Trail reports and gear guides for hikers
A couple years ago when I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my back, I was terrified.
Questions swirled in my mind. Would I recover from the major surgery to repair the unstable burst fracture of my L2 lumbar spine vertebra?
Would I ever be the same, and how long would the journey be before I regained a sense of normalcy?
Continue reading “Recovering From a Broken Back: A Timeline”
Nestled among the planate farmlands of west central Indiana lies an alien landscape where time stopped 12,000 years ago. About an hour outside of Indianapolis, Turkey Run State Park is an easily-accessed popular Midwest treasure for hiking an ecosystem normally found in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Continue reading “Step Back In Time Hiking Turkey Run State Park”
The sacred Iao Valley State Park in Maui is short on “official” hiking trails to explore, but a quick hop over a railing to an ancient Hawaiian trail is all that lies between you and adventure.
Continue reading “Hiking Iao Tableland Trail – A Forbidden Journey”
The Road to Hana is a long, twisting and slow (and sometimes white-knuckle) drive along Maui’s northern shore, but the experience is well worth it if you hit the pavement early and plan ahead. There are lots of interesting stops along the way, but there is one in particular that you shouldn’t miss. Unfortunately, by the time most travelers get to this destination, it’s time to head back.
Continue reading “Waianapanapa State Park: Road to Hana Must-See Destination”
Dear Rocky, we need to talk. I love you, but you’re a bit of a hot mess …
Poor Rocky Mountain National Park has a problem: it may be too beautiful for its own good.
In July, the nation’s fourth most popular park is inundated with visitors who want to experience the majesty and tranquility of the Rockies, and who can blame them?
Continue reading “Navigating the Crowds and Summer Snow at Rocky Mountain National Park”
Driving nonstop from Paia Town to Hana in Maui can take two and a half hours one way. After diverting on short detours for Auntie Sandy’s divine banana bread, crawling through funky lava tubes and posing for photos next to glorious rainbow trees, there’s hardly enough time left in the day to do a proper hike at Waiʻānapanapa State Park. That is, if you intend to turn around and head back the same day. Some people might like that breakneck pace. We had other plans in mind.
Up at 2:30 a.m. Strike that — I’d actually been up since about 11 p.m. thanks to a mystery alarm in our Paia Town rental, and I’d tossed and turned until finally getting up at 2:30. Kat, on the other hand, was sound asleep when I nudged her at about 3 a.m.
Continue reading “Sliding Sands Trail – Hiking Haleakala National Park”
