My first sight on the trail should have been a warning: A Port-A-John lay face down on the ground, apparently toppled by strong winds from a storm the night before.

Curt Chandler, Post-Gazette John Warrick, of Bethel Park, left, and Rich Vrboncic, of Bridgeville, run along the Panhandle Trail. The men were taking advantage of a cool morning to train for a half marathon. Click photo for larger image. Hitting the Trails This is the second of a weekly series spotlighting hiking and biking trails in the region. Publication of the series coincides with the Hike for Health project promoted by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, state Department of Health and other agencies to encourage folks to get fit on foot. The DCNR has more information on this week's trip on the Panhandle and Montour trails Related content Last Sunday: Laurel Summit's beauty beckons If you go: Getting to the Montour and Panhandle trails More pictures and audio from the Montour and Panhandle trails Hitting the Trails: Index to stories Hitting the Trails: Photo Journal Next Sunday: Raccoon Creek State Park

I checked to see that no one was trapped inside, then pushed ahead on my journey toward the sturdy, no-frills village of McDonald.

This Washington County town sits at the juncture of two growing rails-to-trails projects that are within an hour of Pittsburgh. Taken together, the trails offer a great variety of rides -- up to 50 miles round trip, if you want -- that branch out in three directions from McDonald.

To the east, the Panhandle Trail stretches nearly seven miles to Collier. To the north, the Montour Trail runs for 17 traffic-free miles. To the south, the Montour reaches out for another five miles, a segment that opened last fall along with the 980-foot-long McDonald Trestle, an impressive steel bridge that carries the Montour Trail over the Panhandle Trail.

I set out to explore these trails for the second installment in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's summer series on hot spots for hiking and biking in the region. The trek began at a parking lot six miles north of McDonald in the Boggs section of Findlay.

The first half-mile provides a steady incline before the trail enters a lovely clearing just south of Route 22. None of the grades on the Montour and Panhandle trails is all that steep, but the path out of Boggs is enough to get the heart pumping for a recreational cyclist such as myself.

I've done a good bit of biking from time to time, even cycling from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., for a vacation a few years ago. But I'm not one of the spandex-clad guys you might see speeding along country roads during weekends. I do own biking shorts, but usually wear them under a more loose-fitting pair made from nylon, for modesty's sake.

Don't worry about embarrassing yourself along the Montour Trail north of McDonald, unless you're concerned about the watchful eyes of geese, cardinals and finches. One of the chief attractions of this segment of crushed limestone trail is its remoteness.

When you get to the McDonald Trestle, stop and enjoy the view.

Below, the incomplete Panhandle Trail will eventually run 29 miles between Collier and Weirton, W.Va. The Montour Trail traces a 47-mile arc from Coraopolis and Clairton, with 38 miles of the path complete.

	Montour named a National Recreational Trail The Montour Trail is one of four Pennsylvania trails that were designated yesterday as National Recreational Trails by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The National Recreational Trails system is a network of 920 trails that provide outdoor recreation as well as appreciation of natural and historic resources. The Pennsylvania trails were among 27 trails that were added to the system yesterday. To be nominated for the designation, trails must be open to public use for at least 10 years and must be managed according to certain land-use plans and environmental laws. Designation must also be supported by the landowners whose property the trail crosses. -- Christopher Snowbeck

If you cross the McDonald Trestle, the trail leads uphill for about two miles to Peacock Cut, where the train corridor blasted through the top of a hill and left behind 40-foot walls of exposed rock.

But I didn't go this way on my journey. Shrugging off the occasional rumble of thunder on an otherwise sunny day, I stopped at the bridge and then headed east.

To connect with the Panhandle Trail in McDonald, cyclists must exit the Montour Trail north of the trestle and follow a path that leads to Noblestown Road. Take a left at the road and follow it into town, or cut through a park on the right. The road doesn't have a steady stream of traffic, but cars move quickly and there's not a lot of shoulder.

In McDonald, you can get provisions at a Giant Eagle grocery. There's conventional food at good prices at Schmidt's Family Restaurant, where the decor is a celebration of lighthouses, an unexpected choice in Washington County.

Follow Route 980 where it turns to the south in the heart of town, and take a left at its intersection with the Panhandle Trail. You'll find information here about trails and businesses at the McDonald Trail Station and Meeting House.

Whereas the Montour Trail runs along a path carved by a small railway that served coal mines during the late 19th century, the Panhandle Trail has much broader shoulders, a testament to the four tracks that once operated through the corridor. There also are more facilities along the Panhandle Trail, including shelters, benches and bulletin boards. The trail passes near businesses in Sturgeon and Oakdale.

There are some dramatic natural features, too. The trail runs beside Robinson Run and crosses the creek at several points.

Just before its end in the Walkers Run section of Collier, the trail borders a massive 50-foot wall of rock that stretches for more than a football field's length.

Walkers Run Cave is in this formation, and stone quarried here was used in stone arch bridges that take the trail over the creek.

Trail riders can get nice views of the stone from benches and a shelter next to the trail. I took refuge under the shelter when my trip was halted by wind, rain, thunder, lightning and hail.

After waiting out the fiercest part of the storm, I biked four miles toward my car through a steady rain. But lightning started to fill the skies once again, and I gave up the trail in Oakdale. In a sodden, sorry state, I walked into the town's hardware store and found shoppers who insisted on driving me to Boggs.

It was a hot day, but what really warmed me was the moral of the story: In Western Pennsylvania, people won't leave you lying out in the rain like some forgotten Port-A-John.