Category: Uncategorized
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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…
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Lost
By Mary Anderson Almost every day while hiking the CDT I am off trail. Sometimes I am only a little off. Other times I feel really lost. Most times I cut cross country to make my way back to the “trail,” such as it is. I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I find…
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On Aging, Injuries, and Gratitude
By Mary Anderson Among the backpacking resources I am really blessed to have are those of time and a healthy, albeit aging, body. Due to numerous injuries, I have spent time in a wheelchair and have had to learn to walk all over again three times in my life. But unlike many people who use…
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How Dissociation Is Like the Wind
It’s amazing how something you can’t see can have such an impact. The wind howls almost nonstop in the Great Basin of Wyoming. The few minutes it is not there each day I feel my body relax and I relish the silence. Sometimes I feel it will make me crazy. I think about the unseen…
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Bridges
I was thinking about the importance of bridges. Certainly whole cities and civilizations have grown up around them. At least one person drowned on the Appalachian Trail trying to ford the bridgeless Kennebec River. My hiking partner was swept downriver when I hiked the PCT, and there are some notorious rivers to cross on the…
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Hiking at Thirty Songs Per Hour
Many times a day I have to dig deep to keep going. For example, when it is 16 miles to the next water and my feet, knees, hips, and shoulder hurt. It would be easy to stop and give up. But I don’t really want to end my hike. Neither do I want to sit…
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Tooth Water and Cow Pee
Staying hydrated in the desert A water cache stocked by volunteers in the Great Basin of Wyoming. By Mary Anderson The heaviest thing I carry is water. I can easily drink one gallon, or eight pounds per day, especially in the windy desert. Some water sources are 30-plus miles apart. This is when I have…
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Falling Down on Purpose
By Mary Anderson It has been at least 20 years since I have done a self-arrest with an ice ax. I thought some practice before my hike would be a good idea, so before leaving home, I went to a local ski area in search of snow. I trudged up the slope, aware that I…
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My No. 1 Backpacking Resource
By Mary Anderson Yesterday I wrote about how long-distance hiking has made me more aware of basic human needs, but I left out what I believe to be the most important resource a solo backpacker can have: friends, and the ability to stay in touch with them. I set out on this hike to find…
The Mary Badass 