THE RIDE STUFF

West Virginia rail trail takes cyclists through beautiful area

Cyclists on the Green-brier River Trail must sometimes unmount and guide their bikes through the dark 402-foot Droop Mountain tunnel

MARLINTON, W.Va. -- Bumping along a crushed-gravel bike path in southeastern West Virginia, a cyclist has ample time to ponder ghosts of a lost era. Gone are the railroad ties and rusty iron rails that once steered belching locomotives through the area's timber towns. Gone are the shrill steam whistles that sent passengers hurrying to gather their belongings at stations ahead. Gone, indeed, are many of the towns and stations themselves.

    What remains is a gently sloping path -- the Greenbrier River Trail, converted from an abandoned Chesapeake & Ohio rail line. The 77-mile trail from Cass to North Caldwell rewards hikers and mountain bikers with striking views of rugged landscape.

    The trail snakes along the verdant waters of the Greenbrier River, crossing 35 bridges and passing through two tunnels. It skirts 4,000-foot Allegheny peaks and bucolic farms.

    Deer, box turtles and the occasional black bear or bobcat amble across the trail. Blackberries, wild strawberries and apples, free for the picking, entice cyclists to throw on the brakes and partake.

    The trail, a grassy median sandwiched between firmly packed gravel paths, winds through the landscape. Cyclists race through shady glens, then emerge onto sunny outcroppings. The Greenbrier burbles close by, inviting bikers to scramble over the trail's edge and wiggle their toes in it.

    The surrounding hills pitch and roll like a Hank Williams tune, but the path itself has less than a 1 percent grade.

    Seventy-seven miles might seem like 10,000 to the novice cyclist, but the Greenbrier River Trail offers plenty of chances to stop and take in the history and flavor of the area.

    Evidence of the trail's past pops up along the way. White posts painted with black numbers track the miles for cyclists as they did for engineers. Whistle markers, engraved with "W," reminded operators to belt out two long, one short, and then one long final blast to warn people at crossings and bridges.

    "Saying was, the towns were so close together the train had to back up to have whistling room for the next town," said former Pocahontas Times editor William McNeel.

    In the boom days a century ago, as many as 11 scheduled trains rumbled daily through towns such as Clover Lick, Marlinton and Spice Run, hauling pulpwood to paper mills in Virginia.

    "Train time was a big time in town," McNeel said. "People migrated toward the station to see who had come to town."

    When the timber wasted away, so did many towns built around the industry. Sitting in his Marlinton newspaper office -- a relic itself with its hulking old Babcock printing press -- McNeel pointed to a map riddled with towns that have dry-rotted into obscurity.

    "There is no Camp Allegheny. . . . Loopemount's not there; Brink's not there; Bowe's not there. Deeter's totally gone."

    The Greenbrier River Trail passes them all as well as the clutches of houses and towns that survived. Rusty skeletons of truss bridges have been resurfaced for mountain bikes and barefoot boys casting fishing lines.

    Two tunnels, blasted from mountains a century ago, are so eerily dark inside that bikers must disembark and guide themselves by spotting the light at the other end.

    At milepost 49.3, near the fallen ruins of a house, bikers cross the flag stop once known as Violet. Here, where no stop was scheduled because there was no actual station, travelers could flag down trains to board. (Because the trains never exceeded 35 mph, stopping was not a problem.)

    Across the path, the same swimming hole that once cooled the verve of youth now tempts sweaty cyclists to take the plunge.

    The remains of the logging town Watoga lie but a few steps from the trail at milepost 48.1. Its sawmill and houses have long since been dismantled, and its foundations consumed by undergrowth and trees.

    But the intrepid can climb a steep embankment into a rusty vault, once part of the company store where timber workers purchased goods on credit. The building itself has been scavenged or reclaimed by nature.

    The state maintains the site of the town, a meadow mowed with paths that lead to a rusted claw-foot tub, an outbuilding, a fishing pond and blackberry brambles.

    Electrical lines crisscrossing the fields date from the 1920s and '30s, when black entrepreneurs bought the land and laid out a community. Even then, Watoga never grew beyond 30 or so residents, McNeel said. By the 1950s, it, too, was gone. Other abandoned Greenbrier towns have been absorbed by dense deciduous forest.

    "The trail is unique in that it passes through some of the most remote scenery in the eastern United States," said Leslee McCarty, president of the Greenbrier River Trail Association. "Half of Pocahontas County is national forest and state park."

    Monongahela National Forest and Watoga and Seneca state parks, among others, border the trail. Several offer camping and lodging to weary cyclists.

    For those who prefer queen-size beds and hot tubs to sleeping bags and outhouses, indoor accommodations are within riding distance from much of the trail.

    McCarty's bed-and-breakfast, the Current, has hosted guests such as National Public Radio announcer Carl Kasell and U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. The antiques-packed inn, at milepost 38, is surrounded by rolling farm country alive with hummingbirds, cattle, cats and dogs.

    Or cyclists can rest their heels on the front-porch banister at Marlinton's homey Old Clark Inn. Share a brew with owner Nelson Hernandez, and he'll tell how the old guesthouse once sheltered railroad travelers and Civilian Conservation Corps wives. Breakfasts are hearty, the carb-filled variety that pack lots of energy for the trail.

    Before leaving town, bikers can step into the once-segregated waiting rooms of the old Marlinton Depot, now the Pocahontas County Convention & Visitors Bureau. The old rail agent's desk is studded with a path of nails that marked the mileposts of the railway.

    Bureau employees relate stories of old-timers, who remember when rail riding was the rage and people came to town just to shop at the mercantile.

    Back on the trail, and just outside of town, cyclists glide past Cramer's Lumber Co., among a handful of remaining sawmills in the area. Smoky plumes rise off piles of burning sawdust, casting a haze over the path.

    The woody fragrance lingers for miles, tickling the imagination to conjure up other sojourners, and other times, along the Greenbrier.

For more photos and audio, visit www.dispatch.com\ If you go\ Greenbrier River Trail

The Greenbrier River Trail in West Virginia takes bicyclists of even moderate skill through some of the most beautiful parts of the state. And the grade is a gentle 1 percent.

GETTING THERE

    The Greenbrier River Trail is northeast of Lewisburg, W.Va., off I-64. From Columbus, go south on

    U.S. 23, east on U.S. 35, south on W.Va. 34 and east on I-64 through the West Virginia Turnpike.

    Take the Lewisburg exit to U.S. 219. Travel north 39 miles to Marlinton. To continue to Clover Lick or Cass, take U.S. 219 north to County Route 1. Continue north.

BIKING THE PATH

    Most people bike the trail from north to south because the 1 percent grade, though slight, runs downhill that direction.

    Biking the entire trail takes three days for a cyclist of average skills. Many people, however, choose to cycle only a portion of the trail. Outfitters and inn owners can arrange pickup and drop-off along the trail.

    Except for 3 miles of paved path at Marlinton, the trail is crushed gravel. Bikes with fat tires are recommended.

    Limited water and toilet facilities are available along the trail. Cyclists should plan ahead by studying mile-by-mile guides, available at www.greenbrierrivertrail.com. A second, more detailed guide is produced by West Virginia State Parks and is available at area inns, parks and visitor centers.

    Take plenty of water and food.

STAYING THERE AND PLAYING THERE

* Appalachian Sport Outfitters, 3 Seneca Trail, Marlinton, near milepost 56 will shuttle bikers and bikes to several points on the trail. It also shuttles vehicles from Cass to North Caldwell for about $90. Mountain-bike rental is available. Call 304-799-4050 or visit www.appsport.com.

* The Old Clark Inn, 702 3rd Ave., Marlinton, milepost 56, charges $40 to $65 nightly. Rates include breakfast. The inn offers shuttle service to trail access in Seebert or Clover Lick for $1 a mile for each person. Call 1-800-849-4184 or visit www.oldclarkinn.com.

* The Current, on Denmar Road in Hillsboro, milepost 38.5, is about at the halfway point of the trail. Rates range from $70 to $95 nightly, which includes breakfast. Call 1-866-537-5336 or visit www.currentbnb.com.

* Watoga State Park is at milepost 45.8. Cabin rates range from $67 to $104 nightly for two to four people. Camping rates range from $17 to $20. Call 304-799-4087 or visit www.watoga.com.

* Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, at the northern terminus of the trail, offers flatcar train rides, powered by original Shay steam locomotives, to a reconstructed logging camp. The railroad is open May through October. Call 304-456-4300 or visit www.cassrail road.com.

* Lewisburg, 5 miles from the southern terminus of the trail, is a good place to wind down after completing the ride. The town's historic district is packed with fine dining, art and antiques galleries and hotels such as the Gen. Lewis Inn, built on the site of an 1862 Civil War battle.

Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch photo