Sunset Rocks: Midpoints and Missteps

That's the AT Museum in the background Lisa and I had planned to lead a group hike up Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park. When, at the last minute, participants cancelled, we found ourselves with a beautiful day and no hike to fill it. Looking for something a little closer to home than the …

Let’s Discuss my Meniscus

I have a radial tear in my right meniscus. Actually, the orthopedic PA said, "It's beginning to fray". But I get ahead of myself. About a year ago, I started having some twingy pain in my right knee. It came and went and wasn't really causing me any problems so I ignored it ... like …

Newport State Park’s Newport Trail: Frosted Footpath

Newport State Park is a gem in the Wisconsin State Park system. It's Wisconsin's only wilderness park and an International Dark Sky Park - one of only forty-eight in the world. In the daytime, it's a great place to hike. As it happens, I have not yet written a summertime post on this park. In …

Parkers Creek Wildlife Management Area: Creeks, Eagles, and the Chesapeake Bay – Pick Two

I've been on the hunt for new places to hike that are within about an hour of my home in the Baltimore/Washington area. I'm running out of options. On an overcast October day, I decided I could put in some extra windshield time, so I picked a hike in Calvert County, one of Maryland's southernmost …

Nottingham County Park: Serpentine Barrens … What, Again?

Ten days prior to this I had never heard of serpentine barrens. On September 30th I had hiked at Soldiers Delight (read here) in Owings Mills, Maryland and learned about these unique areas, so-called for the properties of the resident soil and rock. Now I stood facing a sign informing me that I was once …

Race Brook Falls and Mt. Everett: Peak Baggin’ in the Berkshires

The Trailhead I was apprehensive. The previous day's lethargy on the Housatonic River (read here) had me wracked with anxiety about my upcoming 2,200 foot climb up Mt. Everett. I felt good - although I had felt good twenty-four hours earlier as I started up Bread Loaf Mountain in northwestern Connecticut. Then, I had started …

When Pigs Fly South: They’ll Fly You to the Bayou

If you Google "Connecticut cuisine" you're going to get a lot of hits, but Cajun barbecue is not going to be one of them. Steak sandwiches, white clam pizza, mac and cheese, and steamed cheeseburgers top the list; barbecue doesn't even make an appearance. So when, passing through Sharon, Connecticut on my way to hike …

Housatonic Viewpoint and Hatch Brook Falls: Falls Fell Flat

There was plenty to like about this hike, but Hatch Brook Falls was not one of those things. To make matters worse, I was struggling. The day before, I had driven almost five hours, hiked seven miles, and racked up a respectable amount of elevation (read here). I had enjoyed a relaxing morning before heading …

Bash Bish Falls: Bish Bash, I Was Hiking a Path

I had been in the car for almost five hours. Leaving my home in Maryland at around 8:30am, I had driven straight to the Bash Bish Lower Lot in Copake Falls, New York. At the time, New York State was only accepting visitors from a select list of states; fortunately for me, Maryland was on …

Brandywine Creek State Park: Walking with Wyeth

"It's a moment that I'm after, a fleeting moment, but not a frozen moment" ~ Andrew Wyeth The Falls at Brandywine Let me just start by saying that I have no idea if Andrew Wyeth ever trod the trails of Brandywine Creek State Park. What is known is that he was born, lived, and died …