Pittsburgh Wilderness

[Devin Montgomery]

Aside from giving me a luxurious three-day vacation from grad school, the snow that has been dumping on the East Coast has also given me a new perspective on my neighborhood and local park. As the region was waking up to knee-deep snow, my wife and I headed out to explore. Even in the middle of a city, I found a lot of the same excitement that I get from far more remote hikes. I compiled a photo essay about our morning out on my blog.

The fantastical winter woods of Frick Park.

[James Patsalides]

What an excellent photo essay. Thanks for posting! It is amazing what you can find around urban/suburban areas if you search for it. I love early morning walks on the new East Coast Greenaway and the rails to trails paths, here in Connecticut, and I can walk right to either trail from my house in suburban Hartford. Stay safe in the snow down there!

[Devin Montgomery]

Thanks James! I wasn't familiar with the Greenway, but it looks like that will be a really nice route when it's all finished.

Oh, and yes, we plan to enjoy the snow responsibly. :)

[Tom Clark]

Devin,
Nice photo essay of an urban adventure. I liked photo 8 showing how much snow could fit on a branch. You should read "Wild Places" by Robert Macfarlane. It talks about how wild places cam be tucked into urban locations.
Tom

[Devin Montgomery]

Thanks for the recommendation! It looks like a good read.

I was glad that we could find such excitement around town, since our car wasn't going anywhere.

[Dean F.]

I'm getting an "Error On Page" message trying to look at the photo essay. Since I'm at work that may be due to our filter, though. I'll try again at home, later.

Where are you in Pittsburgh? I grew up south of the city, near Elizabeth in a little ex-mining-town called Buena Vista. The Rails-to-Trail route from D.C. to Pittsburgh runs through it.

[Devin Montgomery]

Hey, Dean. It works for me in Safari, but I get something strange when I try to open it in Firefox. Thanks for the heads-up, and I'll see if I can fix the issue.

I live in Shadyside, inside the city. The storm really shut down everything for a few days. It's only now really getting back on track.

I'm familiar with Buena Vista. My wife and I have been on that trail and passed through on bike trip to Ohiopyle. That's a really nice trail!

[Dean F.]

Those are some surreal photos. I am, of course, very familiar with Frick Park. It looks like another planet in your pics.

I lived in Squirrel Hill when I was in College.

[Devin Montgomery]

My wife and I love Frick, all three big parks in the city really. I think we'd go crazy without those woods to walk through. But this was far different than our typical stroll!

I don't know which of the many colleges you went to here, but Pitt had quite a game last night. They beat my alma mater (WVU) in triple overtime and broke my heart. I'm a grad student at Pitt now, but am not at all confused about where my allegiances lie. :)

[Dean F.]

WVU? You have my sympathies…

I went to Pitt. :o)

[Devin Montgomery]

I suppose I can't hold it against you, being a turncoat myself.

[Chris Bell]

Greetings from the northern tundra of Potter Co PA. We had about 6 inches of snow and bare roads when the snow hit down there. Pretty mild here. My sister lives in Pittsburgh and described the snow but no photos. So thanks for posting the pictures, they're a telling story for sure.

[Russell Klopfer]

I also went for a post-storm shlep through Frick. Frankly, I've had quite enough snow for this year. My car has been stuck countless times, and I cannot find someone to sell me a snow shovel. lol

ack. first post. not sure how to insert URLs nicely, so:

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