11ish miles - Hyalite Creek Trailhead to Crater Lake I woke up as it began to get light, around 6. It took me a while to get moving, because as usual for my first night of any backpacking trip, I didn’t sleep well. It was a beautiful morning, and I enjoyed a relaxed breakfast and …
Continue reading Gallatin Crest Trail Day 1: Tuesday, July 13
Hyalite Creek Trailhead - 8:01 PM Well, here I am at the trailhead! It’s a beautiful evening, my tent is all set up, and I cannot believe how incredible the mountains are in this canyon. Right behind my tent, behind the pines, a massive mountain rises and catches the sun. The sky is still a …
Continue reading Gallatin Crest Trail Day 0: Monday, July 12
July 11, 2021, 9:30 AM - In the air - flight from MSP to Bozeman, MT It feels weird to be flying again. The last time I was in a plane was coming back from Portland, Maine after finishing the AT. Several entire lifetimes seem to have passed since October of 2019, and I’m so …
It's summer 2021! That means it's time for cicadas, long evenings, dinner on the deck, and of course, plenty of daylight for hiking. A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I decided to kick off our summer hiking season when we both had a day off on Friday, June 4. While trying to decide …
Continue reading Shawnee Lookout: A Great Park in the Cincinnati Metro Area
Wiggs and I were so impressed by our first visit to Great Seal on March 5 that when another Friday rolled around we decided to make a second visit. This time, on March 19, it was exactly two weeks later. In the spring, two weeks can make a big difference. The first time we went …
Continue reading Great Seal Sate Park Part 2: Signs of Spring
Ah, early March. Glorious, hope-filled, golden early March. The world hangs on the edge between melting winter and waiting spring. The days–crisp, but no longer frigid–grow steadily longer, stepping ever more quickly towards flowers. My eyes are pulled downwards for the first time since October, searching the forest floor for mushrooms that I know aren't …
Keeping my writing up-to-date is one of my numerous New Year's resolutions. I struggle to write as often as I'd like, despite the fact that, if I'm honest with myself, I really do have the time. But instead of updating my blog I sometimes decide to do things like binging all of The Queen's Gambit …
Friday, October 30 The first thing I notice when I wake up is the silence. No rain drops pattering on the roof. No splashing of puddles. The next thing I notice is that it is cold. Inside the tent, my sleeping bag and camp clothes are dry, but all of my other gear, including the …
Thursday, October 29 I awake to rain on the roof of the tent. It's a steady patter, decidedly not a drizzle, and it looks like the weather prediction came true. Though it was forecasted to be a downpour today, last night in my optimistic mind there was a chance that maybe it wouldn't actually happen. …
It has been beautiful lately, both in Ohio and in Kentucky. For the last ten days the sun has been shining, and while the temperatures took a dip towards winter today, it is still bright and crisp. Naturally, considering this, Wiggs and I chose the only three rainy days in the past few weeks to …
Passport Somewhere 