Last updated Nov 30, 2022 | First published on Oct 26, 2022 | USA
I truly had no idea what to expect from Astra Lumina at Anakeesta in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Few people did. After all, the enchanted night walk is the first of its kind in the United States. At one bend in the trail, I could look down at the busy lights of downtown...
Last updated Mar 29, 2023 | First published on May 19, 2021 | USA
No, it wasn’t a large dog—that was a small black bear on the prowl! I saw the bear, my first in the lower 48, during my three days in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He or she appeared shortly after I crossed the longest tree-based canopy walk in North America (880 feet)1. The...
Last updated Mar 29, 2023 | First published on Nov 5, 2014 | USA
No one expected to step out of the Jeep into a full-on blizzard. Sideways snow blew in 45 mph wind, creating a total whiteout—my second mountainous whiteout of 2014 already (Camp Muir on Mount Rainier was the first). The famous Appalachian Trail itself was hidden by a...
Last updated Mar 29, 2023 | First published on Oct 11, 2014 | USA
Even though riddled with danger, communists, monsters, and a dark confession, this entry hardly does my six weeks of vagabonding in Seattle, Washington, justice. But then again, I’ve got to write something about the experience. Unfortunately, it seems, much of what...
Last updated Aug 27, 2022 | First published on Sep 16, 2014 | USA
I lost count of the avalanches heard while hiking to Camp Muir on Mount Rainier, the highest point you can climb to in Washington State without technical skills. The avalanches couldn’t be seen, but they were certainly felt. We heard the first rumble earlier that...
Last updated Sep 29, 2022 | First published on Aug 18, 2014 | USA
American interstates have a way of changing perspective. And scrambling brains. I learned this firsthand during my recent Great American West road trip. Not all, but most American West roads are so utilitarian and straight-as-an-arrow efficient that you start...
