women

On being a solo female hiker

October 1, 2009

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 [...]

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I am not cute

September 30, 2009

I was recently in the White Mountains talking with the leader of a group of college kids, when one of the students walked up and said, “Something smells awful!” She looked at me and reddened. “It’s not you,” she said. “It’s something else.” I shrugged and said, “No. It probably is me.” It’s true. I [...]

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Fan Club

September 17, 2009

I’ve written about the evil spandex/fanny pack wearing man and I think it bears mentioning all the people who have been kind and encouraging to me. Just now, an older walked by me on the trail as I was taking a lunch break. They asked me about my trip and then said, “You’re gonna make [...]

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When Addy met Sally

September 5, 2009

When I hiked onto a gravel road right after Caratunk, Maine, I came across a woman and her energetic golden retriever. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Tortoise.” I said, “No way! I’m Turtle.” We were immediately a team. Tortoise (real name Sally) and I hiked together for several days. She is a retired professor of Nursing [...]

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No one’s in the kitchen with Dina

August 31, 2009

I’ve decided to go no cook, which is to say that I have decided that my trail life should match my home life. No cook hikers don’t bring stoves and subsist largely on powerbars and poptarts. You can end up carrying more weight than other people because you don’t have the freeze dried dinners. But [...]

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How to climb a mountain in Maine

August 25, 2009

I’m done with the state of Maine now, so I though I’d pass on a few tips. Hiking here can be challenging because there are no switchbacks. It is as if the creators of the trail said, “Lo, there is a mountain. You will now walk straight up it.” Often, the trail is actually a [...]

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Impossibly beautiful

August 23, 2009

Last night I stayed in a lean-to with an impossibly beautiful couple from Holland. They snuggled and kissed and spoke to one another in Dutch. I had to interrupt them, “Um, excuse me,” I said to the man, “would you mind turning away while I change?” This is what everyone does in lean-tos. Neither them [...]

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