The Rocksylvania rocks had come alive and were chasing us. They wanted revenge, but not just that. They wanted our blood. We were running...gasping for breath. Desperate to get away from the murderous rocks. Mike was the first one to fall. It was unfortunate, but he was the slowest and weakest hiker out of all... Continue Reading →

“It was the best of hikes, it was the worst of hikes, it was the age of endurance, it was the age of blisters, it was the epoch of purpose, it was the epoch of meaninglessness, it was the season of blue skies, it was the season of rain, and it was a time of... Continue Reading →

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 →