Thru-Hiker Scribe

Pristine Lakes & Other Finds on the CDT

Sometimes you find a beautiful spot but your tent doesn't quite fit. In this case, I just couldn't pass it up and wedged my tent in anyway. This beautiful lake in the Winds was such a treat. I even had a weekender out with his family come and visit for a bit, some welcome social time after a number of days hiking alone.

Notes on the Basin

After hiking through Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Pintler Wilderness, Yellowstone National Park, the Wind River range and countless other breathtaking locations with epic vistas and natural wonders, many CDT hikers dread "the basin" in southern Wyoming. I had been hearing about it for hundreds of miles, with lots of fearmongering on...

Scribe's Daily Warmup

With any sport or activity, it is generally a good idea to warm up your body to prepare it for what is to come and to reduce the chance of injury. Long distance backpacking is no different. Although many people just roll out of their tents and start walking each day with no stretching or warmup whatsoever, I have found that doing a little warmup routine helps wake up my muscles and...

Backpacking in Grizzly Country

Grizzly bears are a different story. While they don't necessarily mean you any harm and also would gladly steal your peanut butter and granola tortillas, grizzlies have a reputation to swat first and ask questions later, and that first swat from a creature as powerful as a grizzly...

Balancing HYOH and Hiking with Others

Hike Your Own Hike- one of the most commonly spouted bits of advice from hikers to hikers, used both as encouragement and also in leiu of "well, do what do want". Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH) is so commonly tossed around that it has become rather cliché despite its relevance and importance. It refers to...

Trail Update: Hiking in High Spirits

I returned to trail refreshed, a full heart and full pack on my back. I embarked on this section alone, as my hiatus had separated me from everyone I had met and hiked with thus far on this trail. Being totally on my own for the first time on this trail was bittersweet. I missed my friends, but...

Challenge: Can You Eliminate Single-Use Plastics From a Thru-Hike?

Perhaps with some more time and research, I would be able to find reusable items that do meet my needs, but for now I am sticking with the Smartwater bottles. Next time I hike, I am interested in finding a way to eliminate the zip top bags and doing more research to find the right product to meet my needs

Choose Your Own Adventure: Planning Routes and Taking Alternates on the CDT

I love that this trail allows me to set my own path, for better or worse, and that my trail family and I could all take different routes and then come back together with stories to share. Choose your own adventure out there- it's all about the journey!

Crossing Into Wyoming: Yellowstone, Old Faithful, and the Grand Tetons

The sun finally reappeared the day I hit the 1,000 mile marker and entered Yellowstone National Park and it stayed out while I wandered the boardwalks with hundreds of tourists exploring the thermal pools, hot springs and geysers near Old Faithful. After being in the woods for so long, the crush of people, the traffic jammed parking lots and screaming children felt more like Disney world than a national park...