Ron Strickland is a character. He’s the founder of the 1,200 mile Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) and the visionary behind the 7,700 mile Sea-to-Sea (C2C) Trail hiked by Andrew Skurka in 2005. His latest project is the foundation of a National System …
Read More »Philip Werner
Hidden Gem Hikes in New England by Grant Ritter
Does this sound familiar to you? It is a sunny New England weekend and you decide to go hiking. You don’t want to drive to far and you need to be home at a reasonable hour, so the hike will need to …
Read More »Hiking Virgina’s Triple Crown with Scouts by Ken Holder
Section Hiking the AT with Boy Scouts After completing a three-month section hike on the AT last Spring, my hiking partner RevLee and I decided to take some of the older scouts in our troop on a multi-day hike on Spring Break …
Read More »Spring Conditions in the White Mountains: Monorail, High Water Crossings, and Cold Temperatures
Spring hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains can be a frustrating time. Despite the change in season and longer days, snow usually lingers on the high peaks well into late May, and daytime temperatures remain quite chilly, only turning warmer in June. …
Read More »Mount Norwottuck and the Horse Caves
On Saturday, I headed out for a hike in Western Massachusetts in Mount Holyoke Range State Park, just south of Amherst College. A number of major trails systems run through the area including the 114 mile Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (M&M) which is now …
Read More »Hiking is the Way I Feel Time
When I go backpacking, I reconnect with the natural flow of time. During the day, I keep track of the time by how many miles I’ve walked on the map. I wake up in the morning, at twilight, without an alarm, and …
Read More »AT Section Hike: Ten Mile Lean-to (CT) to Rt 4, Cornwall Bridge
Introduction This is the third, and final trip report describing my Appalachian Trail section hike from Mohican Outdoor Center through New Jersey, through all of New York State, and into Connecticut in, April 2011. About the Connecticut Appalachian Trail While the Connecticut …
Read More »MYOG: A Two Person Down Quilt by Wystiria
Adventures in crafting a 2 person down quilt. For the last two years Sherpa and I have been using a winter weight down sleeping bag opened in a quilt fashion as our nightly backpacking insulation. This allowed us to cut the weight …
Read More »AT Section Hike: Greenwood Lake (NY) to Ten Mile Lean-to (CT)
Hiking for two weeks is a lot different than hiking for a few days over a long weekend. You have to worry about getting clean periodically, resupplying your food bag, taking rest days, emotional ups and downs, and getting the right amount …
Read More »AT Section Hike: Mohican Outdoor Center (NJ) to Greenwood Lake (NY)
Trip Planning This is the first of a 3-part trip report describing the two week, Appalachian Trail section hike I took in April 2011, beginning in southern New Jersey and ending in southern Connecticut. Covering 173 miles and spanning 14 days, I’ve …
Read More »Lightweight Backpacking Gear List
On April 2nd, I gave a demonstration about lightweight backpacking to a dozen hikers from the NY-NJ Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club in Harriman State Park, just outside of New York City. Lessons Learned For this demonstration, I brought along a …
Read More »Walking Forwards, Looking Back
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 …
Read More »Rothiemurchus by Helen Fisher
The clearest way into the Universe is through a Forest Wilderness. — John Muir A great highlight for me during the time I spent in Scotland at the end of February with Kim, was spending some time in Rothiemurchus. We’d arrived there after …
Read More »The Warbonnet Blackbird Hammock Review
When I first learned about the possibility of sleeping in a hammock in the back country I was in awe. I loved my backyard hammock and fall asleep in it all the time so this seemed perfect. Being a bigger guy, sleeping …
Read More »