Author: asiwentwalking

Arf

Mount RogersVirginiaJuly  2011 We have the summit to ourselves.  Highest point in Virginia.  Rejoice.  Rejoice and quickly get out the camera to document our high point achievement before someone else shows up and we embarrass ourselves with our Highpoint dance. We do not exactly have the summit to ourselves.  Oodles of butterflies have joined us. … Continue reading Arf

Being a Guy

somewhere in West VirginiaMay  2002 A fair sized group of us were hiking through the woods on a backpacking trip when we came upon smoldering flames in a circle of rocks aside the trail.  I asked the women to go on up ahead. When they were far enough up the trail, we guys formed a… Continue reading Being a Guy

12 Stories from Arizona

ArizonaMay  2018 1Bumper sticker on a particular Wrangler Sport… I’M THE BLACK JEEP OF THE FAMILY 2The old and suggestive rock formations of Arizona present many opportunities for us humans to engage in our ingrained and idiosyncratic habit of seeing patterns that present in random information.  This information may be in the form of numbers,… Continue reading 12 Stories from Arizona

Do You Have a Side Salad?

MedoraNorth DakotaMay  2015 Medora, North Dakota, is a cute little tourist town at the edge of the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  It’s north of White Butte, the high point of North Dakota, and east of a town called Home on the Range in North Dakota. Throughout its history, Medora has always been… Continue reading Do You Have a Side Salad?

Not the Brooklyn Bridge

SaxonburgPennsylvaniaFebruary  2021 I took this photograph of the car windshield just before we embarked on our trip of discovery. Notice the rain on the glass.  There is nothing wrong with the weather here.  As Alfred Wainwright (English fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator) told me, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” What’s… Continue reading Not the Brooklyn Bridge

Cowboy Hero

Dolly SodsWest Virginia1996 As I was making my way up the trail a few days after a storm, I came upon a downed tree.  A tall, muscularly chiseled lumberjack type of guy was chopping through the log which was blocking the trail.  He was using an ax, his shirt was off and he had a… Continue reading Cowboy Hero

Dog Tongue

Wheeler PeakNew MexicoJuly  2013 Hiking down, hiking down from Wheeler Peak from an elevation of 13 161 feet in the Sangre de Christo Mountains.  The Blood of Christ. We are interrupted by a tongue. A couple of hikers pass us with their dog.  The sloppy tongue belongs to the dog.  You’re not surprised, are you? … Continue reading Dog Tongue

Naked II

Allegheny Front TrailBlack Moshannon State ParkPennsylvaniaSeptember  2003 In Naked I, I wrote, “According to the register at trailhead, no one has been here in the last seventeen days.  There may be, at this moment, no one within miles of me.” If you assumed I was talking about people, you are thinking the same thing I’m… Continue reading Naked II

Naked I

Allegheny Front TrailBlack Moshannon State ParkPennsylvaniaSeptember  2003 On the first day of my four-day solo trip, I stop ten miles into the wilderness to make camp.  The rain has stopped and I find an attractive area for camp, right by a stream in the draw between the leading edge of the front and some other… Continue reading Naked I