The Allegheny Trail—the Northern Reaches

I've decided that I'm going to use my upcoming sabbatical in part to travel the length of the Allegheny Trail, which crosses the state of West Virginia.  It runs just a little over 300 miles, mostly through the Monongahela National Forest.  But the northernmost marches of the trail are all along old country roads, like the one pictured here.

I actually drove along the roadside "trail" from near the town of Bruceton Mills all the way northward into Pennsylvania.  It's scenic enough and might make a pleasant walk.  But I don't know where you would get water or put up for the night.

This is Mountain Grove Church of the Brethren.  I suppose you could arrange beforehand for permission to camp in their churchyard among the resting places of the dead--assuming this church still has a congregation.

Looking into Pennsylvania from West Virginia, the trail has many long views like this one.

All the churches look alike in this area, just south of the line.  This one is Methodist, and again, I doubt it sees regular use.  Maybe the occasional funeral or even a rare wedding.  Some old country churches like this get used for a "reunion" or "homecoming" service once a year, usually in the summer.

And here's the northernmost terminus of the Allegheny Trail, on the Pennsylvania border.  It's an ambitious goal to walk this trail from end to end.  I'm planning to take an Amtrak train from Pittsburgh to D.C. and from D.C. onward into the town of White Sulphur Springs, in Southern West Virginia.  I'll have to Uber out to the trailhead, which is some 15 miles east of town.  From there, I'll hoof-it to this little kiosk, where my wife will be waiting to meet me.