Adventures across the northeast and beyond
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... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
When Hubs and I signed up for the family vacation / excuse for a backpacking trip, I didn't think we'd be exploring too much else of Tennessee. Lucky for us though, we were able to squeeze in some visits to beautiful places in other parts of the state and keep exploring inside the national park.... Continue Reading →
As the trail name Reading Rainbow might imply, I'm kinda into books. (Working in a library tends to help with this). So it's only fitting that I share some books that have inspired and aided me in my outdoor adventures. I'm providing Amazon links for the sake of convenience, but you should be able to get... Continue Reading →
This morning I found myself in the waiting room of a neurologist, passing the time by leafing through the little journal that I use on my backpacking trips to document my daily mileage, time spent hiking, weather, elevation and peaks, wildlife, food, and general mood. Oh, and pain. Like the near-persistent pain that had plagued me... Continue Reading →
A couple thoughts from the first week of October, shortly after my Long Trail hike: Did I think of getting off the trail early? Everyone entertains that idea, I think, to varying degrees of seriousness. I only really considered it when I thought I might have an injury that would affect my health for months,... Continue Reading →
That's how long it will be until I am on the Long Trail. I'm in Delaware sitting in a hotel room, about to get ready for a wedding, and trying to avoid drinking another cup of coffee since I'm all nerves about this thing already and don't need the caffeine. But I've prepped as much... Continue Reading →
Nobody cares about your hipbelt pudge. Whether you sling your hipbelt below your gut, or you ride high and cleave your paunch in half with it, you're going to show a pudge. And nobody is going to care. I've been guilty of relaxing my hipbelt when I hear other hikers coming to have my midsection... Continue Reading →
Lumba Hikes 