GAP 2015 day four - Boston to Pittsburgh

MStart time 7:45am

End time 11:00am

Mileage 22.4 (157.2 total)

Well I made it!

I started out this morning with a light breakfast at the B&B and was on the trail early... The Yough Shore Inn is located up a busy hill so I was careful to ride as much in the shoulder as I could for the two blocks of decidedly bike unfriendly traffic ...

Once back on the trail I noticed how quickly the trail scenery changes from woodsy bike path to industrial backlot ... The last truly wooded area of the trail is near Dead Man's Hollow ... A 440 acre nature preserve reclaimed from the shadows of what was once a sewer pipe plant... 

Once you hit the bridge into McKeesport you're never out of sight of active train tracks or warehouses or city traffic... There are some lovely parts of this section but you're always fully aware that you're in a city area ... The trail takes you through the edges of McKeesport along the marina

and several housing areas before crossing the river and continuing up north to Duquesne ... 

At some point along the trail the backside of a roller coaster at Kennywood amusement park is visible...

Then you're back to running alongside the train tracks ... Several bridges take you over the tracks which means a series of quick climbs followed by a brief opportunity to coast..  I took a brief rest at the Pump House near the waterfront area ... 

Just before Homestead you pass the edge of the waterpark Sandcastle

which is on the small side but might be al nice diversion if you were able to stop ... At this point the GAP runs parallel with the Three River Heritage Trail... And it's mostly running along side streets or tracks or chain link fencing ... You cross the river again on the Hot Metal Bridge ...

So named because it was originally used to transport crucibles of molten steel from the blast fun aces on one side of the river to the rolling mills on the other side ... The last few blocks are on the mean streets of Pittsburgh and then you are in the Point State Park ... Here is where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers merge to form the Ohio River... And the official Western Terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage... 

With the full 157 miles of the trail behind me it was time to meet up with my family and enjoy some good food ...