4-Crossing the Appalachians on the Great Allegheny Passage: Big Savage Mountain to Cumberland

From Big Savage tunnel to Cumberland is 22 miles of downhill - the only really noticeable grade on the trail. You can crank it up a few gears and really fly (though there is a 15 mph speed limit). There are several scenic overlooks on the way down with the mountains spread before you and the valleys winding ahead towards your destination.

After descending 7 miles, you arrive at Frostburg, or more accurately, at the Frostburg trail head. From there you can climb dedicated bike trail through a series of gentle switchbacks up a steep hill to the Frostburg train station. This is the terminus of the Western Maryland Scenic Railway. The trains run from Cumberland to Frostburg carrying tourists out for the view and bikers looking for and easy up before a long, sweet downhill back to Cumberland. There is also a small inn and restaurant across the road from the station. But to reach Frostburg, you have to climb even further, this time up the steep road. Frostburg itself is on the crest of a steep ridge on the old National Road (US-40 now). There is no flat ground here. Maybe that's why everyone stopped here - they were too tired to go on. But a neat coffee shop, Frostburg State University, and an historic hotel, the Hotel Gunter, with bike security and free bike wash.

In the remaining 15 miles to Cumberland there are two more tunnels, the Bordon and the Brush. This section of trail shares the right-of-way with the scenic railroad. I happened to meet a large group of bikers racing from the Brush tunnel before the train came through - no doubt they had ridden it to the top and it was just now catching up to them. A bit unnerving to be in the tunnel with such a loud, imposing machine, I guess. Sure enough the train was hot on their heels. They have a large steam locomotive too - maybe they run that in the summer. I rode through along side it and waved to the passengers.

Just across this bridge you enter the Narrows - the gap in the mountains at Cumberland that makes it such a transportation center. The cliffs of Lover's Leap are visible high on the left and the valley floor holds not only the rail trail, the scenic railway, US-40, and a river, but also a working rail line heading to Cumberland. Leaving the Narrows you burst forth onto town which is nestled against the base of the mountains.

Cumberland is a great historic town to visit. Always a hub of transportation by virtue of its location, it also has supported significant manufacturing and resource extraction. Coal and timber from the nearby hills were mined and milled here and sent to markets on the east coast. Boats for the C&O canal were built here near the forests that supplied the wood. Geography dictated a compact downtown, and past wealth is evident in the beautiful buildings. Interesting brick row houses line some of the nearby streets.

Across the river on the hill sit the mansions and churches of the wealthy. Cumberland is another once-booming industrial town that had fallen on hard times. But it has done a remarkable job of both preserving its historic character and transitioning to a more service and tourist oriented economy. The core of downtown has been turned into a 3 block brick pedestrian mall with numerous shops and eateries. I had a delicious dinner there one evening a the City Lights Grill. Eating outside on a warm fall evening under trees strung with lights, surrounded by interesting architecture, it couldn't have been a nicer setting. The crab cakes were excellent, as was the warm blackberry cobbler a la mode.

Full and tired, it was time to hit the sack. Tomorrow the C&O towpath.

More photos at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jbp1111/BigSavageToCumberland?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDm89ON-KWZKw#