travel light, wake early, walk far
Santa Catalina Island is located just off the coast of greater Los Angeles and features a gem of a trail called the Trans Catalina Trail or "TCT" for short. You may have heard of Santa Catalina Island from the movie Step Brothers (queue the Catalina Wine Mixer memes). With the weather on the island usually... Continue Reading →
Photo: Logan. We love our traditions around here. One week after DC UL’s annual Four State Challenge, we launched our third post-presidential election week escape from DC to the 75-mile Quehanna Trail in north-central Pennsylvania. In 2016, I vividly remembered our shell-shocked faces after a surprisingly tumultuous week as we gathered at the trailhead on that... Continue Reading →
The 2024 DC UL Four State Challenge was one for the books! A cool and clear fall weekend set the perfect backdrop for a trek across four states (VA, WV, MD, PA) in a single day on the Appalachian Trail. This year, our participants were Austin ("Citrus"), Brian, Steve ("Baconator"), Kyle ("Water Dog"), Aneesh, and... Continue Reading →
Somewhat last minute I posted a DCUL trip to Duncan Knob/Strickler knob. Because it was near the end of October I billed it as a “Fall Foliage / Spooky Trip.” It seemed like the perfect time to check out this section of the Massanutten area: the fall colors were anticipated to be at their peak... Continue Reading →
Everyone knows of the Black Forest Trail in north central Pennsylvania. Fewer people in the USA know of another “Black Forest” a lot further away—in Germany. Weirdly, the Germans call their Black Forest “Schwarzwald.” (I assume Pennsylvania beat Germany to the trademark rights to “Black Forest,” or Germany’s version is just a knockoff of Pennsylvania’s).... Continue Reading →
DC UL Backpacking 