Earlier in the week I wrote about one aspect of a Labor Day weekend camping trip near Hershey, PA, focusing on the butterflies at Hershey Gardens. Today I wanted to touch on the rest of the trip. We were camped at Gifford Pinchot State Park, a lovely park with lots of amenities situated around Pinchot…Read more Lakes and Caverns (Hershey, PA)
Trips
Butterflies!
While we were technically camping last weekend in southern Pennsylvania, we treated our little travel trailer as a home base for day tripping in and around the Hershey, PA area. One of our stops was Hershey Gardens, perched up on a hilltop across the main road from Hersheypark, where we could see (and hear the…Read more Butterflies!
Calvert Cliffs, MD (Sept 1, 2025)
This past week has been absolutely gorgeous through the Mid-Atlantic. An early glimpse of fall, the temps have been low, the humidity non-existent. There's a hint of a chill in the air, and certain trees seem to suddenly have gotten the cue to start changing color (though, this is almost certainly more due to water…Read more Calvert Cliffs, MD (Sept 1, 2025)
Summer Sunflowers
https://youtu.be/4iJyvVMHBKw It's high summer. Haze, high humidity, intense heat, and the threat of thunderstorms have become a daily routine. Last week, as the temperature briefly dipped into the mid-80s (F), and the forecast included thunderstorms for the next five days, we took a quick opportunity to get out to the local produce farm with a…Read more Summer Sunflowers
Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center
Today I'm going to prioritize the "Flying" part of my persona - it's been extremely hot this week (over 100 deg F for 4 consecutive days), the humidity is up, it's just not comfortable. So in lieu of an outdoor trip the family and I decided to go visit the Udvar-Hazy Center, an extension of…Read more Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center
Lower Your Expectations
I'm going to jump right to the conclusion here - if you want to have a better time outdoors (or perhaps, really anywhere), learn to enjoy the easy trips and take things as they come. Not everything has to be an epic journey. I have long been guilty of looking for bigger, better, longer hikes,…Read more Lower Your Expectations
Technology In The Backcountry
For many of us - certainly myself - getting out into the backcountry is an escape from the modern, connected world we live in. As a matter of fact, when I first started writing this blog in 2016, back before the first of several society-shaking events that have occurred since then, my goal was ostensibly…Read more Technology In The Backcountry
Dayhike: Paw Paw Tunnel, C&O Canal, MD
The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal was built in the late 1700's and through the early 1800's to connect the goods and citizens on the East Coast of a young United States to what was then the western frontier, beyond the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. The utility of the canal was overcome by railroads…Read more Dayhike: Paw Paw Tunnel, C&O Canal, MD
Assateague Island National Seashore, MD
Running for 37 miles along Maryland's eastern shore, Assateague Island is wild Atlantic coast. It's a barrier island, long and slender with the Atlantic Ocean on on the east side and a shallow saltwater bay on the west. In between, several different ecosystems and habitats shift with the seasonal ebb and flow of tides, coastal…Read more Assateague Island National Seashore, MD
Orienteering Basics
If you enjoy hiking (particularly bushwhacking), are good with a topographical map and have a sense of how to correlate terrain features to it, I want to try to encourage you to try competitive orienteering. It's great fun, and excuse to get out and run through the woods with minimal technology - just a map,…Read more Orienteering Basics
Bighorn Sheep… Of The Gods?
Happy Vernal Equinox everybody, and welcome spring! Last week I had to spend a little bit of time in Colorado Springs, CO. I was there with someone who had never been to Colorado, and who really wanted to get out and into the mountains, but we had almost no time for anything fun. Best we…Read more Bighorn Sheep… Of The Gods?
What Type of Outdoor User Are You?
As I've delved more and more into the broader online community, I've been confronted with a bit of a crisis of identity. Like a teenager moving to a new town, I am unmistakably a part of the student body at my new school, and I'm pretty good at getting along with most everybody, but the…Read more What Type of Outdoor User Are You?
Backpacking Haleakala, Maui: Overnight in a Volcano
February 9-10, 2025 -- Most people, when you mention Hawai'i, think of a lush tropical paradise and beautiful beaches. But these islands wouldn't be what they are without the volcanism that created them. On the "newer" islands in particular, Hawai'i has some significant volcanoes that reach above 10,000 feet elevation and create their own weather…Read more Backpacking Haleakala, Maui: Overnight in a Volcano
Resolutions
Happy 2025! I'm back - at least I'm trying to be. I knew that the biggest obstacle to keeping up a site like this was maintaining the routine - and after a few years of dogged semi-consistency, I found too many excuses to STOP. I always told myself I wouldn't be one of those people…Read more Resolutions
Little Stoney Creek
Enjoying a moment of solitude at the end of a long day backpacking. Little Stoney Creek, in GWNF along the VA/WV border. Little Stoney Creek drains the basin between Little Sluice Mountain (east) and Mill Mountain (west), and was a welcome sight after spending the day high and dry among the ridgetops. We also happened…Read more Little Stoney Creek
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 