Tag Archives: thru hiking

Savoring the Warmth

I have returned recently from a backpacking trip that will unfortunately be added to my list of really bad trips. It is a reminder that there is much about hiking that we do not control, such as the weather. There are also things that we do control, such as the gear we carry with us.Continue reading “Savoring the Warmth”

Here There Be Predators

I come into the peace of wild things. Wendell Berry After last week’s post I was reminded by my readers that gear matters. How we protect our campsite and food matters, and hikers have a lot of opinions and ideas about how to do that best. As usual, whenever I post about gear I receiveContinue reading “Here There Be Predators”

Still Fiddling Around

It’s not the load that weighs you down, it’s the way you carry it. Lena Horne I have had a backpack since I was eighteen years old, when I carried my brother’s old Boy Scout pack on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier. Obviously over the many years and miles that have followed I haveContinue reading “Still Fiddling Around”

Living on the Edges

Backpacking is the art of knowing what not to take. Sheridan Anders The first time I carried my cell phone with me on a backpacking trip was completely unplanned. This trip took place many years ago, before the days of smart phones, and I had my flip phone with me in my truck as IContinue reading “Living on the Edges”

Growing Up in the Ring of Fire

The world is always ending somewhere. It just depends on whether it falls in your line of vision or not. Akweaka Emezi As I have written several times in these posts, I grew up with a view of Mt. Rainier from my bedroom window, and it never failed to delight, especially when the morning sunContinue reading “Growing Up in the Ring of Fire”

My Mountain Home

Readers of these posts will have figured out by now that I am not a big fan of crowding on our nation’s scenic trails. The title, The Solitude Trail, is a dead giveaway. I was dismayed then to drive across the North Cascades Highway a couple of weeks ago, which I wrote about in lastContinue reading “My Mountain Home”

The Wild in Wilderness

Let me take my chances in the big outside worldly wilderness with all its sins and sufferings. William James In the southeastern corner of Washington State lies a mountain range that few people have ever heard of, even Washington residents. Last month when I began to plan my trip and told friends and family thatContinue reading “The Wild in Wilderness”

When Ultra-Lite Is Too Lite

Each step of a journey alters the person who makes it. Jane Hirshfield The photo you see above was taken before I had even left the trailhead on the first day of a nine day trek through the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Just as I was setting out on the trail I met someContinue reading “When Ultra-Lite Is Too Lite”

Still Hiking with Leah

Great things happen when women and mountains meet. William Blake In 2012 when I retired, my husband and I moved to Marrowstone Island, which is located just off the mainland of the Olympic Peninsula, connected by a bridge. Our home provided a view of Admiralty Inlet, Whidbey Island across the sound, and the Cascade Mountains,Continue reading “Still Hiking with Leah”