Tag Archives: Adventure

Hiking the North Country Trail Through the Porkies

“Jane, why did you agree to this? Why didn’t you say, ‘Let’s go shopping and see a movie?’” I asked my hiking buddy as we slogged up a steep, muddy, rooted death-trap of a hill. Checking off all of the North Country Trail miles in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park had seemed like suchContinue reading “Hiking the North Country Trail Through the Porkies”

Like an old friend

“How long have you had that backpack, Jen?” I had to stop and think when a friend asked me this question a few weeks ago on a backpacking trip through the Highbanks Rollaway on the Manistee River in northwest lower Michigan. I bought my Gregory 44L in preparation for a section hike on the AppalachianContinue reading “Like an old friend”

A sense of awe

“Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it and my heart is just going to cave in.” This line from the film American Beauty has always resonated with me–it’s exactly how I feel sometimes when I witness natural splendor–an overwhelming sense of awe at the beauty, perfection, andContinue reading “A sense of awe”

Backpacking in the Rain

Forecasts for the weekend varied from 40-60 percent chance of scattered showers, with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. Week three of my new school year was wrapping up, and a getaway seemed like the best thing ever, in spite of the dismal forecast. The hiking route that I had planned was not a great distance,Continue reading “Backpacking in the Rain”