BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

That is sad . Guns are scary.

There's a reason why I wear an orange camel-back on the rail trails at this time of year... the state gameland signs along the Ghost Town Trail are a good reminder. But then, the banjos usually give them away.

The tag end of that article also mentions a railroad tunnel being freshly abandoned, and will be demolished. That's a shame; I'm sure it would've made an interesting way to get from east to west without climbing a monster hill, and we never got a chance to try it.

@J Z

Thanks! Ir'as good to be reminded to wear appropriately fluorescent clothing for rides. I should probably do this on all rides out of the city, not just the GAP.

@stu

There is a tunnel at Pinkerton that is positioned for the GAP. Right now the trail goes dabout 2 miles to avoid the 1/4 mile tunnel, but IIRC there are plans to fix it.

What I find funny is that a lot of the people commenting are hunters, and you can see them trying to explain their pov just like we as cyclists do.

i thought the same thing ryan. only we're just trying to coexist on the same streets. many of the comments are saying, go ride somewhere else or on sunday.

I'm having a hard time taking the story at face value. Deer hunting (with a gun) season starts today, except for Oct. 18-20 for junior/senior season. Prior to that is archery season, but that wouldn't account for the gunshots he heard. And I know there is a sportsmen's club across the Yough from the trail -- I hear gunshots from that practically every time I ride the trail near Connellsville. And I seriously doubt any hunter is firing a gun out of season illegally from a boat on the Yough.

Of course we should be careful, especially now -- but it sounds like this guy got a little carried away by the sounds from what I guess is a shooting range at the club.

Sounds like city folk who've never left their little world until now.

"Buck" season started today. Does have been in for a few weeks already. Last week was bear, next up is muzzeloader, etc.

Be safe.

@jonawebb: "it sounds like this guy got a little carried away by the sounds from what I guess is a shooting range at the club"

Guy: "We even saw a gut-shot six-point buck right along the trail dying. It was insane."

Sounds like a serious case of synesthesia to me.

Probably a good idea to chain off the trailheads and put up some signage regardless.

If It's been doe season for a few weeks, someone might well have left a buck where it lay, though.

If I recall correctly, it's illegal to use the GAP for hunting. But I won't bet my life on compliance.

The tag end of that article also mentions a railroad tunnel being freshly abandoned, and will be demolished. That's a shame; I'm sure it would've made an interesting way to get from east to west without climbing a monster hill, and we never got a chance to try it.

The article is a bit unclear. The tunnel in question has been actively used by trains, never abandoned. CSX has been removing the hill over it for months now, daylighting it as part of the National Gateway project (the same one that's doing that work in Tunnel Park at the South Side Works, all so double-height trains will fit).

To finish removing the dirt and rock over the tunnel, eliminating it, CSX is now sending trains on a temporary track around the blasting area. But once the tunnel's been daylighted, the trains will be back on their original route, only with no more tunnel above them.

There is a tunnel at Pinkerton that is positioned for the GAP. Right now the trail goes dabout 2 miles to avoid the 1/4 mile tunnel, but IIRC there are plans to fix it.

No, those plans have been dropped.

Background: The Western Maryland railroad, running parallel to CSX's line, built their own tunnel right next to CSX's tunnel. (See this map.) The Western Maryland line eventually became the GAP. But by that time, the WM's tunnel had decayed so much that it was unsafe, and the GAP folks didn't have the millions needed to fix it up.

Instead, they routed the GAP around the Pinkerton Horn, getting permission for this temporary bypass trail from the private owner of the land. They promised the owner that they'd only use that route temporarily. So rehabbing that decaying WM tunnel was their long-term plan, even though it would be very expensive.

Then CSX bought the entire Pinkerton Horn, including the bypass trail route that runs around it. They're dumping all the dirt and rock from the top of the tunnel they're daylighting (and another tunnel elsewhere) in the middle of the horn, making a higher hill for the GAP to circle around as it follows the river.

When they're done, CSX is giving the Pinkerton Horn to the county, including their big pile of rocks, and the bypass route. Since the bypass route will then be on public land, it will become the official route of the GAP, and they will no longer need to rehab the WM tunnel. So the tunnel rehab is no longer in even their long-term plans.

Here's a good article on CSX's daylighting project.

Comments at the end of the article confirm

that the mass shooting was actually at a

shooting range cross river from the trail.

One commenter makes fun of writer for not

knowing the difference between a rifle and

a muzzle loader.

DUDE ITS A ROAD BIKE NOT A 10 SPEED!

@quizbot, I'm guessing the deer he saw by the trail was shot with an arrow, not a gun, but the article says he posted the photo so that should be easy to check if you have Facebook access. In any case if the season on does has been open (I couldn't find this on the state web site) that would also account for it.

Personally I don't worry too much about hunters accidentally shooting somebody with an arrow. I know they're deadly, but the range is much shorter, the hunter has to get a lot closer to their prey, etc.

If this is true:

"on top of that, it is ONLY due to the courtesy of the rod/gun clubs that the trails ar

e allowed there at all - most of them allowed use of the old rail beds for the greater public good, as part of understanding that many people enjoy the outdoors in many different ways. and people should remember that most of these rod/gun clubs have no legal obligation (have not granted or sold legal rights-of-way) to the trail or trail organizations - the rod/gun clubs have the right to rescind that offer/use of the land at any time . . ."

Then we better respect those clubs. I can see if it gets to dot those clubs just revoke agreements and we don't have GAP at all in those areas.

@steevo road bike with broken front dérailleur is kind of 10 speed.

@Mikhail "on top of that, it is ONLY due to the courtesy of the rod/gun clubs that the trails ar

e allowed there at all ..."

As you said, Mikhail "IF this is true..." I would really doubt that the gun clubs would have obtained the property rights and/or right-or-way from the railroads. And if the gun clubs did? I doubt they would have allowed a bike trail to use their property.

I'm guessing this is just some gun guy bloviating.

Shooting his mouth off?

@Pierce: *applause*

Its a good idea to wear orange in the woods between October and the end of January.

PA hunting seasons:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=576240&mode=2

you'll need this map to make sense of this, most of allegheny county is Wildlife Management Unit 2B:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=619923&mode=2

@Mick, no problem. Increasing visibility is seldom a bad thing, and unfortunately, not everyone follows proper firearms safety (not picking on hunters, same goes for drivers and cyclists).

I need an orange vest for my dog, but she doesn't like anything on her. Something meshy would be best probably, any clues?

@rice rocket orange vest for my dog

Spray paint.

(I meant that as a joke. But I have read of farmers spray painting fluorescent orange "COW" on the sides of their bovines.)