About me

Hey, that's me!

Who am I?

First I should say that I’m a little bit silly. No, very silly. I jump into backpacking trips like Scrappy Doo, and love laughing at my mistakes. I’m less skilled in the outdoors and more determined with a high tolerance for discomfort.

I’ve been lucky enough to do a good bit of travel all over the world and a reasonable chunk of the Appalachian Trail. My trail name is D.I.D. (Dressed in Dirt). In Spring of 2011, I have been somehow talked into attempting a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. My hiking partner’s name is Erin, and she’s very persuasive.

I get out into the woods as often as I can, and when I can’t go on backpacking trips, I sometimes sleep in a tent in my backyard. I like to garden, eat brownies, and play Ultimate Frisbee. Not necessarily in that order.

One of our many GU shots

Addy and Erin

I am also the organizer of the Portland Women’s Outdoor Club. If you are in the area, come on a hike with us! I promise that I will plan ahead enough to avoid accidentally killing you.

Writing for the blog has been a wonderful adventure, and I love to hear from my readers. So if you would like to contact me, you can do so at adelaide@dressedindirt.com. I can’t promise that I’ll have anything helpful to say, but if you could use a little goofiness in your life, I can provide that. You can follow me on Twitter here.

Read about my wicked hard core hiking partner, Erin Saver.

{ 1 trackback }

On A Magic Carpet Ride « Her Side of the Mountain
January 28, 2010 at 5:02 pm

{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Jonathan Wood July 20, 2010 at 11:53 am

Greetings,

We are trying to build communities of people who enjoy hiking and other outdoor activities through a new website.

Since this site is completely free, we really have no advertising budget. Therefore, I was hoping a couple of bloggers might want to tell their readers about this free resource.

We would be grateful if you let your readers know about this site. It is http://www.trailcalendar.com

Cheers!

Jonathan

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2 Helen RW June 28, 2010 at 9:06 pm

Greetings from Vermont.

I linked over from Section Hiker, and have been enjoying your stories. Plenty of ‘dulce et utile’ for a novice thru hiker, which I appreciate.

Helly

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3 Adelaide June 28, 2010 at 11:53 pm

Thanks Helen. I’m learning a lot and enjoying it.

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4 Emily Hutto June 20, 2010 at 7:43 pm

Addy! Have you checked out the Roots and Grubs blog yet? I bet you will love it. I also think you’ll love his book, too.

Your blog is phenomenal, and very well developed. I’m loving your Q and As and all of the links you have posted. Thanks for providing such a great resource.

See you at work, lady!

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5 Adelaide June 21, 2010 at 12:00 am

Thanks Emily! I’m excited to see how you develop your blog, too. See you tomorrow.

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6 Scott Thompson February 26, 2010 at 1:27 pm

Adelaide – I would love to get a guest post from you sometime. If you’re interested email me. Either way, you have a great site.
Scott

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7 Adelaide February 26, 2010 at 4:39 pm

That would be fun. :)

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8 X Donajkowski December 20, 2009 at 11:24 am

What inspiration! I’m only in high school but my dream is to make this hike on my own, and more than once. Thank You!

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9 Adelaide December 21, 2009 at 2:18 am

I hope you do! Good luck.

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10 Sally Weinrich Tortoise December 18, 2009 at 11:46 am

Addy
Your blog is obviously meaning so much to so many people! Way to go! Your writing and photography skills are outstanding!! Thinking of you this holiday and sending you all the best!
Tortoise Sally

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11 Adelaide December 18, 2009 at 7:21 pm

Thank you, sweet friend. I miss you.

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12 jix underhill October 30, 2009 at 4:55 pm

One more note, there is this woman I know, who is currently cycling cross country Solo unassisted. IE shes tent camping most of the way. She has a blog too! You may find it interesting.
http://cyclewithcarrie.wordpress.com/

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13 Adelaide November 5, 2009 at 2:55 pm

Thanks for the heads up! I love reading about women doing adventures like this.

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14 Katie October 29, 2009 at 9:57 pm

DID,

From one female AT hiker to another…
I know how you feel girl.
Thanks for putting together this blog. I’ve really enjoyed reading about your adventures. I found there’s no more empowering experience for a woman than walking alone and not a day goes by that I don’t think back to my time on the trail. Congratulations and welcome.

robins nest. nobo ’06

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15 Adelaide November 5, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Go female AT hikers! I think about my experience everyday, too. Did you have a challenging time reintegrating into society? It’s been tough for me.

I do feel like I grew so much on my hike. I now have complete confidence in ability to take care of myself. Thanks for the comment, I always appreciate sisterhood.

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16 William Cody Bateman October 27, 2009 at 1:32 pm

Congrats on the hike! I too, loved hiking the A.T. Even when I share my experiences – everyone nods their collective heads in appreciation but… I know deep down inside that they really have no idea what I am talking about. Sigh… :)

Spanky
SOBO ’08, ’03, ’02

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17 Adelaide November 5, 2009 at 2:59 pm

I totally relate! I feel like I could talk about my experiences all of the time, but I’ve run out of friends that I can bug about it. By the way, I’m impressed that you thru-hiked three times. That’s amazing.

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18 Amy Brown October 26, 2009 at 5:32 pm

Addy,
I heard it snowed 5 inches at New Found Gap over the weekend.

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19 12% October 24, 2009 at 12:40 pm

Goodness woman, your so’damn cute. And a hiker…a writer…a thinker…a sexy poser.

a now a favorite on my links tab.

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20 Adelaide October 24, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Thanks! I appreciate it.

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21 shane magee October 20, 2009 at 9:15 am

btw, my wife and i did an epic journey through north america a couple of years ago. all tales told here: http://u.nu/6kik3 :o )

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22 Adelaide October 21, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Cool! Checked out your blog, it sounds like you had a lot of great adventures. I have to say, my favorite picture is of the cow in the snow. :)

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23 Mia October 20, 2009 at 1:08 am

Hello Adelaide,

Great blog you have here! Hope you’re doing well out there and staying warm :) Take care and Have a safe journey!

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24 Adelaide October 21, 2009 at 12:06 pm

Thanks Mia. I checked out your website, too and it looks great. I’ll be checking it out as it develops.

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25 Megan October 19, 2009 at 5:56 pm

You are one awesome lady!

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26 Adelaide October 21, 2009 at 11:52 am

Thanks Megan!

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27 Cliff Leverette September 16, 2009 at 7:08 am

Hi Adelaide Brown,
I know your mom and brother from Redeemer Chruch in Jackson, and i am thrilled that you are doing this hike. I hiked a small portion of the trail from Davenport Gap to Newfound Gap in the Smokies back in August, 1974, with your cousin Gilbert Miller and two other fellas. Had a great time, have more stories from that five days that I can recall in a lifetime of writing, editing, writing, editing, changing mind and omitting, then changing mind and being honest, etc.
Anyway, when you get to the Smokies, keep in mind that the trail from Newfound Gap to where it veers away from the old trail south of Mollies Ridge (used to be called Mollies Butt, but I guess that was sexist or something) has been there for much longer than either the AT or the Great Smokies National Park. Horace Kephart wrote about hunting up there, even mentions Spence Field cabin. So that will probably be the most mentally impressive part of the trail if you like to think about long continuous use by man. It will also probably be the most strenuous part of the AT from what I have read and heard, but when you get to Thunderhead Mountain and then to Rocky Top especially, the view if fantastic and wonderful. I plan to go back there just to spend an entire day at Rockytop when I get a hiking companion again. I’ve done the solitary thing, not for long, but an encounter with some bears changed my mind about solitary serious injury… and I can’t get Suzette (my truelove) to put on a pack. I hiked part of the trail in the park in 06 and 07 with my dotter Julia but she got married in 09 and I can’t persuade them to go hike just yet.
take care. Can I call you Did?
Cliff Leverette

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28 Nate Francois July 5, 2009 at 8:16 am

How much will you miss us while you’re away? Please include a photo with your answer.

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