The Newtown Pentacle

Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The last leg of the longest walk I’ve been able to execute, and really the first one which I’ve truly enjoyed without pain or discomfort (ok, there was a bit of swelling), since breaking my ankle last fall.

I was walking on one of the rail trails, chosen for its flat character, and along the Monongahela River shoreline after having crossed the West End Bridge. Pictured above is the underside of the Fort Pitt bridge with downtown Pittsburgh in the background.

Fort Pitt is sort of the ‘master cylinder’ for traffic flow here in Pittsburgh. On one side it leads to a tunnel which feeds traffic to the south onto an interstate roadway (I-376), whereas in the other direction it feeds traffic either to downtown, another high speed interstate roadway heading eastbound, or onto the Fort Duquesne Bridge which offers connections to the west and north. Approaching this bridge at the high volume times of day is a major mistake which drivers should avoid.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The rail trail proceeds through the Station Square area, and it follows the coast of the Monongahela River and the CSX Subdivision Tracks which parallel it. Onward, soldier, onward. I opted to continue on towards that brewery I like, which was maybe a mile or so beyond the position where the shot above was captured.

Wasn’t planning on making a ‘night’ of it, rather I was desperate to use the bathroom and a pint of beer or two would definitely reignite my flagging energy levels. It’s been a long long time since I walked five miles, and the atrophy suffered in the upper legs due to the wheelchair interval is something I’m assiduously working on reversing.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Along the way, a somewhat unoccluded view of the ‘colors’ house I showed y’all at the start of March appeared, and I gathered a shot of it for the archives. So quirky.

The pavement gets a bit difficult in this area, as it’s all busted up from trucks parking on the sidewalk, and the underlying Appalachian soil beneath the road is absolutely legendary at producing potholes. Had to be a bit cautious here. Remind myself that I’m still no where near ‘100%.’

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Normally, I’d be walking along that fenceline dividing the CSX tracks from the trail, but in that direction the trail is blocked by a gigantic pile of railroad ballast stones. It’s only about four feet high, and fairly easy to surmount – if you’re not concerned about the recovery of your shattered ankle. Discretion being the better part of valor, I opted to go with the broken sidewalks and pothole scarred street path instead.

Missed a couple of trains, but there we are.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

While scuttling through, a T light rail unit exited the Golden Triangle and crossed over the Monongahela River via the Panhandle Bridge, and it began the climb up Mount Washington via Arlington Avenue.

Finally, I reached the Sly Fox Brewery. After ‘dewhizzulating,’ which is how I colloquially refer to the act of urination, I ordered a lovely O’Reilly’s stout and decided to sit inside at the bar for a while. Met a nice bloke named Jimmy, who was a retired pilot, that regaled me with tales of his travels. Nice guy.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

It was time to summon a rideshare car to carry me home, and the Lyft service was engaged in that pursuit. Whew.

Five miles is 316,800 inches, in case you’ve been wondering all week.

Back next week with something different.

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