Today I completed guiding my first of three “Wilderness Adventures” for a local summer camp, spending three nights in the Pigeon River State Forest. My 11 campers were between 13 and 15 years of age, from all over Michigan, and a couple from out of state. One of the things that I love about guidingContinue reading “Pigeon River Youth Backpacking Trip”
Category Archives: Hiking and Kayaking Michigan
NPS Sawyer Training
I did not ever imagine that I would put a chainsaw on my Christmas wish list, but last year, I did: a 16” Ego electric saw. I had volunteered to be the steward of several local nature preserves, and part of my duties included trail maintenance. I could either do the maintenance myself, or reportContinue reading “NPS Sawyer Training”
A solo winter’s day hike on the NCT
An unexpected day off and a decent weather forecast: Where should I go hiking? I decided to fill in a gap in my NCT progress through Emmet County, along a stretch that contained enough road walk that I didn’t want to do it when there would be a lot of traffic. A Monday morning seemedContinue reading “A solo winter’s day hike on the NCT”
To build a fire
Starting a fire in your fireplace or a backyard fire pit is a skill that many people feel confident in, but how about starting a fire in the backcountry, without a Duraflame fire starter and a foot-long fire stick lighter? When I first began backpacking, I hadn’t started a fire in years. I had aContinue reading “To build a fire”
Two Flatlanders Attempt Mountains
“Do you still want the shuttle?” appeared in my Messenger alert. I watched the rain hitting the window pane, the tree limbs blowing in the early morning light, and wondered to myself if I did indeed want to be shuttled from this warm and dry place to the southern end of Shenandoah National Park atContinue reading “Two Flatlanders Attempt Mountains”
Out of the classroom and into the woods
“Does anyone want to play ‘Mafia’?” Not something you typically hear on a backpacking trip, but this time, I was chaperoning a group of 13-15 year olds, so nothing I heard really surprised me. When I signed up to lead a couple of wilderness trips for a local summer camp, I felt like I wasContinue reading “Out of the classroom and into the woods”
Gear testing in a low risk environment
A night in the rain provides an opportunity to discover just how well your gear works.
A love song to my tarp(s)
Tarps are a game-changer when rain is in the forecast for your outdoors weekend.
Wild Childhood
Growing up on the lakes, and in the woods.
Hiking: A History Lesson
My roots as a history nerd run deep, probably from the time my mom began reading me the Little House series, when I was a child. Because my parents’ idea of a vacation often involved sailing or cross-country skiing, we saw a lot of Michigan, and often our destinations had historical significance, such as theContinue reading “Hiking: A History Lesson”
Exploring Michigan and other cool places 