Just before Independence Day, a friend and I hiked less than 2% of the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin on an overnight backpacking trek. Sounds rather insignificant, I know. But keep in mind the Ice Age Trail is 1,000 miles long—and all in Wisconsin! Hiking west to east, the trail…
[If you missed previous installments, begin here, or get the background to today’s post here.] What turned out to be our last full day’s hike on the Long Trail began ominously. The torrential rains from the night before died down, but a light rain persisted. With daylight came a clearer…
Due to the unexpected pole incident (read about it here, if you missed it), my sister and I found ourselves at the Green Mountain House a couple of days earlier than our initial reservation. The host graciously made room for us. The Green Mountain House Hostel is a way station…
After yesterday’s disappointment—following the wrong trail, losing ground and precious time—we left the Congdon shelter hopeful that we could make up for it all on our third day on the Long Trail. For the second day in a row, the sun brightened our mood and the forecast looked promising. We…
Aside from a swollen left hand, Day 2 dawned with an air of hopefulness. My sister and I were about 10 miles into our planned 273-mile adventure on Vermont’s Long Trail—the footpath in the wilderness. The previous two Pastor’s Page installments cover the months of preparation up to the actual…
After years of dreaming, months of planning, miles of driving, and an almost 4-mile climb up the Pine Cobble Trail, I finally stood in front of the iconic “Welcome to the Vermont Long Trail” sign. (If you missed last week’s beginning of this adventure, you can read it here: The…
I can’t recall becoming seriously interested in backpacking, but 7 or 8 years ago, I got it in my head that I’d like to hike the Long Trail in Vermont—a 273-mile trail up the spine of Vermont, through the Green Mountains, bordered by the Massachusetts state line in the south…
Should you find yourself at the visitor’s center in Amicalola Falls State Park in Dawsonville, Georgia, it may seem quite odd that just outside the building hangs a scale from one of the support beams. Then again, if you’re at that particular park, you would likely be aware that it’s…
“Nature speaks a silent message that can be heard when conditions are just right.… Truth exists in wild places—where the air is clean, the water pure, the land free.” Scott Stillman, Nature’s Silent Message Honestly, I’m not very good at listening out there…there where the sounds of silence speak volumes…
Living a little under a mile from the church where I serve as pastor, I often walk to the office in the morning to get some exercise. I’ve discovered that listening to an audiobook along the way makes the walk shorter and less routine. There are, after all, only so…
