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 […]
Having worn significant holes in every pair of socks, my feet had seen better days. I found snow fields lingering in the shadow of Mount Jefferson, and walked across them barefoot. It was perfect sledding snow. Solid underneath, soft and wet at the surface. I sat down and let gravity take its course. Sledding until […]
Milk run into town. From Santiam Pass it’s an easy hitch into and out of the town of Sister’s… except for the news. Two people that I cared about had passed away. My Mom’s husband, Fred, and a good hiking friend named Spider. It will take a while to sink in, that they aren’t there […]
Back on trail, devouring homemade mac ‘n’ cheese, and burning through socks. From Elk Lake to Obsidian Falls on the PCT. Meadows covered in smoke, my home for the night. Drinking from the headwaters of Glacier Creek after a night spent somewhere on the side of North Sister, one of the volcanic peaks making up […]
Summer vibes permeate lazy days… until your family decides that you need a couple of training hikes before you jump on the Pacific Crest Trail. Our first hike took us up Mount Bachelor, standing majestically in the Cascade Range at 9,068 feet. Then we explored Tamolitch Falls, also known as Blue Pool. Despite the falls’ […]
The plan had been to hike 30 mile days through the Mazatzal Wilderness in order to catch my train in Tucson. But something had changed in Sedona. Though my body got the message to slow down, my conscious mind was a little behind the learning curve. I didn’t understand why we were taking breaks, why […]
Sedona seemed determined to keep me within its grasp. The canyons I ventured into felt like relics of a forgotten era, their ancient aura casting a timeless spell that slowed my pace, and made me hesitant to leave. What was meant to be a straightforward six-mile hike to the bus stop morphed into a three-hour […]
Nestled in the tranquil shade, far from the bustle of civilization, I surrendered to sleep. For days on end, I followed a routine: stash my belongings in a tree, hike miles to the trailhead, and catch the shuttle into Sedona. After only a few hours in town, replenishing water, savoring a meal, I’d board the […]
The culinary delights of Flagstaff couldn’t outweigh the frigid temperatures on the overnights. I was ready to run south, not only for warmer nights, but also because I only had a month before I had to be in LA. The plan was to hike the Arizona Trail for a rendezvous with a train closer to […]
It didn’t take us long to reach Navarre Beach once we realized that we couldn’t cut across the beach from Okaloosa Island. We had a few cocktails at Juana’s Pagodas, chased by several shots of tequila before we pressed on. Though it was a road walk, this was the part of the trail I’d been […]