I woke up on a tiny rocky ledge overlooking a sunrise. The air was almost-pleasant in its coldness, the rocks had made me aware of specific parts of my back, and I blinked through the haze in my eyes at the upside-down wash of peachy colors and layers of increasingly distant blue mountains like fragile... Continue Reading →
I'm writing about 100 mountains in the northwest, big and small. The list so far is here. Tiger Mountain, I will admit, is more of a hill. Its name is confusing because, in addition to being literally tigerless, it really doesn't merit such a fierce name at all with its hospitable, forested slopes that reach... Continue Reading →
I'm writing about 100 somewhat arbitrary mountains in the northwest, as I climb them and decide they are interesting. Here's the list. Lassen Peak in the summer is another seemingly underappreciated National Park (that I had never heard of). It's got a short hike to the summit and a visitor center with the video about... Continue Reading →
Thru-hiking will always impart a heavy sentimentality to my memories. For me, it added a kind of legendary vibe to place names, rumors handed down the trail, real names and occupations no longer relevant. This place in Washington evokes a field where Jiminy Cricket materialized after vanishing from our world for 500 miles. When I... Continue Reading →
Note: This is not actually meant to be a method of judging people to be fit or unfit as hiking partners, it is just a slightly tongue-in-cheek idea I had after some conversations about What Makes a Good Hiking Buddy (an undefinable concept). It might be a good way to get to know people before... Continue Reading →
I have a pair of shoes. Basically just the one. I also have a couple of fun pairs from over the years that are totally impractical, climbing shoes, and a pair of mountaineering boots for when it's really cold, but otherwise everything falls on my trusty single pair of shoes. I had a pair I... Continue Reading →
The answers to this survey were so diverse and thoughtful, I put off writing this for a long time because I was trying to figure out a way to do it justice. The responses were surprisingly diverse, with people from every region of the US, an equal number of past thru-hikers and aspiring thru-hikers (20%... Continue Reading →
I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail earlier this year (2016). My dad thru-hiked back before it was really even much of a thing, in 1978. Obviously, a lot has changed about the trail in 40 years, but just how much? While we were on a little hiking trip on the AT in Georgia this holiday season,... Continue Reading →
While on a walk in downtown Seattle, I saw a cart that said, in bright red decal letters, "equal and unconditional love for all our fellow creatures" and "I am walking across the world. I do not have any money and do not want any. I just need food and water." I wondered whose it... Continue Reading →
