“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 →

Organized within a week of the adventure, this Appalachian Trail hike through the North and Central regions of the Shenandoahs had us living like pioneers. We lived off the land. We skirted sheriffs taking down alleged bad guys. We reenacted classic slapstick comedy. Of course, we also walked and walked. All this action begs one... Continue Reading →

“What does the Devil sound like?” — Anonymous When I was hiking the DCUL “Death March” (Massanutten Trail) last Spring I had a lot of time to think—what do I want to do with my hike? The combination of Massanutten’s never ending rocks, and Twisted Sister’s rock anthem playing in my earbuds, inspired a response—I... Continue Reading →

Every year, DCUL features a 5-day Memorial Day thru hike of one of Pennsylvania’s long trails. As our leader, Karan, posted in his trip description: we just “pick a long Pennsylvania trail and hike the thing!” This year he picked the 85 mile Susquehannnock Trail System (“STS”) trail. DCUL hiked the 100 mile Donut Hole... Continue Reading →