Category: Uncategorized
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Keeping Fear and Misery in Perspective
People keep asking me if I am afraid to be on the trail alone. Yes, I am leery of grizzly bears, icy snowfields, and raging rivers, but my experience driving across country last May was as scary as a lot of things I encounter on the trail. When I hit the deer I thought the…
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Rambling Thoughts While Hiking
By Mary Anderson For a long time I ate no meat, and for a while I was a total vegan. Then I lived on a tiny island near Labrador, Canada, and I realized that being a vegan was not only impractical there, it went against my mammalian nature. If I was to really survive in…
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Just a Struggling Old Lady Who Likes to Hike
I continue to be surprised at how many different ways something can be viewed. When I meet someone hiking down a mountain while I am hiking up, they often tell me, “You’re almost to the top.” I’ve learned this can mean anything from one to three miles. I’ve passed hikers who tell me there is…
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What I’ll Remember: Ennis to Big Sky
Being happy and feeling successful when finding a trail. Losing the trail ten steps later. Hooking up with Jenn, whom I had met on Facebook back in May, and hiking together for three days. Taking thirty photos in a day because the views were so spectacular. Watching a bald eagle soar overhead. Enjoying having sobo…
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A Lesson in Wants Versus Needs
Anticipation is a funny thing. So often I anticipate something only to be disappointed when the event actually happens. Sometimes the anticipation is actually the more enjoyable part of the whole experience. But yesterday I knew my anticipation was well placed. I would not be disappointed, no matter what. I had not even seen the…
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What I Do in Town
I thought it would be interesting to share a town day. In the old days, when people lived rurally on the farm, going to town was a big deal. Town days are still big events for many long-distance hikers, though to be honest I find them exhausting and a bit disconcerting. Sometimes I am eager…
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Seeing What You Look For
I can tell what I am looking for by what I see. When I began hiking the southern half of the Continental Divide Trail last year, I often saw tents. They weren’t really there, but I saw them nevertheless. I was alone with no one to talk with for as long as ten days at…
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Pros and Cons of Setting Goals
By Mary Anderson Goals can be a great motivator, but they can also blind us to daily life. A company might achieve a goal at the expense of its workers. Some achieve career goals by not spending quality time with their children. Out here on the trail the goal of finishing can cause a hiker…
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Learning to Slow Down
Walking the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail, one step at a time. I slowly and painfully lift my stiff body from a sitting position on the ground. I stare at my pack, willing it to levitate into position on my back. When that doesn’t work, I give a grunt and lift it into position, buckling and…
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Thru-hiking: A Glossary of Terms
Yard sale: When a hiker pulls everything out of their pack to dry or resupply. Thru-hiker: Someone who does the whole trail. Section hiker: One trying to do whole trail in two or more years. Sobo: Doing it from north to south (SOuthBOund). Nobo: From south to north (NOrthBOund). Trail name: People take on trail…
The Mary Badass 