Heflin, Alabama

I woke to a cool morning fog at Laurel Shelter on the Pinhoti Trail, the kind that clings to everything and slows the world down. The plan for the day was an easy ten miles to Lower Shoals Shelter. But when a friend canceled our meet-up in Heflin the next day, I thought, “Why not […]

Dugger Mountain Wilderness

By the time I reached the Georgia-Alabama state line, all doubts about a life spent hiking had dissolved. The societal detox was complete, and the trail had me in awe once more.  After leaving Cave Spring, I stopped at Spring Creek Shelter for the night, realizing there were far more shelters along the Pinhoti than […]

Poetry, Georgia

From Mack White Gap, the Pinhoti Trail stretches southward, a ten-mile ridge walk through the crisp fall leaves of the Chattahoochee National Forest, before spilling down to Georgia State Route 100.   Not quite a road walk, though close enough, the trail clings to the roadside, occasionally meandering out of sight. I’d been told that this […]

Chatsworth, Georgia

There was a heaviness in me that went beyond exhaustion, a bone-deep weariness that no amount of rest could touch. I’d barely set foot on the Benton MacKaye Trail when I noticed the blister that wasn’t a blister. Squeezing the swollen lump on my foot, I watched in disbelief as a string of green and […]

Root 66, Tennessee

I resumed existence somewhere in the backwoods of Tennessee, summoned to feast with friends, new and old. The gathering was an annual tradition, though it was my first time attending. Hosted by Root 66, the same friend who once led me down a forgotten, snow-laden trail from a frozen mountain, where we stumbled into town […]

Frisco, Colorado

Never quit a long-distance hike on a bad day. That’s the rule. From Kenosha Pass to Highway 9 on the Colorado Trail was thirty-two miles, and though I’d only done a little over a hundred miles altogether, I knew I was done. The sickness that had slowed me down had finally passed, but it felt […]

Jefferson, Colorado

From sea level to the Mile High City, somewhere along the way I’d picked up a head cold. Unable to breathe through my nose, with lung capacity diminished and lacking the energy to hike under a relentless sun, I passed out at Waterton Canyon Trailhead. Dizzy and nauseous, I slept for hours before summoning the […]

Terminal C, Denver International Airport

I woke up in Terminal C of Denver International Airport, having slept on the floor, beneath unforgiving lights. Because people are afraid of each other, I spent another two days stealth camped outside of a UPS store. Waiting for things you aren’t supposed to bring on an airplane. Trekking poles, tent stakes, a pocket knife. […]