Giving up on Isolation
When we set out from Kittery at 6 a.m., I knew we had a grueling day ahead of us: two+ hours to the trailhead, 11.5+ miles of hiking, 5,000+ feet […]
hiking
Hiking to the sun on Mount Fuji
On August 10-11, 2015, I climbed Mount Fuji on Japan’s first annual Mountain Day holiday. My article about this sunrise hike has just been published in the summer 2019 issue […]
Exploring the streets of the mountains in the Onion Valley
On the map, Onion Valley looks remote and inaccessible, an impression confirmed by the drive on a twisting mountain road from Independence, California. In town, we pass the home of […]
Walking with the mothers at Vaughan Woods, South Berwick
South Berwick, Maine — On Mother’s Day this year, I went for a walk with the mothers in Vaughan Woods State Park. Vaughan Woods is a popular local walking spot, […]
Back on the trail to Mount Belknap with Windows to the Wild
On a hot spring day in early May, I met up again with the crew from New Hampshire Public Television’s Windows to the Wild: host Willem Lange and producers Steve […]
Jurassic time-traveling in NH: A hike to Mount Shaw
Up in the White Mountains, winter hangs on long past its official ending date, especially this year, when most of the snow fell in March and April. Even as I […]
Mountain Day on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington
On August 11, 2016, Japan’s inaugural Mountain Day holiday, I was climbing Mount Fuji with my son and thousands of other hikers. We didn’t know it was Mountain Day, but […]
A September walk in the woods: Mount Cabot to Unknown Pond
Mount Cabot or the Carters? As I drove up Pinkham Notch early on a lovely September Saturday, the many cars spilling from every parking lot cinched my decision: on to […]
Closing the door on Angel’s Landing
This time, when I gave up on trying to climb to Angel’s Landing in Utah’s Zion National Park, I knew I wouldn’t be trying again. The third time won’t be […]
Gray jays, great day: A fall hike on Mount Waumbek
Hiking on the Starr King Trail to 4,006-foot Mount Waumbek, it’s hard to believe that this off-the-beaten-path peak once was part of a proposal for a mega-ski resort stretching across […]