It wasn’t until last Sunday evening, when I saw the yellow moon in the lavender sky that I remembered how much I liked being outside at night. I mean walking outside, without artificial lights. Of course I’ve been out at night – but briefly: between my studio and the house, or the house and the […]
Lessons from the Long Trail
On the Trail Again
Since finishing my end-to-end hike on September 8, 2016, I’ve been back on the trail three times. Each time, the trail’s both different and the same. It always feels good to be back in the saddle: boots laced, water bottle filled, pack shouldered. As soon as I hit the trail I remember what a wonderful […]
Recipes for the Food We Carried
As promised, here are recipes for the food we carried on the Long Trail. GENERAL INFORMATION I purchased most of the ingredients for these recipes from the Brattleboro Food Coop, which runs a fabulous bulk department of grains, legumes, nuts, dried fruits, seeds and spices. I bought shelf-stable cheese tortellini, and prepackaged foods like pasta […]
The Food We Carried
Most of our planning was about the food we carried. Jan nixed my idea to eat beans and rice three times a day. “We need variety,” she said. “And texture.” “But none of those instant backpacking meals,” I said. “No way!” Jan agreed. While backpacking in the White Mountains earlier that summer, I’d witnessed the […]
Living Outdoors
Hiking the Long Trail meant living outdoors for twenty-five days. During that time, we had rain, thunder, heat, humidity and frost. We slept inside shelters, in our tent or under the stars, and we cooked, dined and bathed out-of-doors. We spent all day every day hiking, averaging eleven miles a day and eleven hours on […]