Pennsylvania North/South Tieing into the new Virginia North/South Route

[ruthslp]

is everyone really down with the southern ending of this to be using the tnga to the AL border? just because it's routed? albeit a lot more green on the topo up across there, but the 'divide' actually extends to southern FL....if that is what the route is to be?? or not?
i believe a (short) portion goes near the withlacoochee watershed which is probably some of what karlos has already marked up in his Huracan 300/cross FL ITT rides?? just wondering....
i'm not crazy about including crocs in the mix, but the riding there is really way cooler and not as easy as you would think.

[KPut]

Couldn't you connect the red trail N of Cumberland over to the pink trail around Williamsport by using some roadways to Cumberland and then the C&O canal from Cumberland to Williamsport?  I haven't ridden any of these, but will be following the thread and riding the C&O from Cumberland to DC later this year.

[jhl99]

There are multiple threads with a similar topic of east coast routes.  Whichever one has the most recent comments gets the attention!

A review:

This thread was originally looking for a root to connect the VA MTB Route (unpublished, but boasted about on the web)  North to the PA/NY border, hence this proposal:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:%2F%2Fhome.windstream.net%2FJHLange%2F2012_PA_VA_NY_Route_Rev_03.kmz&hl=en&ll=39.943436,-79.431152&spn=10.691191,18.764648&sll=42.220382,-77.847748&sspn=0.55122,1.149445&t=m&z=6

The other thread that has some discussion of east coast routes is this one:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2163.0.html,  where a eastern divide route is somewhat proposed.

A trip report of the eastern divide through PA is here  http://www.bikepacking.net/tripreports/usa-ecd-pa-eastern-continental-divide-triple-point-south-to-mason-dixon-line/  (this is the red route shown in the  Google map linked above).

KPut: 
Reply 19 of http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2163.0.html sketches out your proposal.  The GAP/C&O can used as a connector.

ruthSLP:  Agreed, the TNGA does not follow the eastern divide... the Divide goes more or less goes through the edge of Atlanta....

JHL
PS:  I've scouted a chunk of the 'pink' route in PA.. will post info in the future.

[bmike-vt]

also, groundshine has his quebec - ma route in VT nearly complete, with a run proposed for this fall. you can find a thread where he mentions it here:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,3947.msg35714.html#msg35714

this is part of the late Dave Blumentha'ls (and groundshine's) considerable hard work on the XVTmtbr effort:
http://xvtmbr.pbworks.com/w/page/334617/FrontPage



would be interesting to know if one could cut across PA into the Catskills, up the Berkshires, and then tie into the VT route.
or across the southern tier of ny...

[Hubcap29erMan]

jhl99 and ruthslp have been scouting out southern portion of PA and have some great routes. I added a few miles from Greenwood Furnace heading north.  Almost to RB Winter at this point.  Here are a few shots from sights along the proposed trail in Bald Eagle, a bit of the Wilderness 101 route.  The tunnel you actually ride through, it is about a 7' opening on the narrow end, part of a rail grade out of Poe Paddy.  Quite a few sections/miles of sweet single track through Michaux, Rothrock and Bald Eagle State Forests.  Passing on the new parts to jhl99 and will continue working north.  A big thanks to jhl99 and ruthslp for all their work!    

[Hubcap29erMan]

All clear now to just north of Rt. 80.  Still a few sections yet to figure out.  Picture attached, name ended up being a misnomer, lucky for us!

[SandSurfer]

I know this is old, but from the end of TNGA it makes sense to dirt road down to the Cheaha are where there are loads of trails and then probably dirt roads down to Tallahassee, then east following the FL Trail to Ocala NF then follow the Huracan counter clockwise through Santos and Croom and back to the center of the state, then south along the Kissimmee River corridor to the Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. There are even levies around Miami to get to the southern tip of the mainland. The intrepid could continue onward to Key West.

One note to the Pisgah Traverse. It goes backward to get to DuPont, but it might make more sense to continue west and then south. I perused some maps a couple years ago and it looks like there's some good connections.

is everyone really down with the southern ending of this to be using the tnga to the AL border? just because it's routed? albeit a lot more green on the topo up across there, but the 'divide' actually extends to southern FL....if that is what the route is to be?? or not?
i believe a (short) portion goes near the withlacoochee watershed which is probably some of what karlos has already marked up in his Huracan 300/cross FL ITT rides?? just wondering....
i'm not crazy about including crocs in the mix, but the riding there is really way cooler and not as easy as you would think.

[jhl99]

Sandsurfer:  The topic isn't that old, just dormant, awaiting some contributions from the southerners!

If you have tracks or GPS data, post them... I have a master file with some knonw tracks.... see Reply 17
of this thread:  http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2163.0.html

JHL99

[naked indian]

I know this is old, but from the end of TNGA it makes sense to dirt road down to the Cheaha are where there are loads of trails and then probably dirt roads down to Tallahassee, then east following the FL Trail to Ocala NF then follow the Huracan counter clockwise through Santos and Croom and back to the center of the state, then south along the Kissimmee River corridor to the Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. There are even levies around Miami to get to the southern tip of the mainland. The intrepid could continue onward to Key West.

One note to the Pisgah Traverse. It goes backward to get to DuPont, but it might make more sense to continue west and then south. I perused some maps a couple years ago and it looks like there's some good connections.

I am more interested in following a true outline or a close as possible to the ECD.  That being said, there is already a north south route in Florida that goes all the way to and thru the everglades.  It doesnt go through santos because the ECD doesnt really go that way, but it has a fair amount of singletrack while still following the original corridor.  On top of that the route does extend to alabama, but the route basically forks after leaving felasco, one leg a much longer 1200 mile leg goes to Alabama and the 850 mile leg is the more traditional ECD route.  That being said, I have all the data and I am willing to share, but the route through GA needs to be worked out and that is what is on the table at the moment.  Spring of 2014 I will ride the Cross Florida Mountain Bike Route Georgia to Everglades section and then once I confirm that, the next year I will confirm the alabama route, we are trying to make sure we include as much awesomeness as possible thus the waiting on the release of that portion.  I am doing my part down here and will continue north as I confirm what I got.  I have a prelim GA route in the works already, but it will take a while to verify it.  Like the ECD it starts on the east side of the Okeefenokee.

[Snowbd2u]

Think this is the va route for bikers. http://www.vabike.org/the-virginia-mountain-bike-trail/

[vack]

Hi;

I'm new to this site, I stumbled upon it while looking for an off road bike adventure here in PA, (Where I live)  Came across the PA N-S route.  Awesome info and I decided I'm going to try it this July/August.

I have a few questions, if someone that has ridden some or all of it could help me with.

First of all the Bike, I have a CAADX Ultegra that I have set up with Bags Racks and pretty Wide Tires (38C).  Do you think I can tackle this route on this bike?
Secondly Gear, what stuff and how many nights of camping is there, or can you make enough head way and stay in towns along the route?

Any help and or info would be really great.

Thanks,

Jason

[jhl99]

Glad to hear that someone is planning to through ride the route!

Regarding the bike type--that bike would be perfect for some parts and not so much on others.  You might want to personal message HubCap29erMan...he road the mid section of the route on a ?cross? bike and I think he questioned his bike choice.  The mid section contains most of the single track.

For the record, I pretty much ride a 26", rigid MTB all the time, so I never have to decide which bike to take.  :-)

Regarding camping/towns.  I am pretty sure an average rider could not stay in towns each night along the route.  To me, an average rider isn't concerned about speed and might do 50-90 miles a day, depending on the route difficulty.

In case you didn't notice it, there is Google Map link in the write up that might with help determining how convenient towns are to the route:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:%2F%2Fhome.comcast.net%2F~JHLange99%2F2013_PA_NS_08.kmz&hl=en&ll=40.492915,-77.457733&spn=0.631837,1.098633&sll=44.001706,-74.595795&sspn=0.551211,1.127472&t=m&z=10

JHL99

[vack]

Thanks for the Reply JHL99  I did see that google link, and also all the great maps done up that are printable.  I'm way new to this Bikepacking, but I love the idea, so I'll PM the guy who did the mid section on a cross bike.  I know a lot of the Single Track in Rothrock is crazy rocky, and I would probably modify my route there to gravel grind.  I happen to have a Purple Lizard Map of that area and Bald Eagle too.  

Do you know if there is a GPX file of the route in its entirety that I can upload to a Garmin touring +?


About camping, did you guys just camp somewhere in the woods or did you guys do campgrounds?

I super excited to try this route though, I looks great, I'm thinking of doing it the last week of July.

[seanwggns]

Most of the Virginia section is going to be pretty burly singletrack so I wouldnt recomend a cross bike. Honestly, the whole southern end with the exception of the New River trail would be unrideable on one.

[vack]

I'm only doing the PA portion this year, it's the only time I will have, but if I continue on definitely will take my 29er.

[Bernardea]

Hello, I plan on doing this ride in mid-October for full leaf effect.   I was just wondering if anyone had ridden it recently or if there should be some addendum to worry about.  Any advice is appreciated.  Also thanks for the excell entry maps!

[sherpaxc]

Me and a buddy tried to do the Virginia mtb trail that was previously posted about but we could never get a response about route details.  We ended up canceling the trip.  If someone ends up riding it and is willing to post the GPX file that would be awesome as it is on my bucket list.

[Mumonkan]

Me and a buddy tried to do the Virginia mtb trail that was previously posted about but we could never get a response about route details.  We ended up canceling the trip.  If someone ends up riding it and is willing to post the GPX file that would be awesome as it is on my bucket list.

http://www.bikepacking.com/routes/bikepacking-virginia-mountain-bike-trail-part-1/
http://www.bikepacking.com/routes/virginia-bikepacking-route-vmbt-part-2/

[vack]

All the printable maps and the Google link are gone?  Can we restore them?

[jhl99]

Here are the new locations for documentation:

Google Map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z8Zofn0TZHpM.kAFLNR3gFKLE&usp=sharing

As of 4/2/2016, this Google Drive Folder:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bx33lLkX0pjbdFNpc0hyejYtdlE&usp=sharing]
[url]https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bx33lLkX0pjbdFNpc0hyejYtdlE&usp=sharing[/url]

Contains:

A copy of the orginal Bikepacking.net posting
GPX Files (REV 01 and REV02)
Detours for the Poe Paddy Tunnel, (not sure if it is reopened or not as of 4/2/2016)
Two sets of Topo Route maps: 
  *_M.pdf = Medium Resolution  (don't bother, use the higher resolution)
  *_H.pdf = High Resolution  (use these)

*** My ISP dumped personal web space and I've been too lazy to find an alternative.