I clung to a protruding rock outcropping blocking my passage along a narrow ledge on the lip of a cliff over a deep canyon. I stood pinned to the rock wall, my back to the cliff. With my left foot I kicked away some gravel on the ledge, hoping to improve my future stability—one less... Continue Reading →

“Call me Ishmael.” — Herman Melville, Moby-Dick *********** One month Prior: Bryan (Wolverine) texted me to request that I post a backpacking trip during Presidents’ Day Weekend. “It doesn’t have to be epic,” he wrote. (Ha! He should know me better . . .) ***********One month later: Friday night, February 17, 2023, 11:00 p.m. Afton Mountain,... Continue Reading →

The final Corbin Cabin journal entry read: 1.8.23 — This cabin exceeded our expectations! From the Michelin star dining, to the butler turn-down service, to the surprise music appearance of the Eagles, we had no complaints! This was a true luxury camping experience compared to our usual ones—sleeping on the ground outside. —DCUL: Washington, D.C.’s... Continue Reading →

“Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them.” Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes) Hiner Spring, a delightful mountain spring in a grove of pine trees, sits on top of the Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness, west of Staunton, Virginia. It is a terrific place... Continue Reading →

I almost cancelled this Veteran’s Day Weekend backpacking trip. The pre-trip weather report showed the remnants of Hurricane Nicole crashing into our path at the start of the trip, followed by a gale-force cold front dropping wind chill temperatures to the single digits. Wet and frigid weather is an unwelcome combination for a 60 mile... Continue Reading →