As the Trail Turns

Every year I saw Duffy. He lived next to the church in Sierra City. In the morning he'd put coffee and snacks out and we'd stand in a circle in his driveway and chat about whatever. One time he drove his van to meet us up the trail, on some obscure dirt road. He liked … Continue reading Duffy

Let me tell you how to be one of the greats. Hike madly fast while at the same time smoking pipe tobacco rollies. Roll while climbing, roll at 4 am, roll in your sleep. Cough to be my alarm and I'll lie there happy to be in my warm sleeping bag while you smoke. Then … Continue reading Rest Stop

Someone commented on one of my Pacific Crest Trail photos, in it I was smoking a cigarette on the church lawn in Sierra City, he was surprised because people who do endurance things don't smoke do they? I smoked on the Pacific Crest Trail, on the Lowest to Highest Route, on the Te Araroa in … Continue reading Anti-hero

Fire smell means I'm close. It is dark when I arrive at the stony Peter Grub Hut. That year I didn't have a watch, didn't realize I was getting on trail by 10 am, hiked a lot of miles in the night. I was watched by many green and yellow glowing eyes. Inside a man … Continue reading Carhartt

Day hiking is so good but also frustrating because there are unreachable distant places and you have to drive away at the end of the day

I think 2012 was the last year before Instagram, Self Branding, and Guthooks App swept the thru-hiking world by storm, and now hikers don't hang out in the tavern but sit in their hotel rooms self branding, asking you to turn off the tv so they can post uninterrupted. PUKE. At high spots you can … Continue reading What’s your handle?

There is an episode of Naked and Afraid, I have a Hulu subscription, for the first time in my life I am paying to watch television, because I'm indoorsy these days, but first, in this episode, one of the survivors develops a skin condition which makes her scratch 24/7, she can't do anything but scratch, … Continue reading Scratchin