Let’s face it–Christmas shopping can take on an obligatory cast. What to buy. My experience is that gifts that ‘enable’ make the best Christmas gifts. How about some long-distance hiking narratives to plant seeds in the recipients minds. I was 44 years-old and had never spent the night outside when I decided to attempt to thru-hike the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail. I was so taken with the experience that I decided to...

Amazon Prime members: It’s the first of the month again. Could I suggest a hiking book that you can upload on Amazon Kindle for free? Why? If you are like me, you select your reading material looking for something that could be life changing in some way, shape, or form. Outdoor narratives have the potential to carry the reader far and wide, giving a perspective–perhaps even fortitude–one theretofore lacked. Bill Walker is the...

Emma Roberts of Nanny Magazine recently sent me the article below on the subject of first-aid in long-distance hiking. It is a well-written, commonsense article that first-time hikers would do well to consider. http://www.summernanny.com/blog/10-first-aid-facts-to-know-before-taking-your-first-summer-hike/ I have a few things I would like to add. The cold, wet springtime weather is legendary amongst Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. In fact, it is...

“Twenty-four straight days of rain,” they lament proudly. I’ve heard the Class of 2003 many times get together to reminisce ad-infinitum about their thru-hikes. There is nothing unusual about that. Heck, that was the specific reason the annual Trail Days Festival was started in the first place–for hikers from prior years to reunite with their old trail comrades. It has been a smashing success; long-distance hikers are...

Bill Walker (‘Skywalker’) will be having a two-day free upload (April 27 and 28) of his newly released outdoor adventure narrative, Getting High–The Annapurna Circuit in Nepal (2013). This is the story of his trek on Europe’s most popular footpath, the Annapurna Circuit. Walker ardently makes the case that the Annapurna Circuit is the best way for an average person like himself to experience the world’s greatest...

“If you want to see America, hike the Appalachian Trail,” I have told many Camino de Santiago pilgrims. “Don’t go to Disney World or Las Vegas.” This is sincere advice. Having lived and traveled extensively overseas, I am acutely sensitive to the persistent current of anti-Americanism running through Europeans of all stripes. A discussion of the origins of this virus is beyond the purview of this article. But...