After having a relatively minor bout with COVID a few weeks ago, my bride finally felt up to getting out for a bit of a hike. We thought about heading south to Matthiessen State Park near LaSalle, Illinois—a little sister park to her more famous neighbor, Starved Rock. Both have…
“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…
Didn’t seem like a very good day for it last Saturday—cold, cloudy, an icy mist in the forecast—but I felt the need to get some exercise, so suggested to my bride that we go for a walk. We headed to one of our favorite local spots, a multi-use trail that…
I don’t like being cold. Due to the nature of my work, I spend a good bit of time at a desk: reading, studying, administrative stuff. This time of year, it doesn’t seem to matter what I do, my feet and hands are often cold. And I don’t like it….
A few weeks ago, my bride came across a promo for the 365 Adventure Challenge and suggested we take it on. The idea is that we hike a total of 365 miles within a year. I, too, thought it’d be a fun challenge we could pursue together, so I sent…
The air was cool and crisp, but not cold—the sun’s warmth kept any discomfort at bay. The occasional clouds were not a nuisance or obstruction; they added to the texture of the brilliant azure blue sky. Dry leaves swooshed and crunched beneath our feet. Those they had left behind on…
I’m currently in the middle of listening to an audiobook on one woman’s through-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail—the 2,650-mile path from the California-Mexican border to the Washington-Canadian border. The author-hiker shares innumerable difficulties, hardships, dangers, injuries, fears, and failures along the journey. Imagine having to run along the trail…
For many, the exciting anticipation of seeing the peak of Mt. Denali (or Mt. McKinley) ends in disappointment. At an elevation of 20, 310 feet, Denali is the tallest mountain on the North American continent. And of all the mountains on the planet, Denali ranks but third in prominence and…
Aside from a couple multi-day backpacking trips, almost all the hikes I’ve done have been with my bride of almost 41 years. We’ve been on day-hike trails in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arizona, Utah, California, Alaska, Costa Rica, and Malaysia. Surely, I’m…
