Category: The Moosilauke Letters

Black Forest TrailPennsylvaniaJune  2006 After 9.8 miles, we are back at trailhead, leisurely loading our gear into the back of the car.  I hear peeping in the nearby brush.  I look over to see a subtle rustling of the boot-high grass.  I take a tentative step toward the commotion.  It is at this moment that… Continue reading Look at the Grouse!

Wilderness Survival WeekendThe Uncharted Wilds of PennsylvaniaFebruary  2007 Let’s say you are caught out in the woods and you are lost and you have mostly run out of supplies like food and water, and you didn’t bring a tent and you are by yourself and it’s getting dark.  Y’know, a typical hike. Okay, not really… Continue reading Can You Drink Your Own Pee?  II

Driskill MountainLouisianaJune  2012 It is hot, very hot, the kind of hot that relentlessly sucks the water out of your body.  It is 102° hot.  If you are a hiker, you know that you hike whatever the weather.  It’s what you’ve got.  Especially when you are from Pittsburgh and you don’t get to Louisiana very… Continue reading Can You Drink Your Own Pee?  I

…not quite a hiking article,but my brother Laurence often walked when others rode… I grew up with two older brothers, each one smarter than the other.  I’ve said to each one, “I smile because you are my brother.  I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it.” This is how they see the… Continue reading Brother Wisdom

All Over the PlaceWednesday, February 26, 2020 Two things made this difficult. The first is that on some days, when I felt ill and barely had energy to keep moving, I was able to make it around the block. The second was carving out the time, especially on travel days.  So it became day or… Continue reading 1000

Bigelow WildernessMaineAugust  1992 Ever since I first heard of the Appalachian Trail, and since the first time I carried a backpack through a weekend, I thought of the long distance hike from Georgia to Maine.  I’ve been very lucky throughout my backpacking career, in some seasons spending as many as 80 nights on the trail. … Continue reading Thru Hiker

not really any wilderness location at all1992 1The sales guy spends so much time telling me why his mattress is superior to everyone else’s mattress that I become suspicious.  Also tired. 2Lisa suggests I go to Costco for a new mattress.  I’m sure I will be able to find something I like at a great… Continue reading A Matter of Mattress

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

Settlers Cabin ParkPennsylvaniaApril  2015

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?