Submitted by ilikedirt t3_ych3f6 in pittsburgh
Rough estimate? I’m in pretty good shape for a forty year old. Was thinking of going tomorrow for this beautiful weather. Thinking of starting at Three Rivers Rowing put in. I have about four available hours.
That's 2.8 river miles each way, and on flat water without wind you can probably paddle at roughly a walking pace. Walk about six miles in 2 hours, perhaps. But current is a thing (even modest) and wind can be even worse. Figure on taking longer to get back upstream than it came to come down. When I go upstream there on windy days, I usually hug the right (north) bank to shelter some from the wind, usually from the NW. Note that you have other take-out options downtown if you get in a jam, or just tired. https://friendsoftheriverfront.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-Three-Rivers-Water-Trail-Map-Guide.pdf
That’s plenty of time. I do that trek regularly putting in at the 40th st bridge. Three or four hours is pretty regular, and that’s allowing for a lot of stops to just drift and drink a beer.
Just be warned the upstream leg can be kind of tiresome, especially if the wind’s blowing against you.
Going to give my cold water PSA. While the temperature has been nice out in the afternoon the morning and nights have been cold, in the last 30 days the water temperature of the Allegheny has dropped 20 degrees down to 50°. Please wear a life vest and stay close to shore if you do not have proper attire(wetsuit or dry suit). Cold water kills.
❤️🍁 have fun
A big leg of that can be taken through the north side of the river. The water moves slightly faster through that back channel beside Washington's landing. Catch that on the trip down. Looks like light wind tomorrow, paddling upstream shouldn't slow you down much. It's only around .8 knots on GPS. Have fun I'm jealous.
Don’t forget to tell someone where you are going, and what times you are heading out and planning on returning especially if you’re going alone. Your contact person can alert help if things don’t go as planned and they don’t hear from you. Letting your contact person know what your vessel looks like and your clothing will also be helpful.
This is a great point. It's always better to paddle Into The Wind in the beginning and then when you get tired you can make it back easily rather than doing things the other way around. That can be a real bad time.
Just to update anyone who checks this thread in the future, it took just over two hours, so much faster than I was anticipating. Very very little current or wind. Water was like glass and wind was never over 3mph. River was low-ish. Day was perfect.
As always, one never paddles the same river twice so YMMV.
starchyewexbox t1_itm6ile wrote
Shouldn't take more than 4 hours.
I've done it in about 3 hours - but keep in mind the wind is a pretty big factor sometimes.
I've paddled downriver to the point, then been blown back upriver to Millvale.
I've also paddled downriver to the point against the wind, then a storm system started coming and the wind direction switched (so I'm against it both ways) and was paddling upriver at a slower pace than the trail walkers - so I gave up and walked back.