leave no trace
5 Avoidable Mistakes Gas Monkey has Already Made
Less than 100 days stand between me and the start of my thru-hike. One of the best ways I have prepared for this grand undertaking were the section hikes that I...
Alphabet Soup: LNT and the AT
The more people who learn LNT techniques through an hour long awareness seminar or two day and overnight Trainer Course, and practice those techniques while hiking and backpacking, means that...
“Steady” on the State of Long Distance Hiking
I first met “Steady” at Cable Gap Shelter, south of Fontana Dam as it delivers the Appalachian Trail (AT) into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. She was hiking (in...
Peeing: More Than A Feeling
Besides way too much airplay being afforded to the repetitive synthesized guitar riffs of Boston’s “More Than A Feeling,” few things peeve me more than spotting white puffs of toilet...
Metropolitan Hiking
Most folks do not live near wilderness areas. The economic dynamism of metropolitan cities and the logistics of millions upon millions and millions of people make wild areas the perfect...
Tito’s Throne: Notes on the Mahoosuc Notch and Hiker Morale
This story begins down south along the Appalachian Trail somewhere in Virginia in the month of May. There I was enjoying my morning evacuation in a privy, muttering like a...
The Art of Yogi: It’s Not Begging
Hanna-Barbera's iconic cartoon character Yogi Bear lends his name to the verb “to yogi,” which is not an exact synonym for begging. Like Yogi Bear, long distance hikers develop a...
We CAN have nice things! This is how.
In November of 2014 the Baxter State Park Authority penned a letter to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Let's be honest, it may have been addressed to Wendy Jassen, but it was
5 Ways to Inspire a New Generation of Stewards
There has been a lot of attention given to the practice of Leave No Trace on the trail, and I think there is one aspect that has been overlooked: teaching...
Why Leave No Trace Matters
I can’t believe there is anyone hiking the A.T. who hasn’t heard of “Leave No Trace”--probably the 2nd most overused phrase after “Hike Your Own Hike”. While we’re all likely...