Caught within the grip of the distant trail town, his plans of onward exploration found themselves thwarted. Among the throng of fellow hikers there was a shared sense of purpose, an unspoken camaraderie that painted them as kindred souls. But the echoes of a lifetime wrapped in solitude resonated deeply, transforming the act of forging […]
Two buses, a train, a day-long voyage covering just 150 miles. All worth it, he thought to himself as he stepped into the heart of a trail town. Cascade Locks, Oregon. Well-worn backpacks leaned against the market’s rustic walls. Dirty, determined faces told stories of the wild. These were thru-hikers, part of the nobo bubble […]
It was time to begin retracing his steps southward. Each footfall carried an air of determination as he followed the Discovery Trail along the rugged coast. He trekked, a solitary figure tracing his destiny upon the sands, the ceaseless waves his only companion. His stride brought him to a point where further coastal advance was […]
Banished to a summer purgatory, to get fat, lazy and tan. Amongst vacationing families and prosperous retirees, he found himself exiled, a recluse at the dune’s edge. Amidst the rhythmic surge of the surf’s white noise, he dozed, wondering how many tides he’d witnessed. How many sunsets. Lost in the embrace of timelessness that the […]
He emerged from the dense thicket of trees, following the Discovery Trail north towards the expanse of Willapa Bay, a realm that dictated a quarter of the United States’ oyster yield. His journey was destined for the northern tip of the North Head Discovery Trail in Long Beach, Washington. There, a 20-foot-tall bronze statue stood, […]
“Tramily,” a fusion of trail and family, isn’t a term that resonates with most folks. But in the untamed realm of long-distance hiking, it’s a melody of companionship that echoes with sincerity. In this community, one doesn’t select their fellow journeyers; instead, a tramily emerges organically as the trail winds on, interweaving bonds destined to […]
Write a caption… Instagram says. I fixate on that sentence, its weight heavy as a cold case file, gripping me for an eternity as I wait for elusive words that seem to have abandoned me. I’m trapped in this limbo, sifting through a maze of conjectures, each pathway a potential solution to unravel the enigma […]
The dark woods whispered with the secrets of countless shadows, and the air was thick with uncertainty. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and their lovable Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, found themselves wandering through the tangled undergrowth, each step a symphony of breaking twigs and rustling leaves. “Like, are you sure we’re going the right way, Scoob?” Shaggy’s […]
Cars raced past him, mere inches from the narrow bicycle lane, as he strode across New Young’s Bay Bridge into the labyrinthine streets of Astoria. He was denied refuge from the rain by an eatery that couldn’t muster enough workforce to open its doors. Along the coast, job openings were plentiful, but paltry wages offered […]
Startled awake by the irritated snorts of deer, their hooves drumming the earth, he grudgingly relinquished their territory, awakening in a clearing that wasn’t his alone. Blacktail deer were masters of the edges, ensconced in the cover of the dense forest during daylight hours. A mere stone’s throw from the bank parking lot, he might […]