Western Maryland Scenic Railroad

            Steam still rides the rails in Western Maryland between Cumberland and Frostburg.

            Through the Cumberland narrows with a view of the Allegheny Front escarpment.

Frostburg, MD, Western Maryland RR Station and Turntable, WM 502

Hiking in the clouds....and in the rain they carry

Today, after yesterday's ten mile warm up, I hiked fifteen miles in the rain from Frostburg to Cumberland along the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad right of way. It was wet but beautiful, and everyone on the trail except me was on a bike. The clouds came down to meet us.

And the view of the the Allegheny escarpment in the Cumberland Narrows, Maryland's Cumberland Gap, was quite impressive and made clear what early American settlers were up against in moving over the Allegheny mountains.

More photos here.

The Great Allegheny Passage

Actually the GAP is mostly above ground, but this is a shot inside the three quarters of a mile long Big Savage Tunnel through Big Savage Mountain only a short distance east of the eastern continental divide. This morning I hiked a ten mile stretch of the Passage from Deal, PA to Frostburg, MD with my brother Chris. It was the nicest hiking and biking trail I have ever walked because of vistas like this:

The trail is on an abandoned Western Maryland Railroad right of way which runs from Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh. PA and connects with the C&O Canal tow path at Cumberland. More photos can be seen here.