Category: The Moosilauke Letters

Quebec Run Wild AreaPennsylvaniaApril  2016

Red RockPennsylvaniaOctober  2000 One night, we stay in a two-room cabin in Red Rock, Pennsylvania, just south of the natural wetlands, old growth forest and great variety of waterfalls at Ricketts Glen State Park.  We stay in this cabin because last night, when we camped out, my toothpaste froze solid. We walk into the office… Continue reading One Night a Cabin

Shake and shakeThe catsup bottle.None will come,And then a lot’ll. — Richard Armour (1906 – 1989)

GoodlandKansasMarch  2013 Eighteen miles past Kanorado, at Goodland, Kansas, stand the largest sunflowers one is ever likely to see.  We are in the car, without directions, but if this flora is as big as I’ve heard it is, we’ll have no trouble finding it.  Yep, here we are, next to Bubba’s Meat Block and Bill’s… Continue reading Sunflower

Wheeler PeakNew MexicoJuly  2013 In order to hike to Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico, we must first walk in the Carson National Forest.  These woodlands were named for Christopher Houston Carson, better known as “Kit Carson.” Lisa hears Kit Carson and thinks of a PTA mom.  I think Kit Carson sounds like… Continue reading Kit Carson

Cañon CityColoradoJune  2018 If you want, or if Lisa encourages you, you can walk across a bridge that is 955 feet high.  That is, 955 feet of air below you.  If your hat were to blow off, or if you dropped your book of Chaucer poems, it would take about nine seconds to get to… Continue reading Royal Gorge Bridge

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

The White MountainsNew Hampshire1983 / 2013 One of the remarkable things I have come upon in my travels is the Old Man of the Mountain.  To wit… Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades;  shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe, jewelers a monster watch and the dentist hangs out a gold… Continue reading The Great Stone Face

Rachel Carson TrailHampton TownshipPennsylvaniaFebruary  2016

Frick ParkPittsburghSeptember  2012 A couple days ago on a training hike (they’re all training hikes) I saw a snake among the partially submerged rocks at a little creek junction.  Yesterday I saw another snake in the same place.  This morning, again at the same junction,I saw a snakeskin on a rock just under the surface… Continue reading Not a Snake