Just beyond Big Savage is the Continental Divide and down grade for the next 70 miles. Technically its down grade all the way to Pittsburgh but you only really feel the grade to Connellsville. It feels flat after that. Beautiful warm weather and I completed another 40 miles then camped at the Outflow Campground (milepost 61). Nice Hiker/Biker section with shade and thick grass to pitch the tent. Lulled to sleep by the sound of the discharge from the flood control dam.
Up and away by 7:00am after pumping up the rear tire. Pretty quick I could tell that tube was not going to hold. At a cross road in the woods I saw an unoccupied log cabin with a nice porch. I rolled over to it and removed everything from the bike then the rear wheel. Changed the tube and resumed travel. That tube held for the rest of the trip, no idea why is leaked down. A few other interesting sights, mostly related to converted railroad bridges went by but otherwise it was endless miles of good 12Ft wide trail thru the woods. Another nice weather day. Out to milepost 122 I stopped at the Dravo Landing campground. I’d not known what to expect. “A cleared spot behind the old Dravo Cemetery”. Hmmmm. It turned out to be very nice. Well mown lawn under big shade trees. Two Adirondack Shelters. Very well done. I pitched the tent inside one of the two and visited with two guys from Akron, OH who were on about the same plan I was, but slower.
Seemingly endless miles of this
Their phones found weather predictions for rain all day Wednesday. Ugh. It did storm pretty well late evening after I’d settled in and stayed drippy. Between that and the occasional freight train passing on the other side of the Youghiogheny River, I did not sleep well that night. I’d planned for Wednesday to be a big, long miles day and trying that in the rain did not bring happy thoughts. Just suck it up and deal with it.
Some really neat converted viaducts and rail bridges