they will go away but make sure that you make noise so that you don’t startle them. But check out Bearsmart.com for more information on what to do if you see a bear. I know that most bears either hear or smell you before you even know they are around and leave. They are as afraid of you as you are of them.

Camping and Lodging on the Trail

Through out the trail they have a few free camping areas for those who are hiking, biking, or canoeing down the rivers. The sites are generally first come first served.

The rules are posted and most places only allow you to stay up to two nights at a time. But they also have a few pay per night camping area and local hotels, motels, and bed & breakfast.

The GAP website has a list of lodging available and camp grounds. This is a great list for travelers who don’t know where they will end up or for those who are looking for stopping points along the trail to pre-plan your trip.

Food along the Trail

As you are walking, hiking, biking, etc. along the trail, a lot of towns are along the way. Many have restaurants and/or stores right along the trail. Getting food along the way is not more then 20 miles away from any point on the trail but usually less.

The one that I love is West Newton which has a Railroad Museum with a pizza place across the street, a Rite Aid on the corner, a bar & grill with a bike shop plus a laundromat on the other side of that. It is everything you can possible need plus a bed and breakfast with a shed for bikes right along the trail.

How long does the trail take?

For each person this will be different. Cyclists can cover 8 to 12 miles per hour and the trail is 150 miles. So, that would be 18.75 hours to 12.5 hours. But that would be going none stop without bathroom breaks or stopping along the way. I think that most cyclists take at least three days.

Hikers generally do 2 to 3 miles an hour. So, that would be 75 hours to 50 hours which is over a week long. Most long distance hikers can do 20 miles a day but that is a lot. 10 miles is more reasonable for most people. But you would want skip days as well. So, I would say it is around 3 to 4 weeks to go straight through with a few skip days to rest, visit towns, and/or stay out of the weather.

Plus some times you have to stop for the day because there is no where to sleep on the trail for miles. For example, the trail between Connellsville and Ohioplye, there is just over 15 miles of trail with no roads, no houses, nothing but beautiful trees, a river flowing beside you, a few other people passing by, a few animals, bugs, and the trail.

Therefore, you would want to find some where to stay the night and start the trail in the morning if you arrive late in the day. But this is an example of the longest area without any way off the trail. Every where else is 10 miles or less.

It is going to taking me about 2.5 to 3 months but I am driving home every night and skipping days or doing different hikes around my house. Plus most of the time, I have to walk back to my vehicle, i.e. I have done a bit over 50 miles of trail but hiked a bit over 90 miles since April 22nd on the trail.

How am I doing the Trail?

I am currently living in Pittsburgh and go back to my vehicle after I hike. So, I have been doing the trail in little bites. When I am done, I will have hiked over 250 miles on the trail. I am guessing that I will have about 50 miles of trail where I will have been dropped off and not had to hike back to my vehicle but rather I will be hiking to my vehicle.

It started with me wanting to see a waterfall and I found the Red Waterfall on google as I am always looking for waterfalls to see. Then coronavirus hit and I started hiking a bit here and a bit there so that I could get out of the house. Because I want to be safe both for myself and others, and get some exercise.

So, I am hiking most days, i.e. when the weather is good. But only as far as I can go and get back to my vehicle, i.e. about 8 to 10 miles per day or 4 miles of trail in and 4 miles back to my vehicle.

I am still trying to get up to 17 miles for the one area of Ohioply were a friend of mine has said that she would pick me up from Ohioply parking area and drop me off near Connellsville.

In a few places, I will be getting a ride back to my car, i.e. downtown Pittsburgh, because I don’t want to be in a populated area for very long. But the trail is downtown and I do want to do the whole thing before the end of summer and get through the populated areas quickly.

Plus it takes me a bit longer because I am always stopping to take photos and waiting for people to clear the shot. Or I see something that I want to see a bit closer. Also, I am out of shape and I am hoping this will help me get back into shape.

But most importantly, I am enjoying being outside and out of the house before I go crazy!!! Hiking is a great way to avoid crowds except in busy places which I avoid during high traffic times. I found that going early or during the week, that most of the trails have less then a dozen people on them on my 8 to 10 miles daily and less some days depending on how I am feeling and if it is raining.

On the weekends, more like 2 or 3 dozen but only in popular areas. So, I do popular spots on weekdays while people are working and less popular areas on weekends.

I will be posting new post on Tuesdays and Fridays about parts of the trail. I will start with the miles and city to city on top of the post, i.e. mile post 149 to 144 Downtown Pittsburgh to the Hot Metal Bridge. Then the post will have pictures of the mile post and several pictures between that mile post and the next.

In addition, any history that I can find of the area or possible history of the railroad, water ways, or something interesting about that area. So even if you are not going to take the trail, check out the pictures and a bit of history.

Major Issue! Bathrooms along the Trail

Bathrooms along the trail are few and far in between, i.e. over 5 miles or more in most places, and are usually portable outhouses. These are usually available at campgrounds and where trail parking is located but not all the time. I think that this is the biggest issue with the trail so far was the fact that so few bathrooms and so many houses along side of the trail.

Brief History–Monongahela Natives

The trail was full of Native Americans and with native villages, camps, and travel trails starting about 12,000 years before Europeans arrived in the North America.

Between 900 A.D. to around 1625, the Monongahela people were the main tribe that lived in the area. The Monongahela people have no living persons that talked to Europeans (i.e., that wrote their history down) or written records to tells us about them, we only have information archaeologists who have been excavating sites and believe to be true, such as:

• Limited or no government: households ran their own households and families would cooperate for the good of the village
• Round houses almost like igloos about 9 to 30 feet across
• Fort like villages with walls to protect them from animals and/or unfriendly natives
• Villages had less then 100 structures (major village had between 50 to 100 structures) which would mean that villages had low populations
• Food included local animals and wild plants
• They had crops including corn
• Their tools included pottery and stone arrowheads
• They traded with other Natives Americans

The Monongahela people just disappeared in the 1620’s. There are several theories out there including that the environmental stresses as major droughts, warfare, pandemics (small pox/measles/plague), they joined other Native America group, or that they simple moved on to a new area. But the archaeologist are still searching for clues.

After reading a bit about the Monongahela Natives, I believe that several factors created their disappearance. But 1607, would have been the final nail in the coffin for them.

In 1607, Jamestown was founded and a five year drought started the Monongahela area. It would have been the prefect storm for the Monongahela Natives.

The drought would have made them have less food available and weaker from lack of food as European diseases such as small pox, measles, and the plague filter into their societies from trade with the East Coastal Native American. This would have spell death for not only many of their people but also their culture.

In addition, a power struggled within villages over resources would have started as they did not have a strong government in place but rather a group of people who cooperated with each other. In good time, this type of government works well but when things are tough, it has to many cooks in the kitchen.

The need for food and resources would have started wars with their neighboring villages for those resources. Creating even more deaths of males who were of mating age.

If small pox was one of the major diseases, estimated to kill one in ten American Natives, the survivors were some times left blind and with a low fertility rate.

So, it is no surprise that a prefect storm of a drought of five year, European diseases, fighting within villages and with neighboring villages, low fertility rates, and no strong leadership models that the Monongahela Natives disappeared around 1625.

If any Monongahela Natives did survive, they left their memories to the land that they once loved behind and assimilated into other Native societies trying to forget their pasts. Or it could be possible that none survived due to something in their DNA which made one of the European diseases even more deadly to them then other Native Americans.