Category: Uncategorized
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Decisions and Blame
By Mary Anderson A trail angel near Rawlins offered Mary his work gloves. One thing I love about hiking is how simple life becomes. My possessions are few and they all go in the exact same place day after day. Each day is similar to the last, though with enough difference to keep it exciting.…
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Why Uphill Is Easier Than Downhill
Reaching the top of a climb is a goal for many hikers. It is where we like to take breaks and enjoy the views won through our hard efforts. But ironically for many in=shape hikers it is the downhills, and not the ups, which are harder. The uphills take strength and perseverance. One foot placed…
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A Bigger Challenge Than the Knee
“I had seven different people telling me what I should do while I waited for my knee to heal. I felt overwhelmed by options, and the parts of me that fear getting people angry came out in full force.” By Mary Anderson My knee injury has forced me into a number of positions in which…
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The Inner Journey
View from the CDT in southern Wyoming. “This is considered a nice picnic spot out here.” I’ve known for a long time that one of the great values of an arduous thru-hike is the inner journey. I love the memories of beauty I carry from all of my 10,000-plus miles of hiking. I revel in…
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Reading the River
A river swollen with snow melt in Salida, Colorado. I’ve done a fair amount of white water kayaking. In fact I used to race kayaks. This entailed learning how to read the river and go with the flow. It also meant learning how to turn in eddies, leaning my body just the right way to…
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Mistakes
By Mary Anderson Now that I’m on my way and blogging on a tablet, I expect I may make more writing mistakes. I hate seeing my writing out there with misplaced punctuation or awkward words. Yet it has already happened a number of times. I am getting better at not beating myself up over it,…
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Be Here Now
Years ago I took classes with Ram Das, who wrote the book Be Here Now. I think of the importance of being here now, in this place, as I hike this desert. It would be so easy for me to go to so many other places: the nasty, unwanted divorce waiting for me when I…
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Time to Take My Own Advice
When I did my first long thru-hike in the 1970s it was all about the miles and the end goal. I sometimes skipped great views if I had to walk an extra mile to get to it. I was fixated on completing my goal. Luckily, it did not take me too long to realize that…
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Trail Angels
By Mary Anderson Sometimes it’s my friends back home that keep me going. Other times it’s the people on the trail. On this day it was the Prairie Dwellers. My knee had been hurting for a few days and I was beginning to feel discouraged. I reached a high point and stopped for a late…
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Making My Own Way
By Mary Anderson Unlike many well-marked eastern trails, the Continental Divide Trail is like a make-your-own adventure. I doubt there are two groups of people who have ever done it exactly the same way. I don’t know anyone who has not been off trail at least once. Many of us are off trail more than…
The Mary Badass 