Tag Archives: appalachian trail

The 100 mile Wilderness is a bucket list hike if there ever was one. The route is arduous but extremely beautiful, running over mountain ranges and past beautiful Maine lakes along the northern most section of the Appalachian Trail. However, it’s quite …

History’s Lessons for Today’s World I love the history behind the Appalachian Trail and how it came into being. It’s amazing how an army of volunteers and organizers coalesced behind Benton Mackaye’s original vision for the Appalachian Trail and established a trail …

The 100 Mile Wilderness is an unforgiving section of the Appalachian Trail, winding through the remote backcountry of northern Maine. Drawn to the physical and logistical challenge of it, I shouldered a sixty-pound pack then stepped into that sprawling forest with my …

“I can’t believe these miles don’t even count”, I was reiterating to my friend that I had set out with on the Appalachian Trail. A few hours earlier we had completed the transportation juggle of driving to Atlanta from New York, taking …

“Hey man, I’ve got an idea,” I said with a coaxing voice. “How ‘bout going out to hike on the Appalachian Trail with me?” It was the spring of 2005, and I had the Bill Bryson syndrome. Like so many other mortals, …

When setting off on a long-distance hike, I’m often asked by my friends if I am afraid. The question is a direct response to the media’s daily onslaught of horror. In their minds, why should the trails be any different? Women usually …

When you hike the Appalachian Trail, you get in the habit of looking behind yourself periodically to make sure you are still on the trail. If you get into “the zone,” it’s all too easy to miss a turn in the trail …

If you’re preparing for an Appalachian Trail thru-hike or just hiking a section, and plan on passing through Norwich, Vermont, I recommend you stop at Dan and Whit’s General Store in the center of town for a resupply. If you’re hiking northbound, …

Last September I spent an evening in Grafton Notch along the Maine section of The Appalachian Trail. If you’ve never visited Grafton Notch, you owe yourself a visit. It’s a remote and wild mountain pass at the northeastern end of the Mahoosic …

Last week, I finally finished section hiking all 161 miles of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire. Now that it’s done, it’s hard to believe that it was only 161 miles. I’ve probably hiked twice that just to reacquire the AT each …

On August 5th, 2007, I did a 9.2 mile (RT) day hike from Kinsman Notch to Mt Wolf on the New Hampshire Appalachian Trail. This is the section right after the decent from Mt Moosilauke, which is the first really big peak …

It's been a while since I've done a section hike on the Appalachian Trail, but I got back to it on Saturday, completing a very short section that I'd missed last Autumn along the Kinsman Ridge Trail in The White Mountains. This …

I really like reading hiking and outdoor memoirs because they combine personal insights and emotions with the writers’ experience of everyday routine, physical trials, town encounters, and natural wonder. There’s a richness in them that you don’t often find in autobiographies or …

Shaw’s Lodging in Monson, Maine has had over 50,000 hikers as guests, mostly Appalachian Trail thru-hikers or section hikers. I’ve always heard great things about it from other hikers and I wasn’t disappointed when I started my 100 mile wilderness section hike there …