Category: The Moosilauke Letters

Frick ParkPittsburghOctober  2019 Am I prepared for the rain?  After decades of hiking in every kind of weather condition (except earthquake,) am I ready for the rain?  With thousands of miles of experience on the trail, what kind of question is that?  Why wouldn’t I be ready!  Of course I’m ready for the rain. Except… Continue reading When Rain Disagrees

all the time, as much as possible Walking, they tell me, is good for you. Greek philosopher Diogenes uttered the phrase Solvitur Ambulando, which means “It is solved by walking.”  Erasmus of Rotterdam, teacher and philosopher 500 years ago, recommended a walk before and after supper.  16th and 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes had an… Continue reading Walking

New MexicoNovember  2015 Less than an hour into our drive north of El Paso, we are routed onto a side lane approaching what looks like a toll booth with accompanying overhang.  There are differences.  On the way to the booth, I notice two banks of six security cameras each.  Twelve cameras flanking the lane.  How… Continue reading Border Patrol

Laurel Highlands Hiking TrailPennsylvaniaJuly  2010 One time I led a long, tough day-hike through the Pennsylvania wilderness.  One of my hikers reported that the day before, she told a co-worker that she’d be hiking 13 miles today, with some good challenging hills too.  Her office mate said, “Yeah?  Who’s making you do that?”

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

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

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?

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

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

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