The Camino de Santiago is a long trail that beings in France, and travels roughly 500 miles west to Santiago, Spain. The trail began centuries ago as a religious pilgrimage, but has evolved to be a journey that means different things to different people. Unlike many of the long trails in the United States, this […]
Movie Review: Tell it on the Mountain
The Pacific Crest Trail is one of three famously long trails in the National Scenic Trails system. It extends over 2,600 miles, from Mexico to Canada. Established in 1968, the trail itself was not completed until 1993 — just twenty years ago. And each year, about 300 hikers from all walks of life step out […]
Movie Review: ‘Mile…Mile and a Half’ Hits a Home Run on the JMT
Hiking the 211 mile John Muir Trail is an epic adventure. It’s also one of the great hiking trails that can be experienced without quitting your job and devoting five months of your life. The JMT is an adventure that lies within reach. I’ve thru-hiked the JMT twice. The first time was in 1980. I […]
Movie Review: Flip Flop Flippin’
Long trails have a gravity that pulls thru-hikers toward them with irresistible force. I’ve answered the call of the John Muir Trail — twice. But of all the long trails in the USA, none is better known than the grand-daddy of them all: the Appalachian Trail — or simply the AT. My curiosity about the AT was first piqued […]
Book Review: I Hike – Mostly True Stories from 10,000 Miles of Hiking
“I never set out to hike 10,000 miles. It just sort of happened over the course of a decade.” In 1980, I spent 25 days on a thru-hike of the 211-mile John Muir Trail. The JMT was my first taste of long-distance hiking. And it is a truly epic hike. But the JMT pales in […]