Hitting the Trails: Our own Long day's journey (and then some)
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We joke about how doing the hikes for this trails series is such hard work. But this time around, it really was.
At least it was for Llew Williams.
Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette, Post-GazetteLlew Williams, president of the Warrior Trail Association, does his part to keep the trail marked. He applies the swath of yellow paint near the 60-mile post along Roberts Ridge in West Virginia.
Click photo for larger image.
If you go...
Location and directions: The trail runs from Greensboro on the Monongahela River (Mile 0) east for 45 miles across Greene County to West Virginia, then 22 more miles across Marshall County, W.Va., to the western terminus on the Ohio River (Mile 67). It can be accessed at road crossings -- just look for the trail's yellow blazes. With a friend and two cars, you could hike sections of the trail from one parked car to the other.
Difficulty and etiquette: The trail generally is intermediate walking, but you need to be sharp to stay on it, and the going and blazing can get rough in places, as it's maintained by volunteers. Much of the "trail" is on roads or on private land. Hikers are asked to respect landowners, "leave nothing but footprints" and to pack out everything they pack in.
Facilities: None are provided but for three dirt-floored, Adirondack-type camping shelters -- at mile points 11.5, 24 and 35.5 -- that are available first-come, first-stay basis.
Maps: A "Hikers Guide for the Warrior Trail," first published in 1988 and updated in 2002, can be purchased for $12 from the Warrior Trail Association (P.O. Box 13, Waynesburg, Pa. 15370). It contains topographic maps, detailed descriptions and historic and other highlights, as well as people to call for updated information on water sources, etc. Definitely take one on the trail or, at least, a good Greene County map.
For more information: www.greenepa.net/community/WarriorTrail/. The Warrior Trail Association has a meeting and covered-dish dinner at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of most months at its schoolhouse headquarters in Fordyce, near Waynesburg. It also holds regular trail maintenance outings.
-- Bob Batz Jr.
See a map of the Warrior Trail in Greene County
He's president of the Warrior Trail Association, the nonprofit group that maintains the Warrior Trail, which stretches 67 miles from the Monongahela River all the way across Greene County and the West Virginia panhandle to the Ohio River.
First Published August 19, 2005 12:00 am
