Snowmageddon 2010

The weather seems to have finally cleared here in Pittsburgh and as promised, here's a little tribute to what became known as Snowmageddon 2010. Better late than never, eh?

Despite some people claiming the whole ordeal to be blown out of proportion, I can assure you that it some places it wasn't. Elizabeth Township, where I happened to be temporarily staying at the time, got decimated. Roads were blocked by thick heavy snow, hundreds of fallen trees, and more abandoned cars than you might believe. It was real chaos. There was no power anywhere, and getting from place to place was damn near impossible.

It took me a damn long time to clear it out but I made good use of my Jeep and snowshoes to be one of the few people to be out in the early aftermath. I didn't get many pictures since I was trying to reach entrapped elderly relatives the whole day but whatev.

It really was pretty tough to get places since so many areas were impassable. This huge tree came across the road and brought snapped power lines down with it, blocking me off from my uncle's house and I had to go on foot. There's a random car abandoned in a snow drift there, and no it wasn't just parked there. It was in the middle of the damn road.

Sparky eventually sprung his Jeep free too and we went off to play for awhile, taking in the madness downtown. It was somewhat creepy to see the city grid devoid of cars and covered in snow. The Hill District and Oakland were tough even in Jeeps to drive through with the unplowed steep hills. We managed to catch the Pens game and dinner at Primanti's after I tow strapped three stuck vehicles  blocking my way to the Strip District. Sorry no pics =(

In the days that followed, power was still out and the long term effects set in. The weight of the snow started making shit collapse like windshields, the ice rink I grew up skating at, and my aunt's porch roof that I had to go tear off so she could get outside again.

After the heavens stopped spewing snow onto the region and the conditions in Pittsburgh became a bit more normal, I ran up to my home away from home of Sandpile Springs in the Laurel Highlands to check on my cabin and my other mighty Jeep. While just a few inches remained at home, the mountains still had well over two feet of snow, entrapping my poor ZJ. A little digging in the afternoon eventually sprung her free and gave me a reliable rig to traverse the white madness in.

And finally, I decided while I was in the area to check out what effect all the precipitation had on the mighty Youghiogheny River Gorge. The Falls were ridiculous.

So yeah, it kinda sucked but us adventurous folk in the city and suburbs were able to have some fun with it. You saw what I did, though I wish I had more from me and Sparky's urban offroading. Here's a really cool video of some pretty badass skiers and snowboarders taking advantage of the disastrous conditions around Pittsburgh right after the storm for urban skiing and such. I've never been much of a skier myself, but this shit is sweet so I gotta give these guys mad props.



That's all from Captain Crash for that storm. May there never be one like it again. Bleh. I'll leave you with a nice warm picture instead!

Tally-ho!
-Crash

Travel: Fort Lauderdale, Fl

When it comes to adventure, Captain Crash can get pretty diverse. While primarily this website focuses on the mountainous treks into the wilderness, some times the members of Team Crash just like to do a little traveling to another city for awhile. Afterall, we're mostly suburb-folks ourselves, and Crash has a special appreciation for history and architecture. Some times we're just passing through and other times we're staying a few days while following a beloved Pittsburgh sports team but dammit we always make it a bit of an adventure so from time to time the pictures end up here in special Travel Blogs. 

I needed one last good summer weather post before I officially wrapped up my boycott of the winter. This one is as good as it gets when it comes to warm weather... well, minus the hockey game but whatev.

My Spring Break 2009 road trip that had coincided with my annual Penguins Pilgrimage was in one of its final legs: Fort Lauderdale. I rolled into town with Bilo, Mary and Ashley in hopes of some warm beaches and catching the Penguins for another road win... and not only did we catch both of those targets, we also caught the Penguins themselves. Turns out, we were in the same resort. Who knew. We didn't see much of the city since we were preoccupied meeting our heroes, but here's my pictures chronicling the trip of a lifetime.

Our balcony provided us a great view of the city skyline just a little ways away from our beachfront paradise. But we were about to invade, clad of course in our black and gold.

We made our way into the city to the icy battlefield of the Bank Atlantic Center, where a great game ensued that evening. Hockey in Florida... now that's a yinzer vacation. LETS GO PENS!

 VICTORY!!! My road record remained undefeated as we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed our night at the Marriott, with a sparkling view of the city just out or window.

The next day we enjoyed the fantastic weather and incredible setting in the private resort and beach. No matter where we were or what we were doing it seemed like we ran into another Penguin that was also just out to relax. They were all super friendly and most would chat with us and pose for a picture. Fucking awesome.

Eric Godard in Starbucks...

Asst. Coach Mike Yeo at the Spa...

Sidney Crosby at the Outdoor Cafe...

Mary and Matt Cooke at Outdoor Cafe...

Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy near the patio area...

Superstar and the Flower at the pool... chicka-chee!!

 Mark Eaton and Chris Kunitz at the Poolside Bar...

 Pascal Dupuis at the Poolside Bar...

Rob Scuderi at the Poolside Bar... YEAH ROB!

 Kris Letang on the beach...

Brooks Orpik and some free candy on the beach...

That's all from Fort Lauderdale and one incredible road trip and a beautifully perfect hotel/resort!! Excitement and relaxation all in one, and memories of an experience that's definitely unforgettable. Wow.

Let's Go Pens!

-Crash

Calling off the Boycott

Well, with the weather breaking and the snow disappearing faster than Cosmic Brownies did in my old apartment, I suppose I can finally call off the boycott on snow and winter weather. But not just yet! I'll add one last warm weather blog entry today or tomorrow before doing a little tribute to Snowmageddon 2010.

Also, I apologize for the lack of updates the past week or so but hey- I was excited to get outside and play in the nice weather!



Tally-ho!
-Crash

Adventure: Center Furnace

Before Western Pa became the world's Steel Valley, it was a mass source of iron. In the 1800's, tall stone furnaces dotted the mountains and ravines creating an industry that hardened the wilderness of the region.

Connellsville and its hard working neighbor Dunbar-- small towns today-- once thrived on many industries, including iron furnace yields. And at the center of it all, the Center Furnace.

Just up Dunbar Creek from the blue collar town of the same name, Center Furnace was a thriving business when it was constructed in 1815. While it employed men by the dozens and retained a busy output daily, today, much like the other iron furnaces in the state, it stands, just barely, in complete ruins and shrouded in the encroaching wilderness. Its total seclusion makes it a hidden gem in the Dunbar Mountain area of the Laurel Highlands, so of course I had to track it down, eh?

 This hike begins along Dunbar Creek at the bottom of the mountain, as per directions provided by the one and only Quest Master. And thanks to ol' QM, I was able to check out this super old graveyard tucked in the weeds... one of the few signs that there really was civilization here once.

As the trail dissipated it became easier to just hop through the creek, which was significantly dried up in the summer heat. Dunbar Creek was pretty rugged through this stretch, but the scenery was great.

As I approached the area of the furnace further upstream, I went into a tiny mine in an outcropping where they used to dig out the ore for iron production. I didn't have enough light to really look inside the mine, but as far as I could figure by stumbling through the dark it didn't go very far anyway.

And finally, just down from the outcropping, I reached the coup de grace... the slumping remains of the century old Center Furnace. Think about it; this thing hasn't even been in use for nearly 100 years, it' s sitting at the bottom of a rugged mountain valley, and it's still in this good of shape. They just don't build shit like this any more.

Impressive, no? But not impressive enough for me to continue making this entry haha. There was literally thousands of these iron furnaces through the state and the one's remaining are fairly rare, and yet they each have their own sort of character. Perhaps it's just the setting, which, in the case of Center Furnace, is nothing short of incredible.

Tally-ho!
-Crash

Blog Fail

I resolved the weird issue with the domain name today that was preventing access to the website. No clue what even caused it so whatev. Sorry to anyone who tried to look at shit and couldn't.

Fuckin' thing sucks!

Adventure: Haunted Ridge

Been awhile since I posted a ghost hunt. So here's one that's balls old.

It's easy to forget that in the 1700's, western Pennsylvania was in fact the western frontier of a young nation. The lands beyond the Alleghenies-- that we know today as the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and its surrounding countryside-- was settled by rugged, brave people and even today we can see traces of their history tucked into the forests of the Allegheny Plateau, and much to the dismay of the fearful, one of those reminders of the past is the occasional abandoned graveyard. And while so many graveyards are forgotten, some live on only in the rumors of the supernatural. Case in point: the tiny burial ruins of Haunted Ridge.

Haunted Ridge is a nameless plot of graves, with graves dating back nearly 300 years and hosting a score of Revolutionary War soldiers. These fallen warriors are not only shrouded in the dense cover of a Washington County forest, but also in a bit of mystery. Locals have reported for decades of strange mists and noises along the old dirt lane, along with the echoes of disembodied footsteps and voices and the sensation of an additional presence among the tombstones.

Mind you ghost stories are a dime a dozen so it usually takes a great one to draw Team Crash to investigate, but it was summer, Sparky and I were bored as fuck. We actually started the journey by following geocaches through Washington County before twilight before reaching Haunted Ridge at that good old witching hour. Check it out!

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Starting off, my fascination with bridges brought us to two of the remaining covered bridges in Pittsburgh's southern neighbors realm. Friends and fans know that I have a bridge fascination so you're not gonna be surprised to see the next few pics. Deal with it. First, the Bailey Bridge...

And by the time we reached the Hughes Bridge it was pretty damn dark... the nearby old pipe/tank thingy in a group of trees kept us pretty confused too.

The extensive lighting on the Jeep that Sparky has always mocked finally came in handy as we rumbled through the quiet forest on a very dark access trail. The GPS was zeroing in and there really was a creepy feeling in the air. A little bushwhacking into the woods and Sparky came across the first signs of the old graveyard. Beat-ass old tombstones were scattered amongst the trees, weathered down and leaning out of position. There were a lot of these but its not easy to take pictures of them in total darkness.

 

 

So the official word? Nothing. Yeah it was creepy as hell but c'mon, its an abandoned old graveyard; that's to be expected. But no noises, no mists, no apparitions. And after reviewing the pics, not even anything close to an orb or anything of that sort. Even my casual tombstone poses didn't seem to stir anything up. Oh well. Back to the Jeep!

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Hm, yet another failed attempt to come face to face with a ghost. I'll get one some day. Regardless, it was an interesting day of driving in circles, crossing bridges, finding geocaches, and posing in a graveyard. Sounds like a good time to me, eh?  

Tally-ho!

-Crash