Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-11-2011, 07:44 PM
 
1,158 posts, read 1,844,912 times
Reputation: 455

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by h_curtis View Post
I swam there and swam across the Allegheny in Oakmont a few times. Yep, all the way across. No problem, but I wouldn't do it when the current is really fast. It isn't for everyone and not everyone should do such a thing, unless you are a real swimmer and understands water well. We used to jump off a train bridge right north of the Hulton Bridge. There is an inlet up that way. I remember an old Indian used to dive off it and do flips and such. He had gray hair back then and was pretty fun to watch. I suspect the river was WAY dirtier back in those days. A little pollution don't bother me non.

Yeah I've heard stories of how polluted the rivers once were and one story in particular from a friend whose husband grew up on the North Side. She told me that her husband ran with a crowd that was always in fights with a rival crowd from L'ville. To circumvent the cops who would be awaiting them along the street, they would just swim across the river instead.Legend has it the water was so polluted they lost much of the hair on their head by the time they reached the other side!

My friend and her hubby grew up during the 1950s so we are talking about a time way back and older than you and I. I don't know how much truth there is to this urban myth but we sure laughed our butts off when she was telling us the story! LOL!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-11-2011, 09:28 PM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,777,749 times
Reputation: 17378
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhondee View Post
Yeah I've heard stories of how polluted the rivers once were and one story in particular from a friend whose husband grew up on the North Side. She told me that her husband ran with a crowd that was always in fights with a rival crowd from L'ville. To circumvent the cops who would be awaiting them along the street, they would just swim across the river instead.Legend has it the water was so polluted they lost much of the hair on their head by the time they reached the other side!

My friend and her hubby grew up during the 1950s so we are talking about a time way back and older than you and I. I don't know how much truth there is to this urban myth but we sure laughed our butts off when she was telling us the story! LOL!!
Great story. I suspect it was pretty dirty, but the Allegheny has always been better than the Mon. There are tons of fish in the Allegheny as well. Lots of Walleye and Bass. If they are living there, it isn't all that bad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2011, 02:35 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,209,612 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam View Post
Make sure you are up to date on your tetanus shots before you undertake river swimming around here.

Also, watch your p's and q's when a tugboat or other large vessel goes by.

They can really kick up the water.

Be particularly careful near the locks and dams.
More like typhoid vaccine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2011, 07:35 PM
 
10 posts, read 27,682 times
Reputation: 22
Bellevue man impaled near Coraopolis swimming hole

I use to swim of the Sewickley dock about 7 years back. Since then, I had the opportunity to hike many feeders and lots of "unpopular" shoreline. I would NEVER swim in it again. I feel like since an IDIOT for swimming in it in my teens. And trust me, I love cliff jumping/swimming as much as anyone else!!!!

Anyone who thinks much different, get off your computer and walk the rivers yourself. Heck, Ill meet ya at some trail heads and video you swimming some spots I'd like to show ya! haha We even post it up on here!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2011, 07:05 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,777,749 times
Reputation: 17378
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dstardubbin View Post
Bellevue man impaled near Coraopolis swimming hole

I use to swim of the Sewickley dock about 7 years back. Since then, I had the opportunity to hike many feeders and lots of "unpopular" shoreline. I would NEVER swim in it again. I feel like since an IDIOT for swimming in it in my teens. And trust me, I love cliff jumping/swimming as much as anyone else!!!!

Anyone who thinks much different, get off your computer and walk the rivers yourself. Heck, Ill meet ya at some trail heads and video you swimming some spots I'd like to show ya! haha We even post it up on here!
Much of the time you can see the bottom of the Allegheny and you need to know where you are swimming and know it well if you are jumping. The OP wants to swim anyway. There are people dying all the time in Public pools, walking on a sidewalk and all kinds of things. If you want less risk, guess you need to stay at home and hope there is no fire or some other disaster that can happen.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2011, 07:21 AM
 
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
2,458 posts, read 4,184,165 times
Reputation: 2374
Quote:
Police said Mr. Ray was pierced in the abdomen by a metal beam sticking out the of ground when he tried to jump into the water. He never made it in.
So, technically, he wasn't swimming in the river...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2011, 07:40 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,777,749 times
Reputation: 17378
Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchdigger View Post
So, technically, he wasn't swimming in the river...
There is some huge fear of swimming in the river. Years ago in Oakmont there was some beach. I was very young, but remember people swimming there. That was in the '60s.

What about these people? They aren't using some floating device and they are kicking butt!

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_y6fs5pf1Xds/TFiq2Wveg3I/AAAAAAAAW7I/tB-iCefxgdg/s640/DSCN3678.JPG (broken link)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2011, 07:42 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,777,749 times
Reputation: 17378
I also want to mention that the Allegheny River is VERY warm. It is like bath water right now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2011, 12:54 PM
 
675 posts, read 2,089,303 times
Reputation: 380
Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchdigger View Post
So, technically, he wasn't swimming in the river...
Yeah, I'm confused by this post too. It's a bit like proving that airplanes are dangerous by posting a link to an article of someone dying in a car crash on the way to the airport.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2011, 07:21 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,549 times
Reputation: 11
It is true that, in *most* places and at most times, the water is tolerably calm. Not calm like a typical lake, but much calmer than undammed rivers. Still, it takes effort to swim upstream or even hold your place. Still, there are places that are faster and more turbulent than others.

The worst place by far is where the Youghiogheny flows into the Mon. The Yough is a fast river, and the water is much colder than that of the Mon, causing it to flow under the Mon and create a deceptive undertow. Also, in high water, the channel on one side of an island can become much faster than the rest of the river, because the islands don't divide the water evenly. The back channel of the island above the Emsworth Dam (first Ohio River dam) is especially treacherous in high water.

Whether strong swimmers can ignore other whilrlpool conditions depends on one's definition of "strong swimmer." The current on the Mon is slow enough that a strong swimmer mostly has to worry about being hit by boats. The Allegheny's current is stronger, but the Allegheny is cleaner. Choose your poison. There are times (like when the water is high) and places (behind bridge piers, mostly) where one has to be particularly careful. Absolutely stay *way* downstream of dams. The water at the surface below the dams will pull you upstream, suck you under, pop you up downstream, and pull you upstream again until you either reach shore or drown. Also, there is often flotsam (old logs, etc.) doing the same thing. Remember, nobody is a strong swimmer after whacking their heads.

We used to water-ski in these rivers, but we always had life vests on. If you want to experiment near a pier, check things out wearing a life vest first, and have someone at the other end of a rope. (Without a rope, a life vest can actually trap you in a whirlpool.)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top