-
Appalachian Trail, Part 3
I felt no pain, but I was depleted of energy with every step and gasp for oxygen I took up Little Hump and Hump Mountains. It became worse with every false summit we encountered. I had stayed positive most of the trip, but it becomes devastating when you think you have reached the ultimate peak and see yet another in front of you when you think you can’t take another step. All I wanted to do at this point was get to the end of our section of the Appalachian Trail (AT), but I didn’t speak it. Looking back on climbing Hump Mountain, Dee Ann and I can’t agree on…
-
Appalachian Trail, Part 2
Our first morning in Watauga Dam Campground came early. I turned the alarm on my phone off an hour before its scheduled blast at 5 a.m. because I was awake most of the night. Today was the day. Today we would hike a section of the 3,000+ mile historic Appalachian Trail. Adrenaline was surging through my veins as I woke Jim and we stuffed our packs with water, trail snacks, extra wool socks, and gloves in silence. The silence wasn’t for any reason other than Jim doesn’t talk much anymore. Damn Alzheimer’s. We drove into the dark to meet Dee Ann, our local hiking partner, at the McDonald’s in Hampton,…
-
Appalachian Trail, Part 1
A few days after I bought the camper and we headed to Minnesota to begin our journey to outrun my husband Jim’s Alzheimer’s, I received a phone call from my brother-in-law’s cousin Dee Ann. I heard words I had never expected to hear. “I remember you and Jim coming over to our house when I was a teenager. You guys had just come back from a big backpacking trip and you made an impression on me. You two were wearing real hiking boots and clothing that were well worn, and you sat there and didn’t say a word until someone asked about your trip.” “Dee Ann, I didn’t have any…
-
400 Miles from Home
Our best man, Rob, is visiting for a few days this long holiday weekend and it has been one full of reminiscing. Yesterday we went hiking at Giant City State Park and he became overwhelmed with the silence of the forest. He commented on how weird his ears felt with the absence of city noise. Even with the sounds of birds and locusts, the silence was deafening to him. He is used to honking horns and jets overhead. It has been too long since Rob walked in the southern Illinois forests amidst sandstone bluffs. It reminded me of a time about 25 years ago when Rob took us hiking in…
-
Hypothermia on the Chilkoot
This week’s extreme temperatures had most of the nation under seige. Fears of frostbite and hypothermia were very real and hearing the word “hypothermia” took me to another season and time when winter temperatures weren’t necessary to be affected by hypothermia. It was summer in southeast Alaska, so the nights were cold and the days were absolute perfection–as long as lots of sunshine isn’t mandatory for your mental health. Three days in a row were the most I saw the sun shine over the three months I made it my home. I had just spent three months of an environmental education internship in northern Minnesota and decided to travel with backpack…
-
One Red-Headed Cuckoo in the Bush Worth More than Two in the Hand
While in college, my friends and I would take our Christmas break and spend a month in Big Bend, Texas, backpacking and camping. I’m not talking day trips up a little trail and back again. I am talking about carrying everything we needed to survive, on our backs–the guys would have packs ranging from 60 to 65 lbs. and my pack was upwards of 50 lbs. (not too lame for a 5’2”, 100 lb. girly girl). Because we were spoiled and accustomed to luxuries we just could not leave behind, we included things like toilet paper, toothbrush, novel, and flashlight alongside our necessities such as tent, warm clothes, food, water,…
