Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups Ouachita Trail Trip Report If you had read this post you will have known the general plan for my thru hike of the Ouachita trail was broken into two parts - a group trip and a solo trip. The group trip was to start Saturday November 23 from Pinnacle Mountain State Park and hike
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups The Final Mile One of my father's childhood Scout leaders and mentors was a man named Bill Hall. Bill lived in the same town we did, and I met him several times. He was a forester by trade, and I can vividly remember tramping through the woods with Bill and my
Scout Stuff A Philmont Story, Trail Crew 1989 In 1987, a couple of members of my Scout troop joined those from a neighboring town attending a trek at Philmont. Back then my troop prided itself with our annual "50-miler" backpacking excursions along Vermont's Long Trail. The tales of Philmont spurred my troop to send
Scout Stuff I was so pathetic I was 12 on my first backpacking trip - a 50-miler with Troop 676, Essex, Vermont. It was on Vermont's Long Trail, from North Adam's Massachusetts to Peru, Vermont. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of that first year (1984.) 1985, however, was a
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups Honeymoon Trip Our plans had been to go do 5 days on Isle Royale National Park - hopefully with friends. Unfortunately, nobody has signed up to join us, and I waited too long to book the boat. By the time I tried, the boat openings available would not work with our schedule.
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups The Hardest Day In November of 2022, on the Lone Star Trail (LST) north of Houston, I assisted a crew of Boy Scouts from San Antonio on a beginner-level backpacking "50-miler." Most on the crew were strong, older scouts who had done some 1-2 day backpacking trips before, but never a
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups BBNP Memorial Day Trip Report As you may know, Tina had a complete knee replacement surgery in November of 2022. Prior to that we had been taking multi-day backpacking trips, but we limited those to what her body would do. She knew her knees were bad, and had gotten a number of injections into them
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups Superior Hiking Trail 2022 Vlog This is a post of the raw/unedited vlog entries Tina or I made, unedited, for our September 2022 12 day trip on the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota. Some of this might be crap. We're not video editors. This is just the raw feed! Enjoy! Day 1
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups Elk Creek Loop Lessons Learned On July 1-4, 2022 Chris Spears and I traveled to Southern Colorado to do a "shakedown" trip with his daughter Maxine on the Elk Creek, Valle Verde loop in preparation for the 4-Pass Loop trip that we would go on August 5-8. This was my first time ever
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups Colorado 4-Pass Loop Trip Report, August 5 - 8, 2022 Friday August 5th: We Drove from Manitou Springs to Crested Butte trail head and arrived around 11:30 am. After group picture taking, myself, Chris Spears , his nephew, and his daughter began our climb. We debated clockwise or counterclockwise around the loop right up until we got to the decision
Educational My pre-trip planning documents for the LSHT Had someone ask me how I plan for a backpacking trip. I'm sure everyone's planning system is completely different. Mine varies greatly by what the hike is. Some hikes are more about route planning and making sure you have good maps and know the elevation changes
Trails Reviews/Wrap-ups Trip Report - March 11-13 2021 Before my divorce last year I had been quite active with a pair of Scout Troops in San Antonio. The crossroads of Scouting and backpacking go a long way back for me. It was Scouts that first introduced me to the sport, and it was in Scouts that I accomplished
Personal Growth The Regret of Finishing 8 Days on LSHT I completed the LSHT over Thankgiving week in November of 2021 with one of my dearest friends. Our week was full of long days on trail, silly anecdotes, new experiences, and varying degrees of exhaustion. Recovery aside, ending 8 days on a trail had some unexpected side effects, but I&
Gear Reviews Lone Star Hiking Trail Breakdown Stream! Just four LSHT hikers talking about the trail and also talking shop! Join Chris, Rob, Brian, and Brekken for way too much chatter about backpacking stuff!
