John Muir Trail NOBO: Marjorie Lake to Marie Lake (Days 9-12)

This place is still real. I'm still here. I brought myself up here with my two feet, and I love that I have the ability to recognize the beauty of God's creation.

John Muir Trail NOBO: Crabtree to Marjorie Lake (Days 4-8)

Had an amazing thought this morning while looking for a sunbursty rock formation that looked like a tree or other type of plant: one day, I will be a rock. When my body is no longer serving its purpose to me, hundreds of millions of years in the future, my body will be a rock just like the ones I saw all day. The thought is comforting in a way.

John Muir Trail NOBO: Connecticut to Lone Pine to Mt. Whitney (Days 1-3)

I did it. I summited Mount Whitney. A few system failures put me off track at the beginning of the day - lost my lip balm for 10 minutes and followed my physical map (sorta) to the ranger station instead of the trail.

The Mountains Are Calling (John Muir Trail: Aug 21 – Sept 11)

Twenty-two days. 265 miles. Logistical complexities that would make a NASA employee weep. More lip balm than I’ve ever used in my life. And last September, I thru-hiked the John Muir Trail.   This was, without a doubt, the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. And thru-hiking this trail is one…

California Dreaming

It's here: the first day of the rolling lottery for John Muir Trail permits. Getting a southbound permit is tricky business, but with any luck, come August I will temporarily halt my life in the Northeast and get on a plane to California, stuff a huge awkward plastic container full of CLIF bars and freeze-dried...

Devil’s Path in the Catskills (Sept 1-3)

Well, I survived the Pemi Loop. Why not take on another notorious trail? The 24 miles of Devil's Path are infamous among hiker circles, often making lists for the most physically challenging hikes in the U.S., and apparently racking up its share of casualties. But I already knew the Catskills. I knew the near-vertical climbs...

Pemi Loop, New Hampshire (Aug 23-25)

Way back in last spring, when I decided to finally become a backpacker, I daydreamed about the trails that were about to open up to me. Timberline Trail. Long Trail. And the Pemigewassett Loop, a 32-mile loop of interconnected trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The Pemi Loop is often considered to be one...

Acadia National Park, Maine (Aug 10-11)

Weeks and weeks before we set off for Maine, I made a deal/requirement with Hubs: he and our Chicago friend could spend a day indulging and food and drink, as they tend to do when they're together, and I can go off on a crazy hike and drive us all home. I like breweries and...

Isle au Haut & Holbrook Island Sanctuary, Maine (August 8-12)

August 23, 2011: that's the day we moved to New England. (It's easy for me to Google because it's also the day we felt the aftershock of an earthquake in Virginia.) And since it's been just about seven years since we've lived here, it's probably about time we visited Maine, right? Luckily, an old friend from...

Giardia, and tweaking my water filtration

I felt sick after my post-trail restaurant dinner on July 22nd. I wanted to blame the boring salad and the eggplant fries with deceptively little eggplant, but food poisoning doesn't start with a bout of upset stomach and then morph into a week-long loss of appetite, nausea, bloating, and excessive gas. I was tired, and...

Pine Knob Loop Trail and Lake Waramaug (July 28-29)

Hubs' birthday was in late July, and I promised him a weekend where I wouldn't run off to another state with a bag of instant potatoes. As you might have guessed, though, this weekend still included compulsory outdoor activities. The CT guys I'd met at Telephone Pioneers Shelter had suggested Lake Waramaug for kayaking, and...

AT-MA: Jug End Road to Sages Ravine (July 21-22)

New York and I need a break from each other for a bit. Luckily, My Guthooks package has a few miles in Massachusetts! I could start at Jug End Road (42°08'40.1"N 73°25'53.4"W) and hike south 9.8 miles to Sages Ravine campsite near the CT border. Sages Ravine is one of the prettiest day hikes in...

AT-NY: Route 52 to Telephone Pioneers Shelter (July 14-15)

Oh, this weekend. THIS weekend. They're not all fun. Hoping to knock more miles off the Appalachian Trail in New York, I hopped on I-84 and parked at the lot off NY-52 in Stormville (41°32'28.2"N 73°43'57.5"W). This hike would take me 11.7 miles northward, back to Telephone Pioneers Shelter from the previous weekend. Trail-wise, it...

AT-NY: Hoyt Road to Telephone Pioneers Shelter (July 7-8)

Getting out to hike is way more complicated now that Sleeping Giant is closed. Locally, I can choose from a flat-as-a-pancake canal trail, or slightly-less-flat trails where wrangling a safe parking spot is more challenging than the terrain itself. Or, I can drive 2 or 3 hours for something that might be too challenging now...

Sleeping Giant still sleeps.

I still haven't gotten over that tornado. You know the one, the EF1 that touched down in the 1500-acre Sleeping Giant State Park and the surrounding area. It's been more than two months, and there are piles of branches still lining everyone's lawns. Pools of dead needles still border the roads. The exposed golden brightness...

AT-NJ: To High Point (June 2-3)

June has been a slow month for hiking. With two Saturdays on my work schedule, and with my local park out of commission until at least the fall and possibly for another year, I've been spending more time walking around my neighborhood than muddying up the trail runners. But I still got to take a...