Plus, it’s gorgeous.

Kenn had backpacked the trail before, but was looking at breaking it into segments to hike, and didn’t want to do it alone. Voila, the Quest Hike Series was born.

The first segment of the hike is the most difficult. The southernmost 11 miles of the trial contain 5 huge, steep hills: the last one, a hardy 2-mile climb.

People often confess later, as the trail evens and they rest on a rock ledge with a spectacular downward view, that they weren’t sure they would make it. Yet whether it’s because of the view or the sense of accomplishment, this same 11-mile segment is, in Kenn’s experience, always the hike that people want to do a second time before summer ends.

Over 4 summers of the Quest hike series, 881 people have joined Kenn for anywhere from one segment to the full set. This year, it was 284—just 6 of which had time to complete all of the hikes.

This year, one adventurous hiker was one-away from completing the whole series when he zipped off to China. Another sent his regrets from Machu Picchu. “Can you believe that?” Kenn quipped. What sort of person would miss one adventure for another?

For as much as he loves the hikes themselves, it’s the company that keeps him on this trail year after year.

“The people it attracts are just incredible. They have really great attitudes, and make this more fun than I had ever imagined.”

Watch for the hikes next summer for an opportunity to experience all or part of the 70-mile Laurel Highlands Trail.

Check out some photos from this year’s quest below. Congratulations to all the hikers!

95% of our public programs are led by our volunteers. If you you have a passion and interest in getting people outside, let us help you add to your experience!

Each of our volunteers builds a unique relationship with Venture Outdoors, helping out with as many or as few trips as their schedule allows. Their interests run the gamut of outdoor activities from backpacking to paddling, and many of them are skilled teachers of themes including natural history, geology, personal wellness, and culinary arts. They help keep our public program schedule interesting! What would you like to share with VO North?

Training curriculum is based on the Appalachian Mountain Club and National Outdloor Leadership School modules. We’ll balance skill-training and fun, covering leadership styles, group dynamics, trip planning, risk management, and more.

If this sounds like you, OLW will take place at Crooked Creek Environmental Learning Center in Ford City beginning Friday, September 17 through Sunday, September 19.

Registration is open now… call Lora Woodward at 412.255.0564 ext 31 to sign up!
For more information on the training, visit www.ventureoutdoors.org.

Whether you’ve been in the water all summer or have been anxiously working up the courage to try paddling for the first time, there’s no time like the present to get out on this beginner-friendly lake.

Kayak Pittsburgh’s main location will be open through the end of October, but weekdays will close at the end of September.

For directions and more information on Kayak Pittsburgh’s Lake Elizabeth location, visit www.kayakpittsburgh.org

Kids participating in Venture Outdoors activities were divided into 4 groups of roughly 25 each. As teams, they rotated through week-long blocks of kayaking, geocaching, and “assorted” weeks that added fishing, rock-climbing, and leadership skills.

Jeremiah Morrison’s favorite moment was last week in the river. One quiet young man who hadn’t seemed too excited about the week’s activities paddled up alongside him and to share a teaching moment (and the leadership skills he’d acquired during the week):

“If you put the paddle in this way, you do a quick sweep turn…” and he continued to describe every paddling maneuver in his arsenal.

Impressed and proud, Jeremiah asked, “have you been teaching your friends these tricks?”

”Oh yeah,” responded the boy. “And by the way, your life jacket isn’t fitted right! It’s too loose on top.”

Sure enough, he was right.

Project manager Allison McLeod said in a POP City interview that since kids love summer for the options it affords, “At Summer Dreamers, kids can choose what they want to do … the afternoons give kids and opportunity to pursue a passion and gain a new interest.”

Stories like this help us know we did just that. Overall, kids in the Summer Dreamers academy collectively kayaked 1,480 miles, biked 2960 miles, hiked and geocached 555 miles, and fished and climbed to their hearts’ content. PPS will be doing Summer Dreamers again next year—and we’d love to be invited back to make more memories like this one!

The City Guide is the premier guide to Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, and this year’s cover story is A Tale of Three Rivers. It’s the story of our rivers, how far they have come, and how they’re transforming Pittsburgh from the “City of Bridges” to the “City of Water.”

Accompanying the story are several awesome photos by Brad Truxell, who used High Dynamic Range photography to achieve an intense range of light and shadow.

Read the story and see the photos

Providence Center serves 12 neighborhood’s on Pittsburgh’s Northside, providing childcare, early education, day camps, and after school programs for children from 6 weeks to 16 years old.  Additionally, they offer programs for parents.

Venture Outdoors’ involvement with Providence included fishing on the Allegheny, kayaking on Lake Elizabeth, and even July snowshoeing in Highland Park!

Needless to say, our Providence friends are very well-rounded outdoor enthusiasts, and know how to have a GREAT time outdoors!  They’ve even mastered the fishy face, an important part of keeping entertained when the fish aren’t biting.

The ride began on July 18, and the morning started off on the wrong foot. The entire town of Georgetown conspired against us to close down all the early-morning breakfast shops. We had no choice but to chow down 10 minutes before the start of the event—not ideal when you’re about to ride hard all day and all night.

And ride hard we did: the first few legs on the C & O Canal Towpath put us, surprisingly, ahead of schedule as we rolled into Cumberland. This was pivotal as we stood before a 24 mile climb up to the Eastern Continental Divide. As we climbed this hill the sun set on our day but the cycling continued. We were slowly losing our lead on time, and things turned sour on the longest leg of the relay.

The second-to-last leg from Confluence to Connellsville is a daunting 27-mile task in the wee hours of the morning. Throw in an electrical storm brewing in the distance and the ride is nothing short of epic. Unfortunately, our riders made a wrong turn in Confluence and were a mile away before they righted their course. We lost nearly 30 minutes there.

As the team waited in Boston for the final leg, it was obvious that we were in jeopardy of missing the 24 hour deadline for the first time in the history of this ride. It’s 23 miles from Boston to the Point, for which we’d scheduled 97 minutes. As the riders approached the handoff point, we were left with just 79.

We would have to fly like the wind to pull it off. I rode the last leg with a friend who is 28 years my senior. I still remember his wife ordering me on no uncertain terms to “bring him home alive.” I really wanted to follow her order.

But I really, really wanted to get to the Point in time. So we rode hard. Hard up the hills and even harder on the flats. We flew over bridges and through intersections and found ourselves on the Eliza Furnace Trail with 3 miles to go and 20 minutes remaining. We had ridden 20 miles in 59 minutes. And my friend did great.

As we arrived in Point State Park at 7:20am on Sunday July 18th we were all smiles. Incredibly, and despite what always seem like insurmountable odds, we pulled it off again!

I want to thank all of the riders that made this happen: Todd Owens, Tim Inglis, Mark Susany, Jonathan Kersting, Tricia Chicka, Mark Rawlings, Mike Welsh, Lou Testoni, and Mike Shafer. With their legs, lungs, and never-give-up attitude, we once again made it 335 miles from Washington to Pittsburgh in less than 24 hours.

We’re still collecting donations for the ride, and we’d love to have your support. Proceeds will go to benefit the Allegheny Trail Alliance and help cover the cost of the ride. You can contribute online at www.ventureoutdoors.org/relay.aspx

-Story by Seth Gernot, Venture Outdoors Bike Tour Coordinator

Check out some great photos of the adventure by Mark Susany, Seth Gernot and Tricia Chicka.

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

The slope of the hill gave the climbing wall an ominous look as people took on the wall and climbed to the top.   That buzzer, the one that goes off whenever you hit the top, went off so many times some of us thought the police were coming!

The weather for this day was beautiful, not too hot, low humidity and all around perfect for getting outdoors.  Centered on a track and field, the bikes were going nonstop; some of the Venture Outdoors staff even took to the track for some beginner biking fun!  Ugne Adomaviciute, a volunteer for the day, was a hit with her face painting and balloon table.

This event was a huge success.  Many kids went home tired out, with full bellies and painted faces!  A great way to spend the day with the family. Check out some photos from the day below!

Mark your calendars for our final Family Festival of the summer on Saturday, August 28 at Allegheny Commons! We’re bringing DJ Nick Nice and our kayak fleet for free kayaking on shallow Lake Elizabeth.  Join us for FREE fun from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.

Students spend the morning session in the classroom focusing on literacy, then split up to spend the afternoon with one of 28 organizations experiencing anything from theater or art to sports or outdoor recreation, it’s their choice.

Venture Outdoors is honored to be part of the summer camp, we’re taking the students who signed up for our afternoon adventures geocaching, biking, kayaking, hiking, climbing, fishing and we’ve even got a leadership training and a Pirates game mixed in!

The students are split into 5 groups and spend almost a week learning and doing each activity.  At the end of the week students get the chance to lead their peers in the activity they learned.

So far so good, the summer camp just finished it’s first week, and the students love it! Jodi Weigand of Tribune Review spoke with several camp students, one who said without the camp she’d be at home “doing nothing.”  Read the full Tribune Review article

The camp runs from July 12 through August 13. We’ll keep you updated on how it goes!

Tickets are on sale now through the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust here.

For more information on the Radical Reels tour, you can visit their website, www.radicalreels.com