Category: Uncategorized
-
On the Big Sky Alternate Route
From where I am sitting right now life and time feel like such contrasting things, yet they are so closely intertwined. We live life for a certain amount of time and then we die. I’m thinking about this because I am sitting by myself in a very large open area surrounded by rising mountains. Down…
-
Big Sky, Small World
Today I was watching three tiny bugs spend a half hour going around and around on the top of one small flower. I wondered what it would be like to have your entire world be so small. Then I thought about some of the people I have met. They have been born, grown up, and…
-
Learning to Trust
Being laid back on a long hike is something I’ve seldom done, especially when alone. I might have been able to push over the next big climb, but I suspect I would not have enjoyed it. I’m learning to trust on a whole new level—not the external trail but myself. It feels like I am…
-
Hiking Cross-Country: It’s About Trust
Updated: Aug 5, 2021 trail angels Dean, Jackie, Shannon and Paul By Mary Anderson On this section of hike when I am heading cross-country to avoid fires, everything is a lesson in deeper trust. I have little idea of my mileage. I don’t know exactly how much I’ve walked, nor how much more I have…
-
Deep Quiet
It happens every time I walk into a grocery store. I feel overwhelmed by all the possible selections, and my brain seems to shut down. I walk from aisle to aisle in a state of confusion. I know some of this is because it is such a stark contrast with the simplicity and lack of…
-
Attitudes About Alternate Routes
Trail maintenance crew. I am older than all of them put together There are trail politics around alternate routes. On some trails, such as the Long Trail in Vermont, there really aren’t alternate trails for people to consider. You hike from one end of the state to the other on a very well marked trail.…
-
It Would Be So Easy to Walk Away
Self-discipline is often hard. When I am home it is easy to find reasons to put something off until the next day. But out here on the trail the consequences are much more apparent and often dire. For example, if I just don’t hike because I don’t feel like it one day, I will run…
-
A Warm Welcome in Whitehall
From right: Mayor Mary Janacaro Hensleigh of Whitehall, Montana; Mary; and Shannon. I took off from Butte not exactly sure where I was going. As I was about to embark on a very sun-exposed walk of about 20 miles with almost no water I met Derby, a really kind hiker. We wove our way together…
-
Working Around the Wildfires
It’s not the bears I am most afraid of out here. Lightning on an exposed ridge scares me more. And even more than that, I am concerned about forest fires. I don’t go around in constant fear of them, but I am more wary of them than I am of bears. I keep an eye…
-
A Reminder to Hike Your Own Hike
I am continuously struggling not to compare myself to others out here. Most everyone I meet can outhike me. Sometimes I attribute it to the fact that I am usually more than double their age. But I know there are people my age who are in better shape. If I compare myself to others I…
The Mary Badass 