Posts Tagged ‘Three Rivers Heritage Trail’
Something wicked that way scuttled
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This post carries shots from the end of a medium length walk, on a quite warm day, that began in the hills of the Borough of Millvale, then followed the Allegheny River along a waterfront trail, and deposited my stinking pre-corpse onto the ‘Three Rivers Heritage Trail’ here in Pittsburgh.
Loathsome, your humble narrator was. A sweaty mess by this stage of the day, the dripping eidolon of dissolution, as well as a cautionary tale told to the young. Blech!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Landmark, that’s the 16th street David McCullough Bridge, nearby the former Heinz factory on Pittsburgh’s ‘North Side.’
The horror… ‘swamp ass’ was driving me crazy.
‘Swamp Ass’ is when you’ve been ‘shvitzing’ so heavily that your underclothes start becoming a burden, and bunching up. That’s the road to a blister, buddy!
Upon arriving back at HQ, I discovered that my T-Shirt was thoroughly soaked, and had to weigh about three pounds, with all that absorbed sweat in it. Phlegh!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Age, and the deprivations to the physical plant which it induces, are very much present with me on these scuttles.
I’ve had to learn to work around my ‘diminishing capacity,’ and especially so after the busted ankle incident. A lot of thought goes to the ‘carry’ inside the camera bag these days, wherein a zoom lens I refer to as ‘the brick’ is often found. The backpack, and I’ve actually gotten on a scale at a doctor’s office with and without it, weighs just under thirty pounds.
Add in the terrified reaction people have when they see me coming.
Old ladies clutch at their purses, children cry, dogs howl, birds fall dead out of the sky, flowers close up their blossoms like it’s night time as I near. I’m also likely the worst person who’s ever been born, just ask anyone, especially those whom I consider friends. They’ll tell you.
Why do I ever leave the house, or try to interact with people? Literally, everybody hates me, on sight.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Veterans Bridge, above.
Luckily, I found a shaded spot which offered concrete blocks to sit upon. Since the concrete was shaded, it was endo rather than exothermic, and I planted my horrific form atop it, allowing my body heat to bleed out, through the ass, and into the block.
Use your environment – and your ass – to your advantage!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, ‘civilization.’
Simple plan from this spot, I’d walk across the river on one of those ‘Three Sisters’ bridges – pictured above – and then it would be less than a half mile’s worth of scuttling to get to a T Light Rail station, which would carry me back home to Moe the Dog and Our Lady of the Pentacle.
They still seem to like me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My timing could not have been better… made it home just before that sky pictured above exploded with lightning, and wind, and storm.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Allegheny Foundations
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As you might recall from prior posts, your humble narrator was scuttling along the Millvale Riverfront Park frontage at the Allegheny River, and heading west to connect with the larger ‘Three River Heritage Trail,’ on this particular walk – which occurred in early July.
It had been a hot day with high humidity, and quite uncomfortable. A powerful thunderstorm had been forecast to arrive in the late afternoon, a condition which I was very aware of.
The plan was to cross around four to five miles of trail, along the riverfront, and then catch a T light rail to get back to Dormont before the vault of heaven exploded with rain and lightning.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A strong smell of sewage was in the air. Residential, I’d venture.
After all those years on Newtown Creek, I can tell you by scent alone if it’s commercial or residential. A couple of work trucks from Alcosan – the agency who handles Pittsburgh’s wastewater problems – were parked under one of the bridges, and there were a group of people, in ‘hi-viz’ orange and yellow shirts, engaged in what looked like a serious conversation nearby a pipe.
None of my business, and so I walked on. See, I’ve evolved. Didn’t stick my nose into it the way I would have back along the creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All that steel is part of the system of trusses and ramps connected to the 33rd street rail bridge, which spans the river between Lawrenceville and the north shore of the Allegheny here.
A new ball cap I’ve been wearing isn’t flash orange, rather it’s bright white. Found it on Amazon, and the promise was that this ball cap will ‘wick’ your sweat up and evaporate it using some system of laser cut ventilation holes in the crown, which will in turn cool off your noggin.
The cap kind of did what the manufacturer promised, I’d mention, but Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself has decided that it looks like the sort of hat you’d normally expect to see worn by a someone’s Grandfather on a golf course.
It’s now officially known as the ‘Korean Grandfather’s Golf Cap.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My headphones were inserted firmly into the ear holes, and I was listening to a playlist of music so familiar to me that it’s kind of become my theme music over the years. Basically, it’s a mix tape of tunes that used to make me feel things back when I could still feel things. I’m so emotionally numb these days that…
One found himself entering what I often describe as being a ‘vegetation tunnel.’ Enveloped completely by the surrounding verge, with sight lines occluded or blocked by nature’s excess, it’s best to just ‘lean into it’ in areas like this since there’s really not much to see.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A plaque is set into the walkway, here’s a shot of it, describing the significance and creators of this ramp/bridge in this section of the trail.
Whereas I fairly despise those urban renewal processes which demolished whole neighborhoods in the name of building highways, those same processes also created a fantastic series of waterfront bike and pedestrian ‘rail trails’ all around the edges of Pittsburgh. Dichotomy.
Yes, I can hold and defend two contradictory points of view at the same time. Rules are arbitrary, conflict is normal, everything will work out in the end – one way or another. Don’t ever forget – lots of people might think and pronounce that you’re an ‘icehole’ – but that doesn’t mean that you’re not also right.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The weather was growing warmer as I walked, and the humidity rose. The afternoon storm was nearing, and I needed to ‘burn some shoe leather’ quick if I didn’t want to get caught out in it.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
‘Flat’ isn’t necessarily easier
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The final leg of my ‘leg work’ day occurred just as I reached the shoreline of the Monongahela River. One of my ‘sit down’ spots is nearby the entrance to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, which also happens to be right along the ballasted tracks of CSX’s Pittsburgh Subdivision.
Now I was happy, as I had caught a train shot. Thanks #3473.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Spring like weather has arrived in Pittsburgh, and despite a couple of anomalously cold days randomly popping up, the birds have returned and the trees are starting to bud. I entirely missed autumn and most of the winter due to the broken ankle, so I’m really looking forward to the next couple of months – photography wise.
This shot looks across the ‘Mon’ to the ‘Uptown’ or ‘Bluff’ area where Duquesne University is found.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last time I walked through here, which must have been in July or August, this trail had become a very well populated homeless colony. It wasn’t just regular camping tents here, some of the people who set up shop here had erected shanties and there was one woman who had set up a catering tent which shielded a sofa and chairs from rain.
The current Mayor of Pittsburgh is entering what’s meant to be a difficult reelection campaign, one wherein he’s being primaried by his own party. One imagines that step one of his campaign was ‘doing something about the homeless.’ That takes the same shape here as it does in NYC – send in the Cops and Sanitation trucks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the South 10th street Bridge pictured above, spanning the Monongahela. It’s a minor bridge, but it’s visually interesting to me for some reason. At any rate, the light was nice.
My ultimate destination was that Brewery alongside the CSX tracks that I’ve mentioned a million times, but the only train I saw on this walk was the one in the first shot of today’s post.
This time around, I rewarded myself for the walking effort with a couple of pints of stout and a personal pizza for dinner.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
South 10th street Bridge again. Would have loved to creep out onto the abutments and shoreline a bit further, but I still need to remain conservative regarding the ankle. Getting there, but not there yet.
During these walks, the ankle swells up a bit. Nowhere near as much as it would have a month ago, mind you, but on the whole – its gains about 20-30% in volume. The Docs told me this sort of thing is normal and that I can expect it to happen for about the next year. Luckily ice bags when I get home are no longer required, I just need to sit back in my La Z Boy chair and let the limb relax afterwards. It still hurts.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was a singular tent remaining. Don’t know if it was ‘occupied’ or not. Last summer, there had to be a couple of hundred people sheltering along this trail.
At any rate, this was the end of my ‘leg work’ walk along Pittsburgh’s South 18th street. Not a bad afternoon, and I’m definitely going to head back to St. Michael’s Cemetery at the top of the hill when I’m driving the MOP (Mobile Oppression Platform), a Toyota. Interesting POV.
Back tomorrow with something different, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Beyond the bend
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, a humble narrator was executing a short constitutional scuttle of about five miles along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, found on the south shore of the Monongahela River here in Pittsburgh. That’s the South Tenth Street Bridge pictured above, which I think I’ve finally taken an interesting picture of. It’s a fairly unremarkable span, and it’s a challenge I’ve been entertaining myself with for a while now.
It’s also the start of a huge encampment maintained by a population of homeless mendicants. The city of Pittsburgh has been dealing with these sorts of encampments all over its turf since COVID, and has been roughly uprooting the dwellings, tents, and shanties in the ‘Downtown’ area of the ‘golden triangle’ since I got here, in response to complaints by the business community about the situation.
These poor people had to go somewhere, and apparently it’s here, far away from the Downtown corporate world and the cameras of new crews.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the 1930’s, this would have called this a ‘Hooverville,’ shanties and makeshift dwellings composed of other people’s discarded items. During this walk, one noted that both sides of the trail were de facto neighborhoods. I observed a young guy doing missionary work here, bringing sanitary products to the residents. I also saw him cutting firewood for a camp of three elderly men at one point. He was wearing a T-Shirt signifying he worked for some local church. Good stuff.
Instinct is to pass some sort of moral judgement on our fellow Americans for ending up in this circumstance due to addiction or bad luck, but that does nothing to solve the issue and serves to dehumanize the homeless into a homologous ‘mono-issue’ population rather than individuals who all have different problems that have led to this circumstance.
Conversely, there are some fairly dangerous people amongst them and it’s important not to underestimate that. I don’t have an answer to the problem I can offer on this subject. Life on the edge is a hard life.
I’ve said it a hundred times (and especially so to members of ‘Team DeBlasio), that there’s not a ‘homeless problem,’ rather there’s thousands of individual ‘homeless problems’ with no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Few of them want to be living in a tent made of garbage alongside a river.
If you’re concerned about these people, think ‘existential’ instead of ‘penitential’ and drop off some old blankets or clothing nearby their campsites. At least they’ll be able to stay warm while living like this in the richest country that’s ever existed. That’s what I’d call the ‘Christian’ response, rather than putting them in jail for being destitute or something.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
See what I mean about the South Tenth street bridge? It’s really hard to get an interesting shot of the thing… bah.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Monongahela Scuttle
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A ‘short walk’ day was upon me, but a humble narrator was feeling a bit lazy. Combatting ennui, I forced myself out of HQ and drove down to Pittsburgh’s South Side Park with its accompanying section of the Three Rivers Heritage trail for a short scuttle. As mentioned yesterday, this section is an easy 15-20 minutes drive from HQ.
That’s the Birmingham Bridge, over the Monongahela River, in the shot above. At the time of this writing, which is a couple of weeks ago as far as when you’re seeing this post, I’m nursing a sore back. The tenderness of the saddle region was earned during a long walk, one which included scuttling over that bridge from a frankly disturbing section of Pittsburgh that’s called ‘Uptown.’
More on that in a couple of weeks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had keyed in another LibriVox audiobook for this walk, this time “A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great, Vol I, written by John Bagnell Bury’ and was struggling to get past the notion of somebody writing a history book about prehistoric times. I mean… it’s prehistoric… so…
It’s a fairly old text, as the author died in 1927, and many of its descriptions of Minoan Greece have been upended in recent years by ongoing archaeological discovery occurring in both the islands of the Peloponnese, and in Egypt. There’s a lot of inference injected into the text emanating from the classical Greek and Roman historians, and philosophers, which has ended up being contradicted by actual evidence of the Minoan civilization that was formerly buried in the soil.
Still, it’s an interesting listen and doesn’t lead to the death of brain cells and compassion like social media does.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Can’t describe how happy I was to visit with a Combined Sewer Outfall along the way. I miss the sewer plant in Brooklyn most of all, for some reason. Had a lot of interesting times there, and I saw things most do not.
My goal for the day wasn’t really about the photos, but I took a bunch of shots while scuttling along anyway. I’ve always got the camera with me, never know what you’re going to see, and the only shots you miss are the ones you didn’t take. I’ve got lots of motivational mottos. Another one is ‘steel on steel, it’s the worst sound around.’
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 