travel light, wake early, walk far
In front of us was a 5-lane highway full of insane rush-hour traffic. Behind us, there was nothing. After a median and another 5 lanes of heavy traffic, there was a raging river full of floating logs and man-eating alligators. And beyond that our backpacks, the Tuscarora Trail, and freedom. Without saying much, we all... Continue Reading →
Still groggy from awaking after an all night rainfall, I leaned over my freshly packed backpack, strapping my drenched tent onto it. Steve (“Baconator”) approached and we exchanged the same “how did you sleep” small-talk conversation everyone makes each morning of a backpacking trek. He then took out a stiletto knife and suddenly everything went... Continue Reading →
All of that is to say that it’s hard to guarantee perfection in Maine in the winter, but it’s easy to make sure you have a group of people who can roll with the conditions and have fun while doing it.
The diner waitress looked sympathetic as she poured the coffee. “Tough night, Sweetie?” she asked Kyle (“Water Dog”). Water Dog sat at a booth sized for eight people but with only one person, Logan, across from him. Seven people followed him into the wilderness in the aftermath of the region’s first major snowfall in two... Continue Reading →
Roller Coaster warning. Credit: John Marier Over the three-day Martin Luther King weekend, eight DCUL backpackers (and one slack-packing dog) tackled the infamous Virginia Appalachian Trail (AT) "Roller Coaster" northbound from Manassas Gap to Snickerville Gap. This section of unrelenting climbs and descents is the area that most gives the AT in Virginia its reputation for "PUDS"... Continue Reading →
DC UL Backpacking 