CDT
From Teacher to Trail: My Accidental Journey to the Continental Divide Trail
You know how, when you're a kid, adults are always asking questions like, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Maybe now you're the adult. Or maybe...
Backpacking Safety for Solo Women: Understanding and Managing Risk in the Backcountry
When sharing news of an upcoming thru-hike, one of the most common questions I get — right up there with “Where do you poop?” and “Where do you shower?” —...
Ranking the Colorado Trail Segments: 100% Subjective, Completely True
The 486 miles between Denver and Durango on the Colorado Trail (CT) weave through six wilderness areas, eight mountain ranges, and five major river systems. The Colorado Trail Foundation calls...
A Beginner Hikes the CDT Day 92-95 August 1-4
August 1st day 92 I missed This First, I have to say that today is the first day I haven't been in the Air Force or in Air Force ROTC...
A Beginner Hikes the CDT July 23-31 Day 83-91
Day 83 July 23rd Even Easier I had a ten-mile jaunt into the trailhead where supposedly there was enough traffic every day to get an easy hitch into Pinedale. It...
Carl “Professor” Stanfield: Reflections on the Calendar Year Triple Crown
In 2022, I set out to backpack more miles in a calendar year than had ever been done. My goal was to average nearly 30 miles a day over 365...
Three Things I Did Right
I did a lot of things wrong on my PCT thru-hike, but at least three I got right. One I knew would be important from the start, one quickly became...
My 5 Favorite Trail Towns on the Triple Crown
If I learned anything from my travels on the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail, it's that hiking them would be nigh impossible if not for the...
Colorado Trail: Te Amo
Lights and shadows. Inspiration comes, sometimes unbidden and other times because it's been chemically induced. Then it goes, as predictable and rhythmic as the tide going out. Or the arrival...
Colorado Trail: Lights and Shadows
My spirit felt uneasy. The dissonance between my own aggravation and my idyllic surroundings seemed to compound my sense of alienation. I reminded myself that emotional troughs usually follow psychedelic...