About a half-dozen women and men, ranging in age from young adult to late middle-age, were walking single-file along a two-foot-wide footpath through the woods, carrying the tools of forest-fire fighting: Pulaskis (axe-hoe combination), McClouds (big-toothed rake), and hoes with a broad and curved blade.
But these weren’t firefighters. They were trail-finishers who, upon reaching their designated section, began widening the footpath a bit by cutting slightly into the uphill bank with the hoes; taking out roots and stumps with the Pulaskis;then leveling and giving the trail a slight downhill taper with the rakes.
Four hours of continuous work later, they were hot, sweaty, dirty and tired – but able to claim the completion of another quarter-mile of a new mountain-bike trail at Quemahoning Lake.
***
The Stonycreek River was flowing low and slow through Whitewater Park near Tire Hill. The park’s signature hydraulic – a curved artificial rapid that extends across the watercourse –was barely churning.
About 50 yards downstream, where there’s supposed to be a second hydraulic, the river flowed quietly over a second set of rocks, extending out into the water. The problem lies just a bit further downstream, where the slope of the streambed is insufficient to drain the water quickly enough to enable the rapids to work properly.
Very soon now, heavy equipment will wade into this seasonally low water and dredge the stream bottom to improve the flow – and add the second feature to one of only two artificial whitewater parks in Pennsylvania.
***
Bridge reconstruction is all that remains to be done on the newest eight-mile extension of the Ghost Town Trail before it officially can be opened to the public. All of the trail surfacing work is finished.
The two small bridges being rebuilt will connect the current end of the Rexis Branch at U.S. Route 422 to the new trailhead at Cardiff. Once the bridges have been completed this fall, the Rexis Branch will extend for almost 12 miles, and the entire Ghost Town Trail system will total about 44 miles.
***
It’s construction season in the Alleghenies. And while that’s not unusual any summer, this year’s congruence of recreational expansion projects is especially impressive.
Each of these projects represent significant undertakings that have been in development for years. And each project represents an enhancement to an existing resource that should draw positive attention from well outside the region.
The Quemahoning Trail will be a 17-mile, beginner-intermediate level mountain bike and hiking trail around Quemahoning Lake – yet another asset for a recreation area that already offers boating, fishing, swimming, picnicking, camping and road cycling. After the initial trail is completed next year, more-challenging mountain bike loops will be developed off of the main trail.
Add it all up: Quemahoning will have the resourcesnecessary to become a mountain-biking destination.
Whitewater boaters from several states already are drawn to the natural rapids of the Stonycreek Canyon and the simple joys of Whitewater Park. This latest project not only will enhance the artificial rapids but may add permanent restrooms as well, which would benefit both boaters and patrons of the adjacent Greenhouse Park.
And the extension to the Ghost Town Trail puts this rail-trail one step away from offering the first rail-trail loop in the United States. Once a final, eight-mile extension is completed from Cardiff back to the main Ghost Town Trail near U.S. Route 219, there will be a 30-mile loop and a total trail system in excess of 50 miles.
Such riding opportunities should draw rail-trail fans here for weekend experiences, because they will be able to ride the loop trail on one day and the full length of the trail on the other.
By putting together construction seasons like this one, planners are building a bigger reputation for the Alleghenies as a recreation destination.