Laurel Highlands Hiking TrailPennsylvaniaOctober 2008 When I take beginner backpackers out on the trail, I introduce them to something I call “food groups.” Our schedule for their first outing (this being the first lifetime experience of sleeping outdoors for some of them) has us leaving home for the trail on Saturday morning and returning Sunday… Continue reading The Bagel Boys
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Boots IV — The Boot Museum
Walasi-YiGeorgiaJuly 2015 In my time, I have heard wonderful stories, useful gimmicks, legends and lies while on the trail. Told a few myself. I learned that butter will keep for days without refrigeration. I learned that some baby girls are born with three nipples. I learned that one of the best tasting foods in the… Continue reading Boots IV — The Boot Museum
Boots III
July 1995 Sometimes hiking hurts. But it’s still worth it. So says Abbie (left) and Andi (right.)
Boots II — The Boot Test
the smallest room in the houseJuly 1998 I can’t tell you how many boots I have owned. I know it’s an even number. It’s the same number of boots I have worn out. It’s a fairly large number. But wait. Take this number and add four boots, the two pair I always have at the… Continue reading Boots II — The Boot Test
Boots I — Hiking Boots
Cheaha MountainAlabamaNovember 2013 Hiking boots are an incredible invention. The amount of pounding and impact that you put on your feet while hiking is hard to fathom. What the heck, let’s try. The average hiker, whatever that is, puts about eight psi, or pounds per square inch of pressure on the boots with every step.… Continue reading Boots I — Hiking Boots
Oh Sam Peabody
Mount GreylockMassachusettsMay 2014 We think we are very close to the summit of Mount Greylock. We think we are close because we’ve been climbing for half the day, but we don’t know how close because it’s so foggy that we can’t see a damned thing. There is a big tower out there, they tell us,… Continue reading Oh Sam Peabody
Look at the Grouse!
Black Forest TrailPennsylvaniaJune 2006 After 9.8 miles, we are back at trailhead, leisurely loading our gear into the back of the car. I hear peeping in the nearby brush. I look over to see a subtle rustling of the boot-high grass. I take a tentative step toward the commotion. It is at this moment that… Continue reading Look at the Grouse!
Can You Drink Your Own Pee? II
Wilderness Survival WeekendThe Uncharted Wilds of PennsylvaniaFebruary 2007 Let’s say you are caught out in the woods and you are lost and you have mostly run out of supplies like food and water, and you didn’t bring a tent and you are by yourself and it’s getting dark. Y’know, a typical hike. Okay, not really… Continue reading Can You Drink Your Own Pee? II
Can You Drink Your Own Pee? I
Driskill MountainLouisianaJune 2012 It is hot, very hot, the kind of hot that relentlessly sucks the water out of your body. It is 102° hot. If you are a hiker, you know that you hike whatever the weather. It’s what you’ve got. Especially when you are from Pittsburgh and you don’t get to Louisiana very… Continue reading Can You Drink Your Own Pee? I
Brother Wisdom
…not quite a hiking article,but my brother Laurence often walked when others rode… I grew up with two older brothers, each one smarter than the other. I’ve said to each one, “I smile because you are my brother. I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it.” This is how they see the… Continue reading Brother Wisdom