Western Maryland Rail Trail Extenstion

In October, Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced that Maryland would spend $5 million on a 4.5 mile extension of the Western Maryland Rail Trail. The new section will run from Pearre Station to Little Orleans, MD with access through a 4400 foot tunnel. The Western Maryland Railway ran all the way to Cumberland and the trail may eventually go that far - then it could connect with the Allegheny Highlands Trail. The AHTM is part of the Great Allegheny Passage, a combination of rail trails running from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. Connecting with the C&O canal tow path, they create a continuous trail from DC to Pittsburgh. I've ridden both the AHTM and the WMRT and they're both great. The latter is paved. On the former I saw a bear.