Day 1: Pittsburgh, PA to West Newton, PA

Today’s Highlights:
Today was the first official day of our ride, and we covered 34 miles from Pittsburgh to West Newton. We left the hotel comfortably at 8:00 AM under a thick overcast sky and the temp about 70. Although it was a short day, we intended to finish early before the predicted afternoon rain started. It was a good plan even though it never rained. The first 15 miles were on paved paths through industrial areas following the Monongahela River. We crossed many bridges along the way, including the formidable looking Hot Metal Bridge which was recently renovated for the GAP path. At mile-15, the trail turned to follow the Youghiogheny River. From here the path was crushed stone and meandered along this peaceful river under a tunnel of trees. It was very pleasant and quiet. Although it was wooded, we didn’t see much wildlife along the way, only a rabbit, a groundhog and one energetic squirrel.

We reached Boston, PA at mile twenty and stopped at a trail volunteer maintenance station where a very friendly crew welcomed us. After a brief stop for snacks and water we continued on. We reached the Bright Morning B&B exactly at noon and felt a few raindrops on us. But then the sun came out even stronger and it was quite warm this afternoon. We had a nice lunch at The Trailside Restaurant. Having some spare time, we took a stroll across the river to the main part of town. It was like a ghost town, actually. The trail-side of town was much more vibrant with just a pizza shop, ice cream shop and The Trailside. We stopped for ice cream too, then headed back to the B&B to relax.

The highlight of the day was when Stacia received a surprise gift from one of her awesome friends to celebrate the completion of the first day of our journey. It was a bunch of delicious chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of strawberry chocolate wine.

The Bright Morning is a beautifully kept old house, and our hosts, Mary Lou and Rob, are wonderful.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Here is a link to Joe’s pictures for today.
http://www.aimlesswanderings.com/Travel/2014-GAP-CO-Tail-Ride-1/2014-GAP-CO-Tail-Ride-Day-1/

Statistics:
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