The Mary Badass

As I sit to write this in the dark at 5 a.m. I feel I am jumping off a cliff. I have no idea what will come of it, but it seems to me it will be different than the hiking blog, in part because bike packing is so much different than backpacking. First, the…

Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you to those of you who have been reaching out and asking me how I have been doing. I appreciate those who have been staying in touch and feel I owe it to all of you who have read my writing to give you an…

The ability to loco-mote is an amazing skill, and being able to walk is really a miraculous thing. It takes a lot of body parts working together to make it happen: brain, muscles, bones, nerves. Truly it is a miracle equal to most feats of engineering that so many creatures are able to walk. I…

In the Wind River Range Final List This is a more difficult list to compile than most. The beauty has been spectacular, the storms intense, scary, strong, and often lasting all night long. The days have been hot, the nights icy cold. I had no service for a long period and relied on map and…

I have lived for as long as I can remember with a lot of pain. From a very young age I was aware that my body hurt. As I got older I became aware of the emotional pain as well. I’ve learned to live pretty well with the physical pain. I’ve had a harder time…

I have been living in the moment out here like I never have before. I make some rough plans for the day but then let the chips fall where they may. I’ve decided I do not want to live in the moment if I am not enjoying it because I am focused on some future…

On the Continental Divide Trail Pacing is really important. Every racer knows that if you leave the starting block too fast you are apt to be dragging before the race is over. It is the same with hiking. There are so many things to pace out here. The obvious one is your daily mileage. Too…

As a child, I was bored in school. I always finished my work ahead of the other kids and then usually, out of boredom, I got into trouble. I fidgeted and talked to other kids who were still working. I was thought of as an unruly child. Thank God for my fifth-grade teacher, the only…

I have seen animals go silent just before the earth started to shake. They sensed the tremors coming. In some parts of the world, people maintain the instinct to feel an impending earthquake or tsunami. I believe that we are all born with a wealth of protective instinct and that most of us become disconnected…

This kind man stopped and chatted with me in the Great Basin. We shared real connection. He introduced me to his son and gave me his work gloves to protect my blistered hands when I was walking on crutches. If I had just said “Oh I’m fine” when he asked, this connection would not have…