Category: The Moosilauke Letters

HuntsvilleAlabamaNovember  2013 A couple thousand years ago, give or take twenty minutes, in and around Jerusalem, this happened, then that happened and so forth, all leading up to Jesus’ trek on the Road to Calvary.  You may recall that the soldiers compelled Jesus to carry his own cross to the site of his crucifixion.  That… Continue reading Simon the Cyrene

Blue EarthMinnesotaJune  2008 And thus we come to Blue Earth, Minnesota.  A short distance off the interstate and there it is, just like in the pictures, the world’s largest Jolly Green Giant, all fifty-five feet of him.  Lisa says, “That’s an awfully large giant.”  I say, “Actually, that is a normal size giant.” THE EARTH… Continue reading Jolly Green Giant

summer  2018 It started on a walk with Mike, my excellent friend and excellent hiking partner, telling me about his hike at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington, where he saw two bald eagles at the same time.  Some of us go a lifetime not seeing a bald, and here, he sees two… Continue reading The Dance of Life

PittsburghPennsylvaniaSpring 2016 This is Jean-Clawed.  He lives with me.  We’re roommates. This is what Jean-Clawed is looking at. This…  thing…  is on my back porch.  It is an opossum.  It does not live with me.  Clearly, you can see that, by the expression on Jean-Clawed’s face. What we have here is the two extremes.  When… Continue reading Possum Opossum

Dolly Sods WildernessWest VirginiaJune  1998 Reminds me of the time when a group of us were backpacking in the Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia.  It had rained heavily over the past few days and our trail was flowing with runoff from the long storm.  Proper trail etiquette is to hike on the trail, regardless… Continue reading Marty’s Dry Boots

Great Smokey Mountains National ParkTennesseeJuly  1998

Mount FrissellConnecticutMay  2014 Continuing, we are not even a quarter of a mile in on our summit hike and already we have encountered a number of dogs, a preponderance of dogs, one might say.  A pack of dogs.  If they were emus, I would have to say a mob of emus.  Or eagles, as sometimes… Continue reading A Preponderance of Dogs

WikieupArizonaMay  2018 I read a report about Wikieup, Arizona.  I quote the author.  “Wikieup is famous for being the rattlesnake capitol of Arizona, but this fact is not advertised much …”  To which I say, “If it’s not advertised much, then it’s not famous for being the rattlesnake capitol of Arizona.” Wikieup however, may not… Continue reading Lots of Snakes

Myakka River State ParkFloridaFebruary  2002 Here we are on the Myakka River State Park on the Gulf coast of Florida.  We’re on a five-day backpack trip. To get here we drive across the broad peninsula of the Sunshine State on a highway ribbon called Alligator Alley.  We are treated to sightings of crane, egret, pelican,… Continue reading What to Do With an Alligator

Theodore Roosevelt National ParkNorth DakotaMay  2015 There are four trails I wish to do today, each under three miles in length.  My first two hikes go swimmingly.  It is during the third hike, on the Jones Creek Trail in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, that I run into an impediment. I hadn’t intended to end my… Continue reading Trail Hog