Life
Musings, essays, updates, and trail logs.
-
Pretty OK Xmas Mix 2021
Another year has gone by and we find ourselves surrounded by joyous cheer and terrible music. Allow me to offer you more of the former and comfort from the latter with another playlist of “Pretty OK” holiday music alternatives. This year’s mix contains classics you can’t find on streaming, excellent covers, new releases, and just enough oddities to keep the sickos satisfied.
Read On -
AT Day 185: One Hundred Miles to Summit
It’s been a hot minute or three since I’ve emailed you. It would be easy to assume, as with previous updates, I’ve been to busy walking to get my thoughts together. At first I did not want to write this final post, but over time I realized it was unfair to leave my story without an end.
Read On -
AT Day 177: Difficult Trail and More Difficult Decisions
The transition to living on the trail was gradual, from all the expectations of a new adventure, starting like a long backpacking trip, growing to a way of life, then so routine it’s hard to imagine what it was like before. Coming so close to completing the trail is surreal. The time feels short, especially compared to the experience. Many of us are conflicted between a weary eagerness and an anxious fear. But for all of us the end will be a jolt, and an inevitability.
Read On -
AT Day 159: Return of the Climb
The way passing time and miles are so bound on the trail is most evident to me at its ends. It was a slow, proud, backwards-looking crawl at the beginning, asking “How far have I gone? Can I survive another day or week?” But has twisted to approaching deadline, “How far do I have to go today? Can I make it by this day, or week?” Hikers are buying bus or plane tickets home, fearing their expiring visas, and watching their faster friends’ summit photos roll by on social media, with 400 miles left to go.
Read On