My last town stop on the Colorado Trail was going to be Lake City, the town northbound thru-hikers have been talking about since Leadville. But, honestly, it wasn’t the town’s free movie for hikers or its amazing eateries that called to me; Lake City had a library. Even in the
When hiking, rock climbing, and mountaineering are depicted in pop culture, the emphasis is usually on empowerment, on accomplishing something and feeling good about it. As I’ve said before, one of my favorite things about being around mountains is getting a sense of how very human-sized I am in a
Yesterday, while I was sitting on the side of a Jeep road, eating my lunch and admiring a tiny waterfall that disappeared into the ground, a day hiker on his way to the trail pulled up beside me. He wanted to assure me that this was the boring section of
Every time I leave for a long backpacking trip, people wonder about my safety and my fears. Generally, I feel comfortable saying that I don’t feel afraid in the wilderness. I don’t consider this being foolhardy; I think it’s more the result of understanding the risks and doing my best
It was once pointed out to me that, to a large degree, backpacking is just a matter of learning to go without. We go without frequent showers, without flushing toilets, and without sinks and mirrors. We go without beds at waist height, we go without sheets, and we go without
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