EvBetPGH Down Under: The Blue Mountains

On my second day in Australia, Marlana, Courtney and me took a drive to the Blue Mountains for a few hours of hiking. We went to the Three Sisters area and wandered along the trails. For the first hour or so, I was really concentrating on keeping an eye out for snakes, as Australia has something like eight of the ten deadliest snakes in the world. But eventually the fear subsided, and I could enjoy more than the ground under my feet. Here's a sampling of what I saw a couple hours outside the city:

The Three Sisters

Rules and Things

Tic Tac Toe

Hmmm. Looks almost like being back in Pittsburgh.

30 Before 30: Whitewater Rafting on the Fourth of July

The older I'm getting, the more outdoorsy I'm becoming. Five years ago, I would have never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be capable of spending an entire week biking and camping - alone at that. But now, I love being outside and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. I'm getting less afraid of things like snakes and spiders (but still would really rather not deal with those at all) and learning how to be patient, calm, and appreciative of the natural world. That sounds only slightly crazy. Blame the heat that seems will never break.

My friend Brian offered Corey, Carrie and me an amazing opportunity for the Fourth of July: whitewater rafting at Ohiopyle on a raft led by his brother and would only cost us $15 each.

It was the perfect way to spend the mid-week holiday. It was hot, but not oppressive. The water was cold, but not frigid. We took our time going down the river and tossed about in the rapids. For three miles we went through The Doldrums and drank beverages and jumped into the water and floated downstream. We brought the raft ashore at Jump Rock and, well, jumped off a rock. It was so beautiful out there that I wondered how crazy it woud be if I dropped everything for the rest of the summer and spent the remainder of it right there on the river.

Sadly, there are no pictures from the actual rafting portion of the trip. But here are a few shots from the day.

This is a picture I took while on my bike trip to Cumberland in 2011. Those are some of the rapids we went over.

Keeping ourselves entertained while Brian's brother sorted out our raft and such.

Just some bears, reading a book.

Laz-Z-Boy swing.

Rafting was an incredible way to spend the Fourth of July. It was also officially the first one of my 30 Before 30 items that I can cross off the list. 

Winter Camping Feels Like Spring to Me

A couple weekends ago, I went camping. I tell people this, and they scoff. “Camping?! In this weather?!” Yes. Camping. In this weather, which ended up being cool and comfortable during our hike to camp on Saturday, and then beautiful, sunny, and pure springlike getting back to the car on Sunday. Overnight it was chilly, but we were equipped with cozy sleeping bags and a fire we kept going all night. You may recall that once Carrie and I started a fire that lasted into the morning with ONE MATCH on another camping excursion. This time around we didn’t even need a match at all. The embers were still going, and we were able to stoke it into a lovely blaze. Many smores were enjoyed.

All of the things I’m happy to be doing more of since I moved back, being more active in the outdoors is very near to the top of my list. Not that these sorts of activities weren’t available to me in Boston, but I take advantage of them far more here. With the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail and the Great Allegheny Passage both fairly accessible, I’m in a nice little location where immersing myself in the woods for a couple days is totally possible. I’m routing my June bike trip to D.C. now and will continue to put sections of the LHHT behind me as the spring, summer and fall go on.

Here are some photos from the trip. You can see more on the Everything Better Pittsburgh Picasa page.

There’s something that clicks inside of me when I go camping. I get kicked into hyper-cleaning mode whenever I get home. I walked into the door of my place shortly before 6 p.m. that Sunday and scrubbed and swept and sorted. It was nice to sleep in my bed, but it was even nicer to wake up to a clean living room the next morning.

EvBetPGH Best Of 2011: Paddling Pittsburgh

Throughout the month of December, I'll be returning to five of my favorite adventures/posts from the past year.

Date of Post: September 5, 2011
Title of Post: Paddling Pittsburgh: Kayaking the Allegheny and the Ohio

For years I've had "kayak on the rivers" on my Pittsburgh to-do list. Finally, with great company, I made it happen. If this whole biking-to-work doesn't work out, maybe I'll get myself a kayak.

More Biking/More Camping/More Smores: Shawnee State Park

This summer has been full of quick overnight camping trips. These trips have been refreshing and - as much as I love living in a city and the bustle that comes with it - it never fails to breathe a little new life into me. (The smores don't hurt either.)

Corey, Carrie, Allie and I loaded up the back of Corey's truck with our bikes and camp gear and made the two-hour ride out to Shawnee State Park. Corey grew up nearby in Bedford and had spent time in his youth biking and wandering around the park.

At night, after I nearly killed us all by lining the fire pit with shale (here's a pro tip: shale EXPLODES when it gets hot, so don't put it in a fire), Carrie did a tarot card reading for me (on top of a Terrible Towel - awesome) that was eerily accurate.

Another outstanding fire built by Carrie and me. One match. (Though we did have to use a second match in the morning to get it going again.)

Stick bug that hung out with us for a little bit at the picnic table.

Carrie's morning hash. Does everything taste good over an open flame?*

It's a little hard to see, but there's a huge daddy long-legger on Carrie's polka dot headband.

All the bikes, loaded up and making the trip back to Pittsburgh.

We made it back in time for the first Steelers game of the season. We all know how that turned out. Regardless, the first regular season Steelers game means it's fall, which is something we've all been waiting (somewhat) patiently for.

*Yes.

Hidden PGH: Panther Hollow

One of the things that charms me most about Pittsburgh are the hidden places that are easy to get to, lovely to visit, and beautiful to explore. In college I used to wander down into Panther Hollow at night (somewhat unwisely, I'm sure) and take in the quiet around me while cars sped across the Panther Hollow Bridge above me. Panther Hollow is one of my favorite hidden Pittsburgh places - one that I wanted to share with my friend Carrie, so we took a bike ride from Bloomfield to Oakland and ventured down the steps through the woods to get into the Hollows below.

The Panther Hollow Bridge and Panther Hollow Lake.

Reflection of the Panther Hollow Bridge in the murky, swampy lake below.

Why, if it isn't a quaggle of ducks!

As much as the hills can be killer around the city, they do make for some great hidden spots like Panther Hollow. What are some of your favorite hidden Pittsburgh gems?

Pedestrian Pittsburgh - West End Village: Taming the Dragons

[Pedestrian Pittsburgh is a collaborative effort between Eric Lidji and me. We're gonna walk all over this fantastic city. Check out his blog for his account (which will be much more elegant and whimsical than my account that follows). Also, we have a tumblr and a twitter.]

You may remember a post from a few weeks ago, where the City Paper noted the uncharted-ness of Pittsburgh's West End by denoting it on a map with a "Here There Be Dragons" icon. Eric and I made our second PedPGH trip to the West End recently and discovered there are no dragons, but there is a colorful and interesting neighborhood hidden from view because of the valley it lies within.

Driving into the West End we were treated to a sliver of a rainbow, barely visible in this picture, but we took it to be a welcoming sign.

Mural on the side of the police building in West End Village, the first of several murals we would encounter. (I'm a fan of any mural that captures the confluence of the three rivers and the city's skyline from the point. There could be 100 of these throughout the city and I'd fall in love with each and every one of them.)

A mural fading away.

This mural represents cultural diversity and was painted by several people who are depicted in the picture below.

The West End's branch of the Carnegie Library was one of the first libraries Carnegie built in the city of Pittsburgh.

Another mural in the West End.

Train tracks run above the streets of the West End.

We walked down a few empty streets and came upon this little creek and lush greenery that sit in the West End's backyard.

The West End Village used to be called Temperanceville once upon a time.

One habit Eric and I have been making on these PedPGH walks is to explore a staircase when we come upon it. Such was the case in the West End, and we climbed this very long set of stairs that took us on an adventure through the woods(!!) of Elliott.

This path came out of nowhere, and was completely isolated. It really felt like we were in the Laurel Highlands, but we were within the Pittsburgh city limits.

We came out from the path and found another path leading to the West End Park. When we got to the top of the hill that the park lies on, the sun had started to set, and the sky looked amazing.

This mosaic was great, and when I looked at it up close, I realized it was a mosaic within a mosaic within a mosaic, and so on.

One of my favorite things about the PedPGH walks, especially on ones in neighborhoods I've never before visited, is realizing that Pittsburgh, as a whole, is one of the most interesting places around. The West End Village feels a little remote, and getting in and out of it was no easy task, but it was undoubtedly a Pittsburgh neighborhood, filled with color and a personality all its own. There were no dragons, but there was certainly plenty to discover.