无毛视频

Aug 9, 2020 By Ben Moyer 5 min read

Bicyclists on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) bike trail between Confluence and Ohiopyle may be surprised and pleased by a bright-white welcoming ribbon. Private contractors working for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources last month completed resurfacing of the trail throughout that 11-mile stretch passing through Ohiopyle State Park.

无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 a heavily used span of the trail,无毛视频� said Ben Monk, assistant park manager at Ohiopyle. 无毛视频淧arts of it had become muddy depressions, and other places were beginning to show erosion channels, which can be treacherous when they catch a bike tire, so it was time to place a new riding surface.无毛视频�

Monk said bids for the work came in lower than park officials had expected, so they hope to continue the resurfacing work downriver from Ohiopyle to the park无毛视频檚 northern boundary upstream from Connellsville.

无毛视频淭wenty-seven miles of the GAP traverse Ohiopyle State Park. Eventually, we无毛视频檇 like to re-do that entire length,无毛视频� Monk said. 无毛视频淭he low bid for the Confluence to Ohiopyle work was just about what it would cost if we did the work ourselves, with our park staff and equipment, though it would have taken us much longer to complete. We无毛视频檙e happy with the work. The contractor was easy to work with and did a great job for us.无毛视频�

The trail resurfacing project was initially set to be completed by late spring. But, like so many other endeavors, it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

无毛视频淲e would have preferred not to do this work during the peak summer period,无毛视频� Monk said. 无毛视频淏ut once our contractor was able to get the materials needed, we had to move fast to get it done when we could.无毛视频�

Signs advised cyclists and hikers to avoid the trail during construction, but Monk said many visitors used the trail anyway, which may have slowed work progress somewhat.

Long-range riders may notice that as the bright new material fades with time, it will match the surface throughout the GAP无毛视频檚 130-mile course through western Pennsylvania无毛视频檚 Allegheny Mountains and foothills.

无毛视频淲hile the park manages 27 miles of trail, there is a memorandum of understanding in place that all trail maintenance entities among the Allegheny Trail Alliance have signed,无毛视频� Monk explained. 无毛视频淭hat document recommends that the same material, a crushed limestone dust of specified texture, be used along the entire trail for uniformity and safety.无毛视频�

Riders on the refurbished section may also notice cleared rectangles along the trail, about the size of a modest home garage, spaced out at roughly every mile. Monk explained that the clearings adjacent to the trail were necessary for trucks loaded with material to pass one another on the narrow corridor. Otherwise, the work would have taken much longer because each truck would need to travel as much as 10 miles after dumping its load to exit the trail before the next truck could back up those 10 miles to the progressing work site.

With the resurfacing work complete, the park decided to maintain the small clearings as 无毛视频渢urn-arounds无毛视频� in case an ambulance is needed along the trail.

无毛视频淭hat ambulance needs to get back out of there fast,无毛视频� Monk said. 无毛视频淭he turn-arounds make it unnecessary for it to either back out or run all the way to Confluence to exit the trail.无毛视频�

Monk also explained that the clearings had already existed but had become grown over with vines and brush.

无毛视频淎ctually, we didn无毛视频檛 disturb anything new along the trail,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e just uncovered the cleared turn-arounds that had existed years ago.无毛视频�

Visitation at Ohiopyle has exploded this summer, up 73 percent over 2019.

无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e had to adjust the way we patrol and spend a lot more time sanitizing facilities to keep visitors as safe as possible in the pandemic,无毛视频� Monk said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e seen an explosion of out-of-state plates in the parking lots, from Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and throughout the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions. But from what we can tell there is less international visitation.无毛视频�

Monk observed that many visitors seem unfamiliar with a mostly wild and natural setting, such as Ohiopyle State Park.

无毛视频淪ome don无毛视频檛 seem to comprehend what a river can do to a swimmer,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淪ome of our first-time visitors approach the river as if it were a swimming pool.无毛视频�

Monk reported that one visitor had to be rescued from the brink of Ohiopyle Falls after he launched an inflatable swimming-pool air mattress on the Youghiogheny upstream from the falls.

无毛视频淭he mattress went over the falls, but we got him out safe,无毛视频� Monk said.

无毛视频淲e encourage everyone to come out and enjoy this unique and beautiful place that is Ohiopyle State Park,无毛视频� Monk concluded. 无毛视频淏ut be aware that this is nature out here. It can be unpredictable and dangerous if you don无毛视频檛 respect it.无毛视频�

Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.