Originally Posted by
edthesped
Did you go north to south? If so, were you able to keep from hauling your bikes up and over the foot bridge? Supposedly there's a better route that allows one to avoid the stairs over the bridge, unfortunately I'm not sure what it is but was told rather than dropping into the park at the last sign I should have stayed on the road for a bit more. I don't want to mislead anyone as I took the stairs and foot bridge as the final sign at the park implied. Looking at google maps maybe there's some way to come down W Salsbury St. but I'm not sure I'd risk it without knowing for sure.
My experience on the new surface was the opposite of yours I was quite pleased to not have to dodge mud holes and ruts, though judging by the equipment on and near the trail, the work is ongoing so you may have experienced a newer section that wasn't yet laid down when we went through. We rode with 40mm tires @ 45 PSI and rolled quite nicely, we run tubeless if it makes a difference.
I agree with the hiker biker campgrounds, though my daughter who has turned the Pgh to DC trip in to an annual ride says there was nothing atypical about the conditions of the sites. I did the C&O several years back with the Boy Scouts and don't remember them being as primitive but my daughter insists they've been like that, as I made the same observation as you.
We did Go north to south. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare as I should have and was caught by the detour so we went up and over the foot bridge. Lugging and trying to roll my 80 +/- pound bike was not as much fun as some may think!
The new surface was great...at least the areas that were packed. Our first couple of miles (or so) was pretty loose. Granted my bike currently has 32 mm tires so that, plus the weight, were the issues. I almost went down...but didn't. Though it did leave a pretty cool looking "scar" in the surface for those behind me to look at.
Yea, the boys in our group, who had never camped before, preferred the more manicured campsites we had earlier at a couple of boat ramps. I thought they were fine...nothing special but did exactly what we needed--gave us a place to sleep, get water, and go to the bathroom.
Great trip! When I can do it again I would like to take a little more time to "stop and smell the roses"...which was difficult with a large group of youth.