The Newtown Pentacle

Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

One of the scuttling paths which I had been ‘saving,’ throughout the broken ankle nightmare and for future ‘stupid fun,’ played out along the ‘Emerald View Trail’ here in Pittsburgh recently.

This walk started off right here (Google Maps link).

Essentially, this is a wooded and natural surface hiking trail, one which proceeds diagonally down the face of Pittsburgh’s very steep Mount Washington. The path I was taking would carry me in a ‘westerly and ‘down’ direction. If I had to rate this one for difficulty or danger, it would be a 3 out of 10. I wouldn’t recommend walking this pathway if it’s rained, at all, in the previous 48 hours, due to mud.

Ain’t a walk across a bedroom carpet, but it wasn’t exactly a stroll through Ypres either, this scuttle.

The landmark for the trailhead is called ‘Point of View Park,’ and you’ll know you found it when you see a monumental bronze sculpture of George Washington staring down a Seneca Chief called Guyasuta.

Via Google – The bronze landmark on Grandview Avenue in Pittsburgh is titled ‘Point of View.’ and was sculpted by James A. West. The art was installed in 2006, a 750-pound artwork which sits at ‘Point of View Park’ on Mount Washington. It depicts George Washington face-to-face with Seneca leader Guyasuta, looking out over the city’s rivers and Point State Park.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

That’s the trailhead, pictured. The elevation at this spot is somewhere’s around 600 feet over the Monongahela River, and its flood plain. In the distance, the waters of the Monongahela are mixing with those of the Allegheny, and forming the headwaters of the Ohio River.

It should be mentioned that the Newtown Pentacle time warp is still in effect, but a bit less severe as I kind of took it easy at the end of July and start of August. The photos were captured on July 14, and these words are being inscribed on August 5. If my scheduling is correct, you’re seeing this at the end of the second week of September.

How’d the near future work out? It looks pretty grim right now…

– photo by Mitch Waxman

As mentioned, one has been ‘saving’ this one for when my busted ankle had fully healed up. It’s a natural surface, albeit one which has been ‘worked’ by grounds crews. The section with the gravel pictured above soon transmogrifies into a packed down and ‘formed’ soil path.

With palpitant heart, one entered the verge…

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Not too bad, huh? It was humid up in there, amongst the trees. Lotsa swarming little bugs buzzing about too.

As I often say: There’s a reason our ancestors paved over everything. Nature wants to digest you.

Problem for me was that at this ‘high summer’ moment which I was walking through here, you couldn’t see much due to all the leafy growth. Time was passed, thereby, shooting pics of the woods while scuttling along.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Here and there, there would be a clearing where a tree went down, and a bit of sunlight would filter through the canopy. There were also a few spots where the trail was at best a couple/three feet across, as it traveled past a steep section of incline, and that was a little worrisome.

Balance issues continue to plague me, a lasting consequence of the ankle situation. Overall, I’m ‘recovered’ at this point, but…

Almost two years out from the injury, I’m still feeling arthritic ‘tightness’ around the joint whenever it’s raining or the sky threatens it, and my ‘proprioception’ of the space that my left foot is physically occupying is almost always ‘off.’ This tends to throw off balance, and is related to the PTSD symptoms I’ve been experiencing around steps and stairs.

From my.clevelandclinic.org

Proprioception is one of your senses. It’s your body’s ability to sense its own position and movements in space. Proprioception is a complex automatic process that you can also fine-tune. Many conditions and injuries can affect it.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Finally, after about twenty minutes of diagonal dirt walking, a break in the trees allowed for a shot or two of the surroundings. There are a few different paths to explore in this section, which branch off of the main trail. Signage rates these alternate paths by difficulty, and apparently I was walking on the sort of path you’d take a child on.

I imagine that the more difficult ones involve climbing or something else that’s sweat inducing. No bueno.

Back next week with more from the Paris of Appalachia – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.

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