Social Media Ideas for Why I'm Hiking Lists

Where Trail Travel Is Headed: 7 Iconic Hikes Every Serious Traveler Should Know

Hiking season is heating up, and the bucket-list treks that dominate travel wish lists this year are drawing more searches than ever. Here is what to know about the seven most icon...

Trail prep & packing my fears

Hiking fundamentals: step one choosing the hike, step two preparing physically for hiking the West Highland Way! Then onto setting the gear list. Since we are using daypacks for th...

I’ve changed my gear list multiple times. Here’s the final version.

After overanalyzing gear and then waiting months for it to go on sale, I purchased almost everything I wanted. I’m using a lot of old gear, too — it’s not lightweight, but it’s wha...

Getting ready to take on the John Muir Trail

I decided that I wanted to thru hike the JMT at some point in 2025. Why? I can’t exactly say, other than the fact it’s one of the shorter thru hikes in the USA, and it takes me bac...

Choosing the West Highland Way as my first thru-hike

Life happens when your not paying close attention. College, career, raising a family and then you met the end of the mid life trail. The kids are adulting, the dogs are now your ki...

Daily Routine

Hike, Eat, Sleep, Rinse, Repeat So for those of you that wonder what I do with my time all day…I hike, duh! But it is more than just that. So let me fill you in. I get up about 5am...

Getting Over the Hump: Finally Finding My Why

I rode the shuttle from Uncle Johnny’s to the other side of the Nolichucky River, where, prior to Hurricane Helene, hikers would simply cross the bridge over the river to hike on....

Hiking Down Memory Lane to Annapolis Rock

On trail, hikers often ask each why they chose to hike and when they decided to do it. I don’t remember when I first heard of the Appalachian Trail or when I was first inspired to...

AllTrails’ 2026 Bucket List: 8 Incredible Hiking Trails and Destinations Around the World

AllTrails has unveiled its 2026 Travel-Worthy Trails list, naming the 8 hiking trails every adventurer should put on their bucket list next year. Here’s where to go, what makes eac...

Outdoor Adventure YouTuber Provides His 14 Favorite Hiking Trails Across the United States

How I’m Mentally Preparing to Solo Hike the Colorado Trail as an Anxious Girlie

Hello fellow women-who-solo-hike! If you are anything like me, you may have a few anxieties that tend to crop up when you’re on the trail alone (or maybe you have people in your li...

Piecing the PCT Together

I spent years fine-tuning the perfect plan to complete a PCT thru hike. In a world where we can create infinite spreadsheets with infinite formulae, why accept even a glimmer of un...

Why I haven’t posted in a while and the future of my hike

I can't sacrifice my hike or my enjoyment of my adventure just for the sake of posting regularly. Rest assured that I will continue to write here. The post Why I haven’t posted in...

My Top 3 Highest Highs and Lowest Lows as I Reach Halfway

Reaching the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail feels strange. I’ve accomplished a lot by walking 1,100 miles, but I’m also sad to be halfway done with my journey. After more t...

Pre-CDT: a late start, a shakedown hike, and a gear list

Why I’m not on trail right now I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room: shouldn’t I be on trail already? I was supposed to start in the middle of June, and yet here I am...

On Trails is a wandering tale that blends hiking, science, and history

Hiking is one of life's great joys. Turning off the screens and stepping out into nature for an extended period of time, perhaps even several days, is rejuvenating. Unfortunately,...

Ten takeaways from the West Highland Way

Currently on a bus from Fort William to Edinburgh. The weather is glorious, in a way that it wasn’t at any stage on the WHW. In no particular order my post trail thoughts on the WH...

What Walking really does for us: The Magic of Long Distance Hiking

I didn’t start hiking long distances until I was well into my 60s. During my life, I had backpacked and hiked for several days at a time. Aside from a 3-week trek to Mount Everest...

Big 3 and Other Stuff – Updated for 2026

My last Big 3 entry was from nearly 2 years ago. Before we hiked the Appalachian Trail. Before we hiked the John Muir Trail. Before I met so many truly experienced hikers. While mu...

Musings From The Trail

I Have A Lot Of Time To Ponder Things I started out on day one with a set of fancy ear buds. I pictured myself jamming out to my favorite tunes or listening to podcasts that would...

My Journey to the Eastern Continental Trail: An Intro

How Did I Get Here? The Early Days From an early age I’ve always enjoyed hiking and backpacking. I cut my teeth in the White Mountains of New Hampshire suffering over mud, rock, an...

Top 10 Dangerous Stories from Hiking 20k+ Miles

hen I think about the most dangerous encounters I’ve had over my 22,000+ miles of thru-hiking experience, I tend to mentally sort the run-ins into a few categories. I’ve had my fai...

50+ Thru-Hikers Told Me Their Top 10 Regrets From the Trail

ithout a lot of backpacking experience, it can be nerve-wracking to break into the world of thru-hiking. There is a bit of a learning curve just like anything else, but I truly bel...

Hiking Abroad – Venturing across the pond

In 2019, I ambled onto the AT for my very first thru hike. It was a singular goal for me at 55 years old. It was a dream from my childhood. I had no idea that the trail would ignit...