FloridaNovember 2012 At the age of 95 years and 8 months, my mother fell down. As sometimes happens with folks her age when they fall down, her hip broke. Two days later she was in surgery, having the broken part replaced with a new part made of space age materials, possibly one of the used… Continue reading Max
Author: asiwentwalking
Throw This Column Away
Britton HillFloridaNovember 2013 Visit Lakewood Park in Florida. We do when we summit the Sunshine State, by climbing to its high point at 345 feet. We contemplate and celebrate this thrill, and we wander around in the open, grassy area of the park. At the far end of the picnic area, we see this sign.… Continue reading Throw This Column Away
Women of the Grove Run Trail
Grove Run TrailPennsylvaniaApril 2001 The Grove Run Trail is a comfortable little loop that brings you up 800 feet from Linn Run to a nondescript summit. It’s a great trail if you want some mild hill training but don’t want to sweat too much. The entire trail is within a thick hardwood and evergreen forest,… Continue reading Women of the Grove Run Trail
Togue Pond Gatehouse
Baxter State ParkMaineAugust 2012 We cross the Park boundary and continue to wind through the woods, passing the Visitors Center and pulling up at the southern entrance, the Togue Pond Gatehouse. And now we sit. Our first significant Maine traffic jam. There are five cars in front of us. What an enormous crowd, actually taking… Continue reading Togue Pond Gatehouse
The Berkshires
ConnecticutMay 2014 We summited both the top of Massachusetts and the top of Connecticut on this trip. Both tops are in the Berkshires. What do I know about the Berkshires? Certainly it is a pretty area. I’m told that the Berkshires and the nearby Green Mountains are the result of a collision between Africa and… Continue reading The Berkshires
Black Throated Green
Sassafras MountainSouth CarolinaMay 2013 A Highpointers bench has been placed here at the top of Sassafras Mountain, the high point of South Carolina, perfect for Lisa to lie down and take a nap, which she does. It’s a thing. Whenever you get to the top, or to water, or to a broad flat rock on… Continue reading Black Throated Green
Notes from the Desert — Death Valley National Park
CaliforniaMarch 2019 Death Valley National Park, a place of silent beauty, a starkly stunning natural medley of mud and salt flats, sand and towering mountains and dangerous extremes. Daily temperatures easily top 100° in the summer, and if you are a desert dweller, it gets uncomfortably cold in winter. The gravel and loose dirt at… Continue reading Notes from the Desert — Death Valley National Park
The Black Fly
MaineJune 2019 Lisa spent the first part of her life in Maine. I asked her how she handled the black flies when she was a kid. She scoffed. “My friends and I compared, we held contests. Who could not scratch for the longest time, who could get the most bites, who could hold out the… Continue reading The Black Fly
The Rescue
Caesars Head State ParkSouth CarolinaJune 2001 Stepping off the Appalachian Trail at the Fork Ridge Trailhead after summiting Clingmans Dome, we decide to take a drive to the place where 99% of the people who visit Clingmans Dome begin their summit hike. This “trailhead” is three and a half miles to the end of the… Continue reading The Rescue
Walkin’ Cat
PittsburghPennsylvaniaJuly 1999 I dated Betsy three times. The middle time, I parked in front of her house and walked up to the door, rang the bell. When she opened the screen door for me, a white and brown spotted kitty cat ran past me, out of the house. Betsy and I talked on the telephone… Continue reading Walkin’ Cat