If I know a song for Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on its back . . .does Africa have a song for me? Karen Blixen in Out of Africa Two new field guides have recently been added to my bookshelf: The Animals of East Africa and The Birds of EastContinue reading “A Song for Africa”
Tag Archives: travel
No Mansions in Yellowstone
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. Meister Eckhart My readers will recall that in my last post I ventured into the subject of politics and the threatened proposal to sell off 250 million acres of public land to private interests. It was extremelyContinue reading “No Mansions in Yellowstone”
This Land is My Land
I usually try to keep politics out of my posts, but a recent decision by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee should send chills into every aching bone of a hiker’s body. The bill forces the sale of more than 250 million acres of public land, including Forest Service and Bureau of Land ManagementContinue reading “This Land is My Land”
Not the Same
Looking Up
Any time is a good time to look up from the creek bed at your feet to the mountains at the horizon. David Boyles The first time I visited Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah, I bought a postcard at the visitors’ center of the beautiful arch you see in the photo above, appropriately namedContinue reading “Looking Up”
Because It Is Beautiful
It is never my intent to alienate my readers by choosing sides in the political struggles and polarization that are happening today. There is enough of that going around. But individuals on both sides of the chasm that separates us agree that these are dangerous times, and our very survival as a species may byContinue reading “Because It Is Beautiful”
A Life Told in Miles
At important transitions in my life I find myself reflecting on the journey that has led to this place and time. As always, everything relates to the trail, the long treks with my backpack, the quiet moments in camp with a cup of tea and a good book, and the places where those journeys haveContinue reading “A Life Told in Miles”
Looking Back from Higher Ground
The great affair, the love affair with life, is to live as variously as possible, to groom one’s curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred, climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sun-struck hills everyday. Diane Ackerman in A Natural History of the Senses For a period of about ten years I spent a week or twoContinue reading “Looking Back from Higher Ground”
A New Companion on the Trail
The common denominator in all these conditions—whether in the lungs, the muscles, or the bones—is overwhelming pain… It’s not a question of whether you will hurt, or of how much you will hurt; it’s a question of what you will do, and how well you will do it, while pain has her wanton way withContinue reading “A New Companion on the Trail”
Making Choices
Like most hikers and backpackers I have long considered myself to be an environmentalist. I remember the first Earth Day in 1970. I was a sophomore in college, and it was a warm spring day. I stood in the commons listening to speakers tell us of various threats to the sanctity of our planet. NoContinue reading “Making Choices”
The Solitude Trail 