“It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it.” —Dr. Maria Montess… Read More

A perfect exampleWhat I want for my daughter, from friends and family, for her second birthday (or for Christmas, or any subsequent gift-giving occasions):-Above all, clean air, water, and e… Read More

Why feminism is worth fighting forMy second post of 2018, and my first since June.  I am writing less briskly but I am still writing. That’s important.  Last year we moved to… Read More

A new post, my first since Sagan's birth, and she is nineteen months old, so that's a nineteen month hiatus.  I suppose that's about the length of time it takes for things to normalize… Read More

Mother nature's daughterI miss the days when everyone poured out their heart on epistolary MySpace blogs.  I also miss the Reagan administration, for different reasons, so that should c… Read More

8 March – 9 MarchOur "tent" This is the most half-assed camping we've ever done in our lives. And this where Thais are paying 1000 baht apiece for industrial-sized, industrial-strengt… Read More

Wax priestI’ve been having a hard time writing about Thailand, in Thailand.  I’ve been doing a lot of reading, though.  Paul Theroux.  Erica Jenks Henry.  Gra… Read More

Khao Yai National ParkWhen I arrived in Pak Chong, I was headed for the woods. Even though I only have a mosquito net to camp in. These are the relics of our ancestry as ultralight hikers… Read More

Ayutthaya palace grounds at dusk 2 March - 6 March We took the train directly from Nakhon Chai Si, a local bus to a commuter stop, and all the way to Ayutthaya effortlessly. We crossed… Read More

Today I continue to struggle with the inadequacy of everything I have to say. On the other hand I continue to SAY it. It’s the human impulse, to spurt out our innermost selves, to ha… Read More

My baby nephew Stephen Andrew Henry died seven weeks ago today, after ten weeks of life.  I have been fighting the urge to use words to reconcile myself to his death because his death i… Read More

Wednesday 24 June 20154.1 milesToday I hiked past the Lemon Squeezer, which, if I'm honest, is the whole reason I decided to hike this section.  In 2004, this was the first white blaze… Read More

9.1 miles23 June 2015My last day on the trail.  Today was excruciating—my knees and feet and shoulders are in pain—and I'm feeling fatigued and I had chills all day and I'm… Read More

22 June 201512.9 milesTurns out yesterday I didn't go far enough, as usual.  I went far enough today, maybe too far.  Maybe I'd have been better off camping by myself at one of the… Read More

13.8 miles Overcast sky and American flag at vistaEverything in my tent is wet. I actually did an excellent job pitching for the rain last night and stayed perfectly dry through the tropic… Read More

6.9 miles RPH Shelter interior--amazing how I remembered this shelter as grubby and everyone kept going on and on about how nice it was.  It was nice.  The pizza was nicer.So I wri… Read More

9.9 miles Morgan Stewart Shelter, this morning's starting placeTonight a man at the shelter questioned the legitimacy of my relationship and also told me I am too old to have children. I… Read More

7.8 milesThat's the trail, over and between the rocks--an example of the kind of rocks I deal with, and also maybe a metaphor for the rocky path ahead as we deal with climate change?  O… Read More

10.3 milesAgain I'm at a shelter completely crowded with people.  Many flip-floppers.  The Appalachian Trail Conference is evidently encouraging flip-flop thru-hikes as a way to co… Read More

4.1 milesView from the shelter in the morningCrossing the Connecticut-New York border (in 2004)My idea for today was again, knowing thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon, to do a sho… Read More

9.4 milesMisty, rainy vistaToday I walked in the rain for two hours, breaking my own rule:  never start in the rain.  Maybe this is a difference between section- and thru-hiking, t… Read More

1.8 milesA single white blaze, preserved and framed, in KentI camped in town last night, camped for a second time in someone’s backyard.  I ate breakfast by myself at the diner ba… Read More

7.2 milesBackpack along trailA good day.  Even in old thru-hiking times when I could do a short day into town but still kill some miles and get things accomplished in town, it was a goo… Read More

11.0 milesSewing up my backpack--my body is not the only thing eleven years olderI got a late start this morning, dawdling in the shelter, repairing my backpack, which is ripping out more ev… Read More

Last days in Massachusetts, summer at Mary's PondIt's probably not obvious that I've been slowly posting my log from my Appalachian Trail hike, which lasted three weeks and took me to about… Read More

9.0 milesMountain laurel, 2015Tonight I am camping with two flip-floppers from Harpers Ferry (Blood Blister and Pack) and a section hiker finishing off his thru-hike (Vermont Visitor), who g… Read More

8.2 milesTorpedo-shaped serenity, in 2015I'm at the Falls Village Inn, where Big County and I ordered pizza and night-hiked past the shelter so many moons ago.  I love sitting here with… Read More

5.8 milesAt the White Hart Inn, 11 years later--civilization and beer!The view from above the White Hart Inn in 2004Tonight I share the hostel with several thru-hikers:  Giuseppe, on hi… Read More

9.3 milesRock at the Massachusetts border, atop which Big County sat in 2004 (2015)And here he is, sitting on the rock in 2004This morning I stayed by myself at the shelter till eleven.&nbsp&hell…Read More

14.6 milesYes, hiking makes me happy!  (2015)Our gang of slackpacking thru-hikers from 2004--click here to read about this same section during my thru-hikeI am at a shelter tonight with… Read More

5.6 milesThru-hikers with empty pile of 72 beers, and smartphone, 2015I passed this lake today and remembered this moment in 2004--wanted to get another shot here but a girl and her dog had… Read More

7.4 milesFirst morning selfie, 2015 (Guess bedface looks remarkably like plastic-surgery face.  Who knew.)Big County in 2004Came into a shelter tonight where three northbound thru-hiker… Read More

11.9 milesThe first stream of the trail, 2015Big County and I at Upper Goose cabin the first time around (I'm posting old photographs and links from when I was hiking the Appalachian Trail i… Read More

I am going hiking.  I have this sneaking-out-the-door feeling, as I did when I left on March 4, 2004, and I posted my first trail journal entry, nervous and self-flagellating.  To… Read More

Lace, cageI live in a pretty lace cage.  Yesterday was the eleven-year anniversary of my start date on the Appalachian Trail, when I marched forth, and still, here the snow piles in dri… Read More

Plymouth library--my new studioI'm back now, and it feels like during the last month I slipped into an alternate dimension.  I used to have that same experience upon leaving from or ret… Read More