Author: asiwentwalking

Manypede

Duff ParkMurrysvillePennsylvaniaOctober  2013 Training day.  Duff Park.  Altitude gain of about 200 feet in a tenth of a mile on Round Top Trail.  Once.  Twice.  Many times. Lots of people on the lower, flatter elevations, running, walking the dog, picking invasive garlic mustard.  Trillium, skunk cabbage, may apple, squaw root, the last of the trout… Continue reading Manypede

Speaking French

Cheaha MountainAlabamaNovember  2013 This is some tough climbing.  It’s a 1.2-mile hike that gains 1143 feet in altitude.  What makes it more fun is that almost all of that uphill is in the second half of the hike and as you get closer to the summit, it just keeps getting steeper.  Okay, that’s what we’re… Continue reading Speaking French

One N or Two?

Mount GreylockMassachusettsMay  2014 Through the burbs and suburbs and exurbs we go until we get to North Adams where we spend the night.  North Adams in Massachusetts, I believe, is the location of the southern terminus of the Long Trail, the oldest long distance hiking trail in the U S of A.  It was completed… Continue reading One N or Two?

Who’s a Pepper?

Rural RetreatVirginiaJuly  2014 We stay the night in Wytheville after our summit climb of the Old Dominion state, Virginia.  First thing in the morning, we’re on the road to visit the nearby rural retreat called Rural Retreat, a town of 1500 living residents, and one dead resident in particular. In the pursuit of knowledge, we… Continue reading Who’s a Pepper?

Yoda’s Lineage

On the drive from Mount Driskill to Mount MagazineLouisiana to ArkansasJune  2012 Highpointing racks up a lot of miles on the road.  Brings up random, but essential, existential issues.  To wit… Kermit + whiskey + cigarettes = Yoda. Or alternately… Kermit + Tom Waits = Yoda.

How Tough Is It?

Shenandoah National ParkWhiteoak Canyon TrailheadMay  2023 Some recreational areas place signboards at trailhead.  These vertical information centers inform you of what to expect on your hike:  route finding, elevation, distance, landmarks, hazards, attractions and maps. As we approach this particular trailhead, and therefore a signboard, we encounter a woman with a furrowed brow, staring at… Continue reading How Tough Is It?

Stringbean

Clingmans DomeTennesseeMay  2013 Getting our gear and lunch together, we leave our car in a small road-side clearing on Clingmans Dome Road, step into the woods and within a hundred feet, onto the Appalachian Trail.  We turn left onto this granddaddy of America’s long trails, the famous and fabled A T. Our destination, Clingmans Dome,… Continue reading Stringbean

Brother Time

Cohutta WildernessGeorgiaSeptember  1992 Steve is my brother, ten years older and so much wiser than me, in his mind.  Even though he spent time in the trenches in Vietnam, he was still willing to go out into the wilds of north Georgia with me.  We planned a three-day backpack trip in the Cohutta Wilderness, just… Continue reading Brother Time

Snake Butt

Boyce Mayview ParkUpper St ClairPennsylvaniaSeptember  2017 Lisa and I are on a training hike in Boyce Mayview Park, not too far from home.  At the highest point of a loop, where several trails converge, a cute little dog comes bounding from the brush, happy as dogs usually are.  Following behind is a hiker.  Or a… Continue reading Snake Butt