The end is important in all things. I took the shuttle to the bottom of Sabino Canyon, spending way too much time charging my phone and drinking milk at the closest supermarket. I packed out another half gallon like it was the source of life, and climbed Sabino Canyon on foot. Cyclists lined up at […]
Category: Hiking Journal
Romero Pools
Mileage that took three hours to run in, took four days to retrace on the way out of Oro Valley. The first night I’d slipped behind the glow of In-N-Out and disappeared into Big Wash, cowboy camped in the quiet of a place not meant for staying. Then somewhere above Catalina State Park, I stopped […]
In-N-Out Finale!
Having fasted for the last 24 hours, I descended from the mountains, through Romero Pass, down into Catalina State Park and into In-N-Out. Three weeks, 400 miles, and in the end all that remained was a three hour run. My empty water bottles collapsed from the pressure change of the descent and I had salt […]
Hesitating Before the End
What do you do with a finish line when you’re not sure you want to cross it? I rehydrated with a Polar Pop in Oracle, keeping my cheeks tight, then followed the Cody Ridge Trail back to the AZT, back to the desert. Gentle miles. Sunset at my feet. Biosphere 2 below, sealed off from […]
Stealth Camping, Great Barrington, MA
Stealth camping in Great Barrington under a sky that threatened rain but never delivered. I laid out my sleeping pad and bag directly on the grass, no tent, just open air and the possibility of getting soaked. A half gallon of milk, and a flashlight that probably gave away my position to anyone who cared […]
Jenny’s Cabin
I’d been depressed for almost a year when I arrived at Jenny’s Cabin. Normally I tuck that away, but it has a tendency to resurface in quiet moments. In the empty Airbnb at the start of this hike, and now in the quiet solitude of an off grid cabin where I stopped running from my […]
Milk Run on the AT
The Sawyer water filter had been hidden in my backpack since February, when I got off the Florida Trail and disappeared into the digital exile of Cancun. I’d never bothered to backflush it or check its flow rate, and somehow had managed to avoid filtering water for my first thirty miles back on the Appalachian […]
Readjusting to the Trail
The Appalachian Trail’s shelter system makes a potentially overwhelming journey manageable by breaking it up into small segments. Each day becomes simple, just make it to the next shelter. One after another. Until you reach your destination, whatever or wherever that might actually be. Wiley Shelter surprised me with its nonexistent mice population, hosting only […]
NYC to the Appalachian Trail
Seventeen dollars and a train ride out of New York City left me in Pawling, New York. My backpack felt light, and I floated out of town, feet barely skimming the asphalt. After too many months sedentary in Mexico, staring at a laptop and trying to build a future, it felt good to be moving […]
Feet in the Fire
I woke up in an empty Airbnb ready to do something else, booking the cheapest flight I could find. 24 hours later I landed in Newark, with the vague plan of hiking the Appalachian Trail north into Massachusetts. With no definite plan, there’s nowhere to go, nothing to do. I drifted, taking the AirTrain in […]