On being not hard core

November 25, 2009 Tales from the Trail

I received a tough e-mail from a man recently. He said that I think know so much abut the outdoors, but I’m clearly ignorant. That just because I did two and a half months on the Appalachian Trail doesn’t mean I’m an expert.
Let me be clear: I do not now and have never thought of [...]

Read the full article →

Deals page

November 25, 2009 Gear

I’ve decided to add a page for a couple different merchant’s “Deal of the Day” ads. I think they’re pretty fun to monitor and hope you do, too.
It does feel a little strange to have ads on my site, but I’m crossing my fingers that I will be able to find a way to [...]

Read the full article →

No motorized vehicles

November 19, 2009 Photography
No motorized vehicles

I liked this picture enough to make it a photography post. Still learning bit by bit.

Read the full article →

Portland bomb shelter

November 18, 2009 Tales from the Trail
Thumbnail of a picture of a sign at Kelly Butte Nature Reserve

I did not know that shopping carts could be set on fire, but I suppose that with a little gasoline you can light up anything. I didn’t burn the carts myself, but stumbled upon them on a recent hike.
I had started this adventure by looking online for close in hikes that my car-less self could [...]

Read the full article →

Backpacking basics: socks, fungus, and blisters

November 16, 2009 Gear

At the risk of being told I have a fetish, I’m going to write another post about feet for my next Backpacking Basics article.
Up this time: socks, fungus, and blisters
Socks
There are a lot of different opinions on how to choose socks, and here’s mine: let your padding come from your shoes and not your [...]

Read the full article →

Ponytails Falls in the Columbia River Gorge

November 14, 2009 Photography
Ponytail Falls in the Columbia River Gorge

This is some of the first photography I’ve gotten to do since coming home to Portland. I think that after all the bumps and bruises on the trail (not to mention the rain), my camera may need a little love from the shop. It’s not quite focusing the way I would like it to.

Read the full article →

Backpacking basics: Footwear

November 12, 2009 Gear

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several people ask me what the beginning steps are for getting into backpacking. So I’ve decided to write a series of articles on the backpacking basics to help people get started.
First up is footwear. The main things to consider are: tread, stability, and waterproof level.
Tread
For some basic terrain, [...]

Read the full article →

Reader question #12: Homelessness

November 6, 2009 Reader Q & A

Wynn B. from Jackson, MS
Question:
I heard that you have been sleeping in a tent in your friend’s backyard. Have you lost the ability to live in normal society?
Answer:
Yes. Thanks for bringing it up.
Actually, for the past month I have been what I call “creatively homeless.” I have been staying with friends while I waited for [...]

Read the full article →

Cave dwelling life forms

November 5, 2009 Tales from the Trail

After 4 months of an itinerant lifestyle, I finally have a place of my own. It’s not that I’ve minded being what I called “creatively homeless,” and I’m thankful to all the people that let me sleep on their couches, in their spare bedrooms, or out in their backyards, but it feels so good to [...]

Read the full article →

More pictures from the White Mountains

October 25, 2009 Photography
White Mountains
Read the full article →

We can put a man on the moon but…

October 24, 2009 Tales from the Trail

I have discovered that one of the downsides of taking an extended time to go backpacking is that, when you come home everything can be compared to your trip. I went biking with a friend of mine and, as I was panting, I told her, “Man, I’m really out of shape.”
She said, “You spent 2 [...]

Read the full article →

Ray Jardine

October 23, 2009 Tales from the Trail

As anyone who read my early posts knows, hiking through the Maine section of the Appalachian trail was hugely difficult for me. So, when I got to the Maine/New Hampshire border, I threw down my pack and took abut 100 hundred pictures. In
short, I was ridiculously proud of myself. Not quite ready to leave, I [...]

Read the full article →

Vermont on the trail

October 22, 2009 Photography
Seedlings from Vermont
Read the full article →

Adjusting to being home

October 14, 2009 Tales from the Trail

I am slowly adjusting to being back in Portland, but I have discovered some jarring differences between my trail life and city life. For starters, people here don’t wear the same thing everyday and tend to take showers more than twice a month. I’m still getting used to this. Recently, I was hugging a friend [...]

Read the full article →

Elaboration on being a solo female hiker

October 9, 2009 Favorites

I’ve gotten a lot of responses to my blog post “On being a solo female hiker.” Almost all of them have been positive and I feel encouraged to know that I have a community of supportive men and women. However, there is one response that I would like to address, and I will tell you [...]

Read the full article →

Reader Question #11: Hipsters

October 3, 2009 Reader Q & A

Peter B from Portland, OR
Question:
I heard that you came back to Portland with a faux hawk and that you now wear a bandanna at all times. How is it, that after 3 months in the woods, you are now more of a hipster than a mountain woman?
Answer:
Excuse me. I will answer you as soon as [...]

Read the full article →

Abe’s visit

October 1, 2009 Tales from the Trail
Read the full article →

On being a solo female hiker

October 1, 2009 Favorites

It is nighttime at the hiker hostel and the guy next to me says to the group, “I hate it when a girl goes around a shelter. I mean, I don’t want sloppy thirds.”
I say, “I’m surprised you made it in the top five.” Then I smile (a technique that my friends Jade and Monika [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →