The Grayson Highlands!

I thought I went especially to see the wild ponies. I’ll go back for the landscape!!! Have a look: There was some fun bouldering, too! Great people as always. I can’t write about the experience. I camped the first night with ponies, cows, and Longhorn Steer! I was high for most of the second day’s […]

Friday Morning

That’s my backyard. It’s become a jungle in the last two weeks! There is a brick area just in front of this photo. That is my first “Single Wall” tent. I’m testing it in the rain. It uses my trekking poles for support and weighs just under 2 lbs. Single wall tents are lighter because […]

And Now

Something happened to me on my last hike in Southern Virginia. It was too hard. The heat. The hills. The distance. It’s not easy for me to declare anything too hard. That is not what I do. That means, to me, I’m have the wrong attitude. Attitude is everything, right. Nope. It’s not. Attitude is […]

Day 2 Finishing VA Pt. 1

I couldn’t write after Day 1! I was whipped. Schnockered. It took me forever to do the last uphill mile of a 7.2 mile day. I took my pack off and just sat 3 times! My legs were done. My Spirit was almost extinguished. Almost. I was trying to push but not kill myself! Literally. […]

Alone Tonight

I’m all by myself tonight. Something large enough to break branches while walking through the woods is approaching. It’s night hikers!!! Whew. They are gone. The more normal sounds are back. Me rubbing against the side of the tent. My pulse. A frog sounding like…unlike anything else in nature. A sort of quick repetitive clicks. […]

Stealth

(From the last night on VA) I made a good decision. Instead of pushing another 2 miles, 2 miles is forever after a long day, I decided to find a good stealth site. A couple of guys I passed said it looked like some good camping about s half mile up. I got to where […]

First Solo

Well, I’m here. Virginia. First solo hike since the TIA. But before I get to that, I have something I want to tell you about. My friend Paige. I met Paige in 1966. She was 16. I was 15. She lived about 4 miles uphill from my house in Chalfont, on a bicycle. I only […]

Georgia?

Doesn’t that look like a lovely day? Warm. Sunny. Georgia. This is what I got. It is freezing!!! I’m in my bag. 4pm. Snow. Sleet. At least no freezing rain. It will be in the mid 20s tonight! I have expedition weight long underwear on under the tights I wear when hiking. Then my shorts. […]