Category: Uncategorized
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Hiking My Own Hike
Along the Continental Divide Trail heading south toward Whitehall, Montana, mid July 2021. Photo by Mary Anderson. Hikers often give feedback to other hikers. “Stay at this hostel.” “Make sure to hike the San Juans.” “Don’t start too soon or the snow will be really bad.” Some hikers get adamant that their way is the…
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Saying Good-bye
“A friend told me that one of the hardest things about losing someone was having love with no place to put it.” By Mary Anderson There is a social aspect to many long-distance hikes. People meet for the first time and end up spending weeks or months together. It is such an important part of…
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The Burdens We Carry
It is easy to recognize out here that we all choose to carry different loads. Some go ultralight, carrying no stove and little food, preferring instead to walk really long days. Others carry a lot of extras. I met one hiker carrying an eight-ounce battery-powered toothbrush. For him that was really important. My toothbrush weighs…
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What I’ll Remember from the Bob
By Mary Anderson Being in the heart of wildness with no roads for 100 miles. Experiencing lots of biting flies and mosquitoes. Seeing many colors of butterflies, including orange, blue, and lemon yellow. Learning a lot about horsepackers. Going over, under, and through the worst blowdowns I’ve ever experienced. Hiking in record heat. Crossing many…
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Fear Is a Funny Thing
I have been asked at least 100 times if I am afraid of bears. The answer is no. I take precautions and carry bear spray. I carry a bear-resistant food bag and hang food when necessary. I make noise when going through thick vegetation. But I don’t go around in fear expecting to be attacked…
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Thoughts While Hiking on Crutches
We are encouraged to take something at the slightest sign of pain. We are not encouraged to sit in those painful places and learn from them. Hiking on crutches in the Great Basin of Wyoming By Mary Anderson Crutches come in many forms. Whether they are an aid for walking or a drug to help…
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Saving for a Sunny Day
Snow is melting everywhere around me. It is pouring out of the mountains. I pass close to twenty waterfalls daily and cross numerous streams. All of this glorious water that will help keep the earth green as the sun heats up during the summer was stored as snow during the winter. The earth didn’t need…
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Random Acts of Kindness
I talk a lot about kindness in my blogs. It is because I think it is as important to life as water. And yet, like losing sight of the importance of water when you live in a house where it comes out of a tap, I think it is really easy to lose sight of…
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Patience Is a Virtue on the Trail
I cut steps into the steep snowy slope, forcing myself not to look down. I don’t want to freak out. I remind myself that panic is the worst thing to do in a dangerous situation. I focus on each step, sometimes only half a foot from the last. I have to force my mind to…
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Path-Finding the Old-Fashioned Way
I’ve been asked a number of times by younger hikers how I managed to hike the Pacific Crest Trail before cell phones and the trail apps with GPS. Sometimes I have to explain what I mean by map and compass. The other day, I taught a young man that a compass needle points north. I’ve…
The Mary Badass 