Another Urban Hike...slightly different...

[Mistwalker]

Going to the post office today to mail off that nano from the contest to Machine26 set me off on another urban adventure. While the most interesting part of it for me this time was a conversation...and therefore didn't make it into picture form...I did manage to get a few cool shots anyway.

I parked at a parking garage and went for a walk to the Post Office first. On the way I saw that the walking bridge is open again. At a length of 2,376 ft, or 720 m, it is one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. They just ripped up what asphalt was left at this end and replaced it with wooden planks. They also added more cameras.

The memories of the last lunch at the river house started flashing through my head so....I ended up there next. It's just a small place on Frazier Ave. and it isn't fancy or anything.

But they have a nice little deck.

And their food is great! (the Quesadilla is from last time), and they have some awesome fresh salsa!

And you get to eat with a pretty nice view.

If you ever get a chance to get down this way you really should stop in. I couldn't resist feeding the birds. The Mocking Bird is our state bird after all...so somehow seemed wrong not to considering I was never going to be able eat all those tortilla chips anyway.

 

[Mistwalker]

After lunch I passed through the two parks that meet each other at the Market street Bridge. There is Renaissance Park on the West side, and Coolidge Park on the North. Sometimes I really like Coolidge Park.

Shortly after that shot was when I got distracted by conversation. I ran into these guys and girls that were passing through on their way back to Seattle. They seemed to have their heads together pretty good, and made good use of their dogs. The conversation was great, they definitely had some interesting stories to tell.

Renaissance Park has some nice views too, apparently the guy in the twin-prop ultralight thinks so too.

Some people just can't stay focused...all it took was one text message to throw this synchronized walking team out of sync...and they were doing so well too.......

Renaissance Park has more plant and animal life.

A quick shot of my faithful side-kick. For those of you who have noticed I've been remarkably easy on this knife and are wondering when I am going to put some good scratches on it like the RC-4 I just want to say that time is coming...but there are some certain shots I am wanting of this knife before I get it all scratched up and I am waiting for another...um...another piece of gear, yeah that's it a piece of gear... for my wife...and take some pictures, and then I'll start beating the crap out of it.

I just liked this shot for some reason.

Using dogs for pack animals seems to be really popular lately.

And then one last parting shot of the sky as I was leaving the area.

Not at all how I expected the day to go....but all in all...it was a pretty good day.


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[Psychopomp]

Great shots as usual.

I had my mind pretty well set on a 4, but I'm kinda liking the 3 these days.

Looks like a fun day.

 

[Cash427]

I'll be waiting to hear about the thrashing you put on that 3 soon!

Excellent post as always!

 

[wildmike]

Hey Mistwalker. The guy from Seattle with the small white dog has the same type backpack as mine from the looks of it.

All those cameras really creep me out.

 

[Mistwalker]

Great shots as usual.

I had my mind pretty well set on a 4, but I'm kinda liking the 3 these days.

Looks like a fun day.

I love my RC-4 very much, and if i know I'm headed to the woods I take it...but I tried carrying it down town a few times and just really wasn't happy with that idea. It's just a bit long for easily discrete carry for me in the warm months. I love the HEST a lot too with it's thicker blade than the RC-3...but the 3Mil has a longer blade than the HEST and I like that a lot... and I'm really a serrations kind of guy, plus the sheath of the 3 mil is so awesome on carry options. Soooo...the 3 goes a lot of places with me now. I know it's great in the urban area, and will work fine in the woods too if I end up there before going home. If the blade on the HEST was the same length as 3 Mil I'd probably try adding my own serrations

I'll be waiting to hear about the thrashing you put on that 3 soon!

Excellent post as always!

Thanks Bobby, glad you like the pics.

Don't worry, it's coming. There really is a method to my madness

Hey Mistwalker. The guy from Seattle with the small white dog has the same type backpack as mine from the looks of it.

All those cameras really creep me out.

Their packs have definitely seen some miles!

Yeah..they did me too at first...I think I'm becoming more desensitized to them now...although I am still acutely aware of their presence, they don't creep me out so much anymore. I already know there are worse things than me for them to keep up with.

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[FortyTwoBlades]

If the blade on the HEST was the same length as 3 Mil I'd probably try adding my own serrations

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I'd love to see a HEST with a longer blade. I could forgive the thickness if it had another inch or two on it, but I'm just not a fan of thick blades in general. Maybe a Krein regrind would do it...

Adding serrations wouldn't be so hard I don't think. The ESEE serrations could be very easily added to a plain-edge with a chainsaw file and a steady hand.:thumbup:

 

[Wanderlust]

Very nice Mist, how do you carry your Mil while out wandering around? I know you got all kinds of carry options with it when you got it so which one do you like best?

Also what were those people doing and where were they coming from? They look like they could have some great stories to tell.

 

[Vermilion]

I have to ask. What footwear do you wear while your doing your Urban Hikes? I imagine all the concrete and asphalt would be killing most normal footwear.

I would love to do an urban hike in my town but, there isn't much to really see. It is like at one point your in our downtown and the next step you in the ghetto. Though there are some cool OLD buildings abandoned down there.

 

[333rm]

Great pics Mistwalker!

 

[TheGame]

I need to seriously consider getting some stuff for the urban setting, especially because that is usually where I am working. I wouldn't want to be caught in an urban situation with only wilderness gear on me. That wouldn't be very fun.

As always, another great post Mist. :thumbup: (Nice wildlife, too )

 

[Mistwalker]

I'd love to see a HEST with a longer blade. I could forgive the thickness if it had another inch or two on it, but I'm just not a fan of thick blades in general. Maybe a Krein regrind would do it...

Adding serrations wouldn't be so hard I don't think. The ESEE serrations could be very easily added to a plain-edge with a chainsaw file and a steady hand.:thumbup:

Well, I think Mr. Pelton and I think a lot a like about a "survival" knife needing to be stout, and I don't think he could have chosen a better company to make his DPX gear...but I tend to like serrations because with them on a smaller knife I can quietly do things like make notches without the noise of batoning them. Also in my experience batoning the notch on a hearth board has sometimes been a shock to the wood and broken off pieces and cause me to start all over. That's one of the reasons I went with the RC-4S and one of the reasons I like the 3MIL.

I know that adding the serrations to the HEST should be pretty easy...I just don't think there is enough blade length there for it, at least not for me personally.

Interesting that you bring up Krein, I just got a small neck knife that I have been playing with, and it is a Krein design.

Very nice Mist, how do you carry your Mil while out wandering around? I know you got all kinds of carry options with it when you got it so which one do you like best?

Also what were those people doing and where were they coming from? They look like they could have some great stories to tell.

There is no best for me really...it all depends on the situation. That's one of the things I really like about the 3MIL, it's really adaptable and I can quickly relocate it depending on the area I'm in. Sometimes it's on my belt, sometimes in the pack...sometimes in my pocket, other times it's on the pack...it really all depends on the needs of the situation.

They were on their way back from Florida and heading back to Seattle. Apparently their work is somewhat seasonal and involves a lot of traveling. They spend their "off" traveling and seeing the US "for free". I learned a lot about the rail lines here, and in general.

I have to ask. What footwear do you wear while your doing your Urban Hikes? I imagine all the concrete and asphalt would be killing most normal footwear.

I would love to do an urban hike in my town but, there isn't much to really see. It is like at one point your in our downtown and the next step you in the ghetto. Though there are some cool OLD buildings abandoned down there.

About half the time...depending on if I am heading to the water courses... I wear the same Belleville boots I wear in the woods. They have a hard sole that wears well on pretty much any surface but they are much more comfortable with inserts in them. I like them for multiple reasons.

It wouldn't take me long to get to the ghetto here either really..though they are slowly but surely pushing it back away from town with a lot of "urban renewal" projects but when I walk into those areas it's usually just for photos, it's a quick in and out through the woods rather than on roads and I tend to cache my pack so I can move more freely.

Great pics Mistwalker!

Thanks bro, glad you liked them!

I need to seriously consider getting some stuff for the urban setting, especially because that is usually where I am working. I wouldn't want to be caught in an urban situation with only wilderness gear on me. That wouldn't be very fun.

As always, another great post Mist. :thumbup: (Nice wildlife, too )

Yeah it is all my working and going after materials in the urban environment that caused me to start studying the urban environment again. A lot of gear will cross over very well in a SHTF scenario but not as much in day to day life.

Thanks, I like the wildlife here too. Yesterday I was hearing an old song in my head...hot damn summer in the city, the hotter it gets the better it gets

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[Minnesota]

Very cool. That looks like a pretty nice area.

 

[Mistwalker]

Very cool. That looks like a pretty nice area.

Thanks man, it's a lot nicer now than it was when I was a kid.

 

[Steve_Holt]

Great pics Mistwalker. I also live in Chattanooga and you are 100% correct: That area of town is much nicer than when I was a kid.

I am old enough to vaguely remember when the Walnut Street Bridge was still open to vehicular traffic. It was closed for a lot of years, and some local folks had the good sense to save it instead of demolishing it. I think it has been a key ingredient to re-vitalizing the north shore of the Tennessee River, as you so nicely showed in your photos.

When I was much dumber, and much younger, in the days before the bridge was opened as a pedestrian bridge, some friends and I would climb the fence around it and venture out onto it. There were missing and rotten boards, and it was completely stupid (and fun), but we would climb through the decking and sit at the top of the support piles with our feet dangling over the sides. Since the statute of limitations on trespassing has expired this info can now be revealed!

I didn't realize that the improvements to the bridge had been completed. It's great to see.

 

[Doc13]

Another interesting picture story brought to you by MistWalker:thumbup:

Thank you for your continued contribution man...really cool

 

[Mistwalker]

Great pics Mistwalker. I also live in Chattanooga and you are 100% correct: That area of town is much nicer than when I was a kid.

I am old enough to vaguely remember when the Walnut Street Bridge was still open to vehicular traffic. It was closed for a lot of years, and some local folks had the good sense to save it instead of demolishing it. I think it has been a key ingredient to re-vitalizing the north shore of the Tennessee River, as you so nicely showed in your photos.

When I was much dumber, and much younger, in the days before the bridge was opened as a pedestrian bridge, some friends and I would climb the fence around it and venture out onto it. There were missing and rotten boards, and it was completely stupid (and fun), but we would climb through the decking and sit at the top of the support piles with our feet dangling over the sides. Since the statute of limitations on trespassing has expired this info can now be revealed!

I didn't realize that the improvements to the bridge had been completed. It's great to see.

Thankyou, glad you liked the pictures. I actually went to a day care just past the south end of the Walnut Street Bridge. I can just barely remember walking across that bridge on field trips over to the old Marine Reserve Base that used to be where Coolidge Park is now before they moved up river by DuPont Parkway. The houses and apartments that were there where those new condos are now were much different back then. They have definitely come a long way with both shores!

I never messed around on that one, I was out of town most of the time it was closed. I have walked the catwalk under the Olgiati Bridge (Hwy 27) across the river a few times and hung out on it a few times.

I didn't realize the work was finished either until I got there. I was glad to see it though. I'd much rather walk across the Walnut St. Bridge than the Market St. Bridge most of the time.

Another interesting picture story brought to you by MistWalker:thumbup:

Thank you for your continued contribution man...really cool

Thanks Doc, I'm really glad you enjoy the photos!