Beth and I found ourselves in yet another Sheetz Gas Station. This was our holy city, after all. Muslims had their Mecca, Jews had their Jerusalem, and DCUL had Sheetz. We had come to make our mandatory sacrifice before going off into the mountains for the weekend. Some say that if you skip this part... Continue Reading →

IT'S GREAT BEING RED A quick disclaimer that I am not trying to match David O's creative writing prowess of "It's Not Easy Being Green". This is merely an attempt to highlight another humble amphibian that became the unofficial mascot of our Wild Oak Trail hike: Red-Spotted Newt. We've counted 22 of these little guys... Continue Reading →

Number one rule of hiking is "DON'T GET DEAD!". One of the corollaries of that rule is "DON'T RUN OUT OF WATER IN THE DESERT". The issue of water was definitely on my mind as I was planning a backpacking trip to the Arizona's Superstition Mountains Wilderness. This part of Tonto National Forest is rugged... Continue Reading →

2025 upon us, we ventured out on January 2nd to Shenandoah (SNP) for two nights of backpacking to start hiking in the new year and take in the hunter-free woods on this, the last week of rifle season in Virginia for every public forest in the state not federally protected like this national park.  There... Continue Reading →