Blog
Do Not Go Outside to Cry
I see it being used all around me to describe women, often by other women: badass. I have always considered it to ha...
Fired Into Hiking: How Losing My Job Changed the Trajectory of My Life for the Better
If you knew me prior to May 2015, then you knew a different person. As a full time Special Educator, I would spend ho...
Traveling With Less
A fundamental principle in the world of ultralight backpacking is to carry multipurpose items in order to reduce the...
The Rise of Thru-Hiking
In the last decade, thru-hiking has seen tremendous growth. People are recreating outdoors more than ever, but why? D...
Appalachian Renewal, Delayed Harvest Style
Those first few days on the water were unrelenting, not the least for the face-chapping conditions but also for my s...
Fear is Quiet. Anxiety is Loud.
The countdown for my next adventure began long ago, but now my start date is within reach. My last weeks of work are ...
Rethinking National Monuments: Why These Lesser-Known Gems are Worth a Visit
It was 2017, and I was driving back from Zion National Park. I had just completed the trans-Zion Traverse and was exc...
What a Failed Thru-Hike Taught Me
Rocks crunched under the tires of my SUV as we rolled into the small dirt parking lot at the end of the appropriately...
In It for the Long Haul: Friendships on the Long Trails
Thru-hikers and backpackers share more than the trails; they share a goal and a tight-knit community. Since the purp...
How to document an experience while still living in the moment
I’ve written two trail memoirs—Mud, Rocks, Blazes quoted above and Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home. Each is a detailed a...
Last Person Standing
The concept of the race caught my attention. It had no defined distance or time. It was unlike anything I had ever d...
How To Keep Your Trail Legs All Winter Long
You spent the summer peak bagging and squeezing in as many miles as possible before the inevitable first flake of sn...
