Overview In October 2016, I was lucky enough to spend almost three weeks camping and hiking with my best friend Karen. We met in Reno (having flown from Alaska and Oregon, respectively) and then worked our way from Yosemite down to Mt. Whitney before cutting east to finish up in Death Valley. We packed so…
Fair warning: Two of the quotes in this article are…creatively applied. They’re close, mind you, but a little off from their original intent. They came to me on the climb, though, so maybe I can blame it on the altitude? Backing up, a friend and I climbed Mt. Whitney in mid-October and it could not…
When I set out on a 3-week road trip of the Eastern Sierras, I did not expect to climb Mt. Whitney. It never entered my mind, but my hiking partner was most definitely thinking about it. She very cleverly (some might say diabolically) kept mum and quietly planned a series of hikes to gradually acclimate to…
Yosemite is one of those bucket-list destinations, and I’m eternally grateful that my fist visit occurred late-season - the place was mobbed, even in October! I realize Karen and I did our part to add to the crowds, but sheesh, shouldn’t people be at work or in school or something?? Don’t misunderstand: I fell in…
With ever-increasing reliance on smart phones, we all need to eek out more battery life from time to time. Small tweaks usually suffice until charging is available, but on a recent extended backpacking trip, I needed to drastically minimize drain to ensure 8 full days on one charge. By invoking the so-called “nuclear option” (described…
Overview In August 2016, a friend and I backpacked the ~104-mile section of the Appalachian Trail that runs through the lovely Shenandoah National Park. To be more precise, Lynn and I began as mere acquaintances, but a friendship slowly emerged through months of online planning, and then blossomed over 7 1/2 days of 24-hour togetherness.…
I spent eight days backpacking through Shenandoah National Park on the Appalachian Trail. Click here for my Trip Summary to find articles, maps, and details around trip prep, packing, and lessons learned. This article picks up where “Preparing to Section-Hike the A.T. through Shenandoah National Park” left off. There, I covered long-range planning tasks including…
I spent eight days backpacking through Shenandoah National Park on the Appalachian Trail. Click here for my Trip Summary to find articles, maps, and details around trip prep, packing, and lessons learned. The Appalachian Trail, aka the AT. Every time I hear that name I have to pause. The AT is known as the granddaddy…
This post summarizes the eighth (last!) of eight days I spent backpacking through Shenandoah National Park on the Appalachian Trail. Click here for my Trip Summary to find articles, maps, and details around trip prep, packing, and lessons learned. Day 8: Calf Mountain Shelter to Rockfish Gap Start: Calf Mountain Shelter, 8am End: Rockfish Gap, 12:35pm…
This post summarizes the seventh of eight days I spent backpacking through Shenandoah National Park on the Appalachian Trail. Click here for my Trip Summary to find articles, maps, and details around trip prep, packing, and lessons learned. Day 7: Blackrock Hut to Calf Mountain Shelter Start: Blackrock Hut, 8:35am End: Calf Mountain Shelter, 5:40pm Total…