New Mexico or Bust

We're almost ready. After numerous small trips (of escalating difficulty and complexity), skills work, planning sessions, gear shakedowns, shakedowns, and more shakedowns, we're on the homestretch. Within 72 hours, we'll all be headed for Colorado, and then New Mexico, for a two-week expedition. The training has paid off. We've managed to get a bunch of…Read more New Mexico or Bust

Hiking Signal Knob, Massanutten Mountain, VA

Enjoy historic views on this this 10.4-mile loop as a dayhike or a leisurely overnight on the prominent north end of the Massanutten Mountain ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Massanutten is a fifty-mile long ridge that stands alone in the center of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Because of its length, Massanutten forms a significant…Read more Hiking Signal Knob, Massanutten Mountain, VA

Pond Run (or… What Happened to Those New Backpackers)

It started off a little ominously. The morning was dreary, with a foggy overcast that threatened rain.   We had assembled a team of 6 new backpackers, one with a few trips under his belt, and three experienced leaders, including myself.  One of the crew lost a split ring off a cotter pin on his older…Read more Pond Run (or… What Happened to Those New Backpackers)

No Place I’d Rather Be…

Taken on day six of eleven along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, this was atop Stony Man Mountain in Shenandoah National Park.  Though I was tired, run-down, and smelled even worse than I looked - there's no place I'd rather be! This was posted in response to the Daily Post's Weekly Photo Challenge - I'd…Read more No Place I’d Rather Be…