Category: The Moosilauke Letters

Big Bend National ParkTexasNovember  2018 The Boquillas Canyon Trail begins at the cul-de-sac of a spur road and climbs up from the parking lot to the top of a cliff overlooking the Rio Grande.  The Big River, defining the border between Mexico and the United States, is narrow and unimpressive at this spot.  Across the… Continue reading The Scary, Dangerous Mexican

KansasMarch  2013 The highest land point in Pennsylvania is Mount Davis (3213 feet) on Negro Mountain.  Negro Mountain?  Yah.  It was named after a Black man who had something to do with fighting on the side of the white guys against the Native Americans in the French and Indian War.  No one knows his name.… Continue reading White Woman Creek

Grand Canyon National ParkArizonaJune  2009 After camping in the Grand Canyon for two nights, it was time to move on.  We packed up, loaded the car and drove out on the windy road.  Promptly, I hit a deer.  First time for me.  Banged into the deer, who kept right on going, over the guardrail and… Continue reading Oh Deer!

Frick ParkPittsburghJune  2016 Dan & Whit’s is a country store in Norwich, Vermont.  They say, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!”  It’s printed right on their T-shirts. I’m wearing one of these clothing articles right now.  I am in the midst of a long, hard training hike in Frick Park.  A runner… Continue reading If We Don’t Have It, You Don’t Need It

Laurel HighlandsPennsylvaniaJuly  1991 We first arrive for our hike at a cabin owned by one of Scott’s hunting acquaintances.  Apparently the cabin has not been used for quite a while because just outside the bathroom door, I stumble across a very old mouse.  So old that it’s actually just a mouse-shaped heap of dust with… Continue reading Walking the Tunnel

December  1993 How safe is it in the woods?  Is there an eternal, undeniable, inescapable risk of life and limb?  Are bear really as dangerous as we have heard?  Or are they as goofy and playful as Yogi, or as philosophical as Pooh? There are, of course, no definitive answers to these questions, but there… Continue reading Bear Come Down — Those Homicidal Bear

Bear MountainConnecticutMay  2014 Back to Bear Mountain, almost the highest point in the state of Connecticut. Hark:  The last bear in this neighborhood was shot in 1821, I’m told.  So maybe the mountain is not named after a bear.  Maybe it was named after being bare.  And since the area was bare — cleared clean… Continue reading Bear Come Down — Bear Mountain

Yosemite National ParkCaliforniaAugust  2003 We are on day six of an extraordinarily beautiful loop hike in one of my favorite places on Earth, Yosemite National Park.  Tonight we are in the backpackers campground, a kind of layover for folks who are, for example, on day six of an extraordinarily beautiful loop hike, or for folks… Continue reading Bear Come Down — Blondie

Baxter State ParkMaine Chimney Pond Campground, in the shadow of Mount Katahdin.  We have our dinner and relax for the evening, sitting by the pond with some other hikers, swapping stories with Ranger Mark, mostly Mark’s stories.  Our food bag is already hung on the bear line, a wire suspended some eleven feet above the… Continue reading Bear Come Down — Hanging

SalisburyConnecticutMay  2014 Today, we hike Bear Mountain in Connecticut, just about the highest summit in the state. The woman working behind the desk at the “beautifully decorated boutique country inn” where we stay one night, asks, “Where are you off to today?” When I use the phrase, “beautifully decorated boutique country inn,” I am quoting… Continue reading Bear Come Down — Clots