Posts
Momma told me there’d be days like this: Week 3 in Pennsylvania
Let's just lay it out right up front. Everything you ever heard about the AT in Pennsylvania is true: 1) The rocks are ankle-twisting, knee-blowing, jagged, and apparently spaced in exactly the configuration required to trip hikers, pitching them face-forward onto spots where no safe landing is possible. 2) The rocks aren't so bad. They slow you down a little.
Overtaken by the Spring: Week 2 in Pennsylvania
Day One: Earth, Wind, and No FiresWe took an easy day out of our first town stop in Boiling springs, 6 miles to the Darlington Shelter,
Gimme Shelter: Week One in Pennsylvania
The April Fools (me, Gail Barrett and John Barrett) set out from the Maryland Pennsylvania line early the morning of April 1, finally done with all
Trail Food Hacks, Part 2: More work, more taste
So Ramen and Knorr sides were never your thing, but Mountain House dinners, at $8 a pop, are just too expensive for what, in the end, is unimaginative food (Chili Mac and Cheese, blah). What are the options for eating well on the trail?
Trail Food Hacks Part 1: Easy Recipes for Frugal Hikers
If you’ve already decided to go stoveless, or if you’ve taken out a loan to buy six months’ worth of Mountain House, this blog isn’t
Tips for keeping your shelter going as long as you do
My work tent has suffered through thirteen years of environmental abuse, from the UV rays of the high Sierras to rain, snow, varmints and cattle in Montana. But it's retiring this year in good condition, because I've followed some best practices for tent maintenance. Here are some tips for keeping your own tents in good shape.
Shackleton on Annapurna…
Sometimes, when I start fussing about a trail being too steep, or the day too cold, or my feet too sore, or not having had enough food, I mutter to myself “Remember Shackleton.”
My Gear Lust. I mean, List.
Let’s get this clear right now. I could get an invitation to leave tomorrow on the AT, or the PCT, or just about any trail not on the polar ice caps or in the Saharan desert, and I’d be able to outfit myself appropriately from my own gear stash. I do not need any more gear. That has probably been true for years, but it has not stopped me from acquiring gear. So I’ve worked out some guidelines for myself. I thought I’d share them with you all, in case they can help you with your own choices.
Unfinished business
I started on the AT the spring after I finished college, mostly because I had no idea what else to do. Maybe go to law school. Maybe grad school in philosophy. My hiking partner and I were a little unclear what a hike of this scale might involve, or how long it would take, and were both a little anxious about what we would do when we got back, probably penniless.