My and Rachel’s stories from the Smokies fall along two surprisingly complementary lines. One is that the Smokies have been hard, despite our having hiked them before. We accidentally planned three days of food for a four-day hike, forcing us to either go quickly or go hungry (we chose “quickly”). We experienced temperatures warm enough […]
Author: Bob
Bob is a newly married word herder who's gone looking for himself where anyone who knows him would: in the mountains and around the campfires of America's greatest trail.
Hiking the trail is humbling. To someone, and probably to a lot of people, you’re going to look like a noob. You’re going to slip, spill your dinner (more on that in a bit), and break your stuff, and maybe even do all three at once. Rachel and I have made some wrong moves, but […]
Without a blue spot in the sky or a dry one on the ground, today — my 28th birthday — managed to be incredible. I began the day quickly, taking down the tent with Rachel just before a drizzle, and then slowly, eating snacks and drinking beer with hikers at a sheltered picnic table. Cheshire […]
I closed my last post by pointing out that Rachel and I have now been honeymooning for two weeks, still the beginning of our adventure but longer than many couples get. On the occasion (and the occasion of a dry hotel room), I want to spend this post on my partner. I’ve thought throughout the […]
With severe storms stretching from Florida to Virginia today, Rachel and I have decided to spend a second day in Franklin, North Carolina. Had we not, we’d be summiting Silers Bald, which, as its name implies, is rather exposed. Instead, in the luxury of a dry, electrified room, I’d like to catch readers up on […]
When I was a young, weird kid, one of the things I most admired about the U.S. was its justice system. Although all judiciaries make mistakes, ours — in a world of many that didn’t — seemed to at least aspire to equal treatment under the law Did I simply grow up enough to see […]
Rachel and I have been in the woods for eight days now, with the ninth spent last night in Hiawassee, Georgia. We’re enjoying a “nero” (near-zero hiked miles) today in a campground near Dick’s Creek, with perfect weather for open use of electronics. What I want to do, while my feet rest and clothes finish […]
Being married means it’s OK to share a toothbrush, right?
Yes, I told at least one person I’d like to take a coffee break on the trail. To that person, Warren, I admit: I’m not that strong.
A local, legacy-minded podcast lobs big questions at our intrepid interviewee.