The Mary Badass

From Helena to Whitehall By Mary Anderson What I’ll remember: The smoky views. Feeling like I am walking in an eclipse due to the smoke. Having to keep changing my route because of fires. Setting out for maybe 200 miles cross-county by myself. Feeling strong and satisfied with my walking pace. Feeling accomplished and okay…

The views out here are really affected by the smoke. The sky is hazy and I no longer have the far-reaching spectacular views from the ridgetops. I admit, I am a bit disappointed. There is less reward each time I reach a summit. As a result, I’ve decided to change my focus. Since the fires…

I’ve heard it said that the older you get, the harder time you have adjusting to new situations. If that is the case, then hiking will keep me young, at least in my mind. I am constantly having to adjust out here. First, there are the minute changes that happen often each day. When climbing…

Both times I hiked the Appalachian Trail, trail angels did not really exist. Nor were they present for me on the Pacific Coast Trail. There were people who were kind to me and fed me and even housed me at times. But they were few and far between. We hikers had not yet coined the…

When I hike a trail like the Continental Divide Trail I find it useful to gather information from people I meet along the way. They can tell me if there are a lot of blowdowns or what the river crossing will be like. Sometimes I take what they say with a grain of salt, knowing…

How many times have you heard someone say not to sweat the small stuff? Well, I’m here to tell you the small stuff matters a lot. For starters, that single grain of sand in my boot can become an incapacitating blister if I don’t deal with it. The same with a hot spot I feel…

My tent in the Chihuahan Desert You become really aware of how much packaging surrounds the food we buy when you have to carry all your trash on your back for days. In fact, you become aware of the weight of everything. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t wonder what else I can…

People keep asking me if I am afraid to be on the trail alone. Yes, I am leery of grizzly bears, icy snowfields, and raging rivers, but my experience driving across country last May was as scary as a lot of things I encounter on the trail. When I hit the deer I thought the…

By Mary Anderson For a long time I ate no meat, and for a while I was a total vegan. Then I lived on a tiny island near Labrador, Canada, and I realized that being a vegan was not only impractical there, it went against my mammalian nature. If I was to really survive in…

I continue to be surprised at how many different ways something can be viewed. When I meet someone hiking down a mountain while I am hiking up, they often tell me, “You’re almost to the top.” I’ve learned this can mean anything from one to three miles. I’ve passed hikers who tell me there is…