Greetings from Riga, Latvia. Yes, a bit off the beaten path here along the arc of the Baltic Sea. Yet even here one hears intermittent interest in America’s great trail of the masses, the Appalachian Trail. And of course when someone mentions it, I feed it. “It’s the best way to see America,” I regale audiences. “Don’t go to Disney World or Las Vegas. You will get to see the real America on the Appalachian...

The following article: http://www.mercurynews.com/travel/ci_23387926/pacific-crest-trail-finds-itself-wildly-popular-this   is very good news. The number of hikers who filed for PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) thru-hiking permits has almost doubled to 1,004. Some worry. Donna Sauffley, who runs the most renowned hiker hostel on the PCT, worries about the impact on the environment, as well as the crush of hikers that will arrive at the same time at...

  Let me assure you of two things. First, if you have gotten the idea of attempting an Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hike lodged in your head, the great odds are that sooner or later you will find yourself–backpack bravely strapped on–facing north at Springer Mountain in north Georgia. That is the good news. The bad news–and I am even more sure of this–is that you will never find a perfect time to attempt your...

Outdoor adventure narratives are a cottage industry. And for good reason. A cursory look at history shows that the deepest yearning of humans is to move. “The great affair is to move,” wrote Pascal in his Pensees’s. “Complete calm is death.”Indeed, from our earliest time as a species, humans have sought to better their plight by perpetual motion, the Bedouins, Kurds, Aborigenes, to name but a few with this...

Woo-hoo!  It’s opening day at Hiker Heaven, and there are two hikers in da house!  Volunteers Shelly Skye (aka Upside Down ’12) and Mike Shostak (aka Clutch ’12) have already made a big dent in preparations.  Cucumber Boy and Three Gallon (’07) donated a 27′ RV that will be used for volunteer housing.  There are so many amazing ways to “Serve The Herd!”  I am so grateful and full of anticipation for...

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-robert-redford-walk-woods-richard-linklater-20130403,0,3308669.story “Robert Redford just bought the movie rights to Bryson’s book,” someone reported to me at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in 2005 during my thru-hike. This, incidentally, is the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail. Thru-hikers are renowned for attempting to eat a half-gallon of ice cream in an...