Rrippppp! The crotch of my hiking pants tore open on day two of a six day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail. Hard to believe, but I’d worn out those hiking pants in less than a year and the fabric just wore through. Nothing much to do for such a catastrophic clothing mishap except to [...]
Hiking Through: From Misery to Amazing by Paul Stutzman
On September 7, 2007, my wife of 32 years passed away from cancer. My life as I knew it also ended that day. I had a choice to make. Either lament my misfortune and wallow in pity for years, or make an effort to find peace and meaning in what remained of my life. I [...]
My Pacific Crest Trail Highlights: People and Lack of People by Bob Welch
On my 452-mile hike on Oregon’s stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2011, it dawned on me just short of Summit Lake: in the 60 miles and four days since leaving Crater Lake National Park, I hadn’t seen a single other hiker. I liked that about hiking Oregon’s PCT: the lack of people. But [...]
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail: In the Footsteps of History by Sam Brakeley
Wiping the sweat from my eyes, I grunted as I re-adjusted the canoe on my shoulders. My tumpline (the leather strap running over the top of my head that helps to spread the weight of the canoe across my back and shoulders) was biting into my head and I shifted it forward to a new [...]
Not That Kind of Girl by Gail Storey
I was not that kind of girl! I was not the wholesome, athletic type who would hike the 2,663-mile Pacific Crest Trail over the steep mountains of California, Oregon, and Washington. I was an ersatz bad-girl with a checkered past who married a doctor from an old Dallas family and became a tiara-wearing dinner party [...]
RailRiders Raffle: Describe your Ultimate Adventure
Walking Across Mongolia, an Ultra-Marathon across the Sahara Desert, Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Studying Penguins on the South Pole, Climbing Denali – many people dream of an Ultimate Adventure. What’s yours? For example: My Ultimate Adventure would be hiking the whole length of the island of Great Britain between its two extremities, Lands End and John O’Groats [...]
Be in the Know, Mentor Others by Kathleen Meyer
Spring is full on—even here in the Rockies, the snow melting, wildflowers popping, bees buzzing—and it’s a gorgeous season to venture into the outback. Which means . . . hmmm . . . it’s also time to brush up on wilderness toilet skills. Maybe even engineer your first-ever backcountry squat? Let me begin by talking [...]
Feral on the Northville/Placid Trail by Walt McLaughlin
The drizzle that let up temporarily at the sign-in register became a downpour four miles down the trail. I didn’t care. I was glad to be on the move again with a pack on my back, looking at a two-week trek through deep woods. Rain or no, I was going to enjoy being immersed in [...]
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