How to Take Your First Backpacking Trip

Want to try out backpacking but don’t know where to start? Then this post is for you! I go through the nitty gritty – where to start, how to choose a trail, how to plan your trip, and what to bring to get you out hiking and camping for an overnight or more.

How to Spend Three Days Hiking and Camping Around Moab, Utah

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on April 22, 2019. Now that I’ve moved out to Colorado, Western wilderness adventures are that much more accessible. To keep myself sane while working a desk job and dreaming of my next long trail, I’m doing my best to take advantage of the geography. This past weekend, I

Why You Shouldn’t Fear the Virginia Blues on the Appalachian Trail

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on February 1, 2019.  Appalachian Trail thru-hiker hopefuls, strap in. You’re headed for a wild, beautiful, life-altering, incredibly meaningful, and downright magical ride. I remember the beginning of the trail vividly. You’re nervous, you’re excited, you’re meeting people, so many people, every single day. At the welcome center at

How to Hike West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on November 21, 2018. I’ve been going through trail withdrawal hard since finishing my AT thru-hike in September. With winter quickly approaching and hiking season winding down, I decided to peel myself off my couch and do something about it. I finally checked off a bucket list item and

The Comedown from Katahdin: Recovering From the Appalachian Trail and the Post-Trail Blues

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on October 12, 2018.  It’s been about a month since I finished my thru-hike. I’ve been wanting to write—wanting to put into words what it all meant to me, but I’ve struggled to pick up the pen (or, you know, keyboard). The Post-Trail Blues I’ve struggled with a lot

Maine: I’ve Reached the Promised Land of the Appalachian Trail

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on September 25, 2018.  Maine. The way a thru-hike should be. The reward for hiking almost 2,000 miles prior to arrival. The promised land. There’s a good reason we got to Maine and proceeded to stay for almost an entire month. Sure, Southern Maine’s terrain is difficult, and almost

A Tale of a Muddy Trail, and Muddier Relationships

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on August 10, 2018.  I have a lot of feelings about Vermont. Or rather, I had a lot of feelings in Vermont. Some were good, some were bad. Either way, I don’t think I could write honestly about my experience there without sharing them. So, I’ll start with the

Connecticut and Massachusetts: Gateways to the North on the Appalachian Trail

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on August 7, 2018.  Connecticut and Massachusetts were a bit of a blur, though both perfectly lovely states to hike through, and nice gateways to the north. Connecticut only boasts about 50 miles of trail and Massachusetts about 90, and we were feeling strong throughout, so they went by

There’s Magic on the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on July 9, 2018.  New Jersey has been such a pleasant surprise. After the trials of Pennsylvania, which included a heat wave (where I may or may not have gotten heat exhaustion), a storm that produced five inches of rain in one night (you better believe my tent flooded,

The Grayson Highlands: Virginia’s Fairyland

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on May 24, 2018 The evening before we would enter Grayson Highlands State Park, we had to scramble to make it to a shelter as a big lightning storm rolled in. We had dillydallied at the bottom of a two or so-mile hill, sipping a trail magic PBR and