In May, 2003 we decided to try the Greenbrier River Trail again. We got rained on in 2002 but enjoyed it anyway. Surely it will be better this time.
We
again were driven to Cass Scenic Railroad with our car in the south. We got there in time
to explore. You can walk up the road to the water tower and see the shop
and Shay locomotives on the siding. They weren't running this trip but
were getting them ready. The old lumber mill is across from the water
tower.
On down the old track are railroad cars on the siding. Apparently, it was easier and cheaper to leave them on the siding than to dispose of them. Not sure we should have, but we crawled around them for a while. I guess we were being the kids we always are. Who can resist a train?
We rented one of the cottages again this time. I think it was the same one
as in 2002. With
the sunny afternoon and evening, it was nice to sit in the swing and watch the
river. Most of the cottages on Front Street have a nice setting. We
stopped on the way and brought dinner with us. It was a good thing.
There wasn't anywhere in town to eat. With a car you can go to Snowshoe.
With a bicycle, that seemed like a lot of work.
The
next morning we took off for Marlinton. We were loaded with our
backpacking gear. Wine to drink in the evening. Dehydrated food for
dinner. Was going to be pretty civilized for a 3-day bike ride. We
weren't in as good of shape as we should have been but we were determined.
Unlike 2002, the weather was beautiful. The
Greenbrier River was as pretty as we knew it should be. We
enjoyed the scenery and 25 miles later were in Marlinton. We stopped in
the visitor's center to see what kind of shape the camping area was in.
She said it was fairly wet. When we asked about the weather forecast, she
said thunderstorms that night and tomorrow.
I
told my wife that we did that before and didn't need to experience it again.
We checked in to the River Place for the second year in a row. The
decision was that if it stormed, we were bailing out. At 3:00AM the storm
hit. The next morning we got breakfast and were ferried to the car.
We haven't tried this ride again and may not. If there is ever a drought
in this area, though, give us a call. Maybe we'll come end if for you.
We went to my Mother's in Ritchie County two days early and spent the rest of the trip in kayaks. Turns out the North Bend Lake is a great place to paddle and it wasn't raining.