Virtual Ride, Cross the Mountain, Miles 22 and Beyond

Virtual Ride, First 21 Miles.

The majority of these photos were taken in September of 2006. The Mileage and Ride Time (RT) figures were taken from my bike computer. Ride Time is time actually moving not total trip time. With rest breaks my total trip time is much longer. There are two photos with the each Mile and RT listing. Unless marked otherwise the first photo is the view up the trail and the second is the view looking back. Two views for the price of one.

Click on photos to enlarge

This is a continuation of the Virtual Ride that began with the first 21 miles of the West Fork Trail. We pick up the ride where we left off at Mile 21.8. This is the location of the Glady Trailhead. The trail is combined with Glady Road from this point forward.
How it used to look when the tracks were still in place.
Mile: 22.3 RT 2:18 Overshot mile 22 a little.
Mile: 22.5 Start of Tunnel Detour Across from the Forest Warden's house you can see where the old railroad splits off from the road and heads for Tunnel #2. Since the tunnel is closed this is where the detour begins. Stay on the road.
Tunnel Detour diagram

Mile: 22.7

Downtown Glady
Glady Post Office and Store
To see the inside of the post office
go to Shopping In Glady.

Mile: 22.7 Glady Crossroad Go left onto Elliot Rd/Co. Rd 22. Second photo is of the steep hill you will be climbing. This will take you over the top of Shavers Mountain. Looking at the Ride Profile will give you an idea of how steep it is.
Mile: 23 RT 2:26 Coincidentally the mile 23 mark is exactly at the top of Shavers Mountain. So the forward view is looking at the Shavers Fork River valley and the backward view is of the West Fork Glady Fork River valley.
Mile: 23.4 Go downhill on the mountain .4 mile and you will see this road on your left. There are no signs. It is the same spot described in Parking on the Shavers Fork River side of Shavers Mountain This is where the detour will end and you re-enter the trail.
To the right of the road described above is a break in the trees where people have obviously been accessing the trail. Problem is, besides all the "No Trespassing" signs, there is barbed wire lying about. I suggest using the road on the left.
The small road is quite short. This pictures shows most of it's length. Go out the road and look on the right.
You will see a Forest Service gate down the hill. There are ATV tracks going around the gate. The trail is on the other side of the gate. Left on the trail goes toward the closed tunnel. Head right to continue on the trail
Back on the West Fork Trail. From this point on the trail is not maintained but the ATV traffic has kept down the weeds so it is passable.
Half washed out culvert. Bike carefully.

Mile 23.8
Shavers Fork
River Valley

Mile: 23.9 A rail cut with interesting rock formation.
Mile: 24 RT 2:35
Mile: 24.6 Trail washout. Looking down the washout is our first view of the Shavers Fork River. Easy dogleg around the washout. Aerial photo of the slide.
Mile: 25 RT 2:43
You'll need to duck under some leaning trees.
Here is a diagram that shows how the upcoming landmarks relate to each other.
Cheat Junction Mile: 25.2 This is Cheat Junction. It is part of the Three Junction Wye . Two rail lines used to come together here. This is now where the Greenbrier Junction Spur begins. It heads off to the left. We will come back to this point. Our path lies straight ahead.
Mile: 25.7 RT 2:50 The end of the West Fork Trail just ahead. This is our first view of the West Virginia Central Railroad (WVCRR). As you approach the track remember that this is an active rail line. To prove it .......

......... just look to the right.
You might see the last car of the
New Tygart Flyer pulling away.

This is the end of the West Fork Trail's main trail. There is still the Greenbrier Junction Spur to do. But first I'm going to keep looking around here. If you're just interested in biking the Spur click HERE to jump ahead.
The view of the railroad track left (upriver) and right (down river).
Looking ahead. Here is where the two rail lines crossed each other and the Coal & Iron Railroad (C&IRR) crossed the Shavers Fork River. The square looking thing is a railroad "diamond". It's how tracks cross each other. It must been left behind when they pulled up the rails.

Shavers Fork Bridge

The bridge ties are badly rotted and there is
not much point in crossing the bridge since the
old rail bed on the other side is so overgrown
as to be nearly impassable.

The best way to cross the river is to go
about 100 feet down the rails on the right.
Around the bend you will see the bridge used
by the WVCRR.

Elk River Junction

Across the river is the location of
Elk River Junction. This was where the
two rail lines joined and is part of the
Three Junction Wye. You can still see
the overgrown path of the C&IRR running
along the other side of the river heading
for the old Shavers Fork Bridge.

That's enough exploring down here. Let's head back to the Cheat Junction at mile 25.2. From there we can bike the 1.3 miles of the Greenbrier. Junction Spur. That will complete the West Fork Trail.
Cheat Junction West Fork Trail Mile 25.2 Greenbrier Junction Spur Mile 0.0 The Greenbrier Junction Spur is not as well traveled as the West Fork Trail so expect more overgrowth and one bad washout. The picture is looking back at Cheat Junction from the Spur.
The same view of the Cheat Junction from 1955.
Forest Service boundary markings next to the trail. The rocks are painted red.
My first ever sighting of a Bearing Tree.
Trail overgrowth
Spur Mile: 0.8 Trail washout. You'll have to dismount and walk around the washout.
There is a small pond built up at the washout so it's a little muddy. Need to push the bike up this small hill to get back on the trail.
Spur Mile: 1
Spur Mile: 1.1 First sighting of the WVCRR track on the right.
Greenbrier Junction Spur Mile: 1.3 RT 0:15 End of the Greenbrier Junction Spur and of the West Fork Trail. 27 Miles Total. This is the Greenbrier Junction. It's where two rail lines met. It is part of the Three Junction Wye.
How Greenbrier Junction looked in 1963.
Though this is the end of the West Fork Trail there is still something else to see. Farther up the Shavers Fork are the High Falls of the Cheat. It's another 1.6 miles and there is no biking path. Just the railroad. In some places there is room next to the track to bike but in most places there isn't. There will be a fair amount of just walking and pushing your bike down the track.
Old railroad mileage signs. The 50 refers to 50 miles from Tygart Junction where this rail line joins with another rail section called the Cowen Subdivision. It is hard to see in the picture but the upright piece of rail has "C2" on it. It marks 2 miles from Cheat Juction.

Just down river from the High Falls.

Depending on the time of day when you arrive at the falls you might get to see the the New Tygart Flyer. This is it's southern most stop. The train backs up this section of track to reach the falls.
At the High Falls is a rail side shelter, picnic tables and rustic bathrooms. The High Falls is also the stopping point for a specially made railway coach called the Cheat Mountain Salamander. It was there at the same time as the Flyer to take on some of it's passengers.
The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad offers a Three Train Excursion where you ride first on the Tygart Flyer then the Cheat Mountain Salamander and finish on the Durbin Rocket.
Time to head down to the Falls and the end of this journey.

Above the High Falls Of The Cheat
with viewing platform to the right.

High Falls Of The Cheat

It's now 2.9 miles back to the Cheat Junction on the West Fork Trail and
from there 25.2 miles back to Durbin. More than 28 miles. Let's get going.