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National Park Service Guest Blog
As many of you know, the National Scenic Trails Act just turned 50 years old. The National Park Service has been celebrating all year by highlighting events near all eleven of our National Scenic Trails and by featuring our national and historic trails in guest blogs. As part of the series, I was asked to share how important America’s long-distance trails have been (and continue to be) to me. It was a good chance for me to reflect on how life changing and deeply rewarding an outdoor life can be. Read more…
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Happy Anniversary to the National Scenic Trails Act
On October 2, 1968, America was given a gift – the creation and protection of some of Americans’ favorite places to discover the great outdoors and our nation’s history. The first two trails to be designated were the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. Soon nine more trails joined the party. In the mood to celebrate? Trails50.org has a nationwide list of events — so it’s easy to find your trail and get outside. Read more…
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The creation of the AT changed hiking history
The creation of the Appalachian Trail set a number of precedents. It was the first multi-state super trail. It was envisioned as both a recreational and economic asset. And it was built and maintained through the creation of groundbreaking partnerships – a model that remains intact today. My recent article for the Partnership for the National Trails System touches on all of these points. Read more…
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Who was Joe, and why should we care?
No one knows who Joe was. No one even knows if he lived in the Shelburne, New Hampshire area or came “from away”, the ubiquitous term New Englanders apply to anyone who wasn’t born and raised in their part of the world. What we do know is that by 1877 (and possibly as early as 1872), a 1670’ mountain was named after him. As with so many visitors to the White Mountains before and since, Joe was compelled to see what the lush woodland landscape, wide, clear rivers and patchwork of farms looked like from above. Read more…
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Thank you, CooloftheWild.com for the chance to guest blog
Cool of the Wild is an impressive website. It’s really more like the best outdoor magazines of yore with sections on gear, inspiration, skills, and destinations that make you want to jump up from your laptop or stick your phone in your pocket and get outside. It doesn’t get much better. Thanks to Joey and the team for inviting me to guest blog. Read more…
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Better than We Found It — Four Things We Can Do To Keep Our Trails Beautiful
Some thoughts as spring, hiking season and Earth Day converge … The world is blessed with hundreds of thousands of miles of walking trails. One estimate is there are over 70,000 miles of long-distance hiking trails in America alone. The popularity of trails —be they urban, rural or wilderness — is a wonderful thing. Many of us don’t need to venture far to find a place to recreate or, as Benton MacKaye (the Father of the Appalachian Trail) said, “to gain oxygen and perspective.” Yet, the more we use our trails, the more they need our care. Read more…
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Introducing 30 Second Hiking Hacks
I’ve created a new series of tips and tricks I’ve learned over 8,000+ miles of hiking, called “30 Second Hiking Hacks.” I hope you find them useful for your day hiking and backpacking trips. Read more…
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Lost no More — How to Stay on the Trail (and what to do if you get off it)
“Have you ever gotten lost?” This question (or some variation of it) comes up often in my presentations about hiking. The answer isn’t simple. While there have been plenty of times I’ve been “temporarily disoriented”, there have never been times when I was “hopelessly lost.” The difference lies in making general awareness a priority. In this way, I (ironically) find this aspect of hiking analogous to driving a car. Read more…
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Risk and Reward in the Mountains
I recently read Ty Gagne’s book Where You’ll Find Me: Risk, Decisions and the Last Climb of Kate Matrosova. For those unfamiliar with the backstory, Kate was a thirty-two-year-old athlete and mountain enthusiast that died on New Hampshire’s Presidential Range in horrific arctic conditions (-100°F wind chill and 90+ mph winds). Gagne’s profession is risk management (interestingly, it was also Kate Matrosova’s). Read more…
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The Best Hiking Trail in Every State
I had a lot of fun being interviewed by Liz Weiss from U.S. News & World Report for her article, The Best Hiking Trail in Every State. Always tough to choose just one trail, but did my best to stay true to the assignment. Read more…
