by Paty | Aug 21, 2022 | Cycling, Gear, Great Allegheny Passage, Mid-Atlantic
The 335-mile C&O Canal Towpath and Great Allegheny Passage was my very first long-distance cycling adventure. In fact, the farthest I’d ever ridden my bike prior to this trip was a 55-mile day trip of the Oregon Coast Bike Route (and that was without any...
by Paty | Apr 24, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Gear, Southwest US
I thru-hiked the Arizona Trail northbound from March 1st to April 13, 2022. This meant I started earlier than more spring NOBOs, so I needed to be prepared for freezing temperatures and snow at higher elevations, along with the warm, sunny, windy conditions at lower...
by Paty | Feb 21, 2022 | Arizona Trail, Gear, West Coast
It’s been a few years now since started long-distance hiking. And over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to my gear set-up. I moved from a sleeping bag to a quilt. I started with a semi-freestanding tent, then moved to a single-walled trekking pole...
by Paty | Oct 21, 2021 | Books, Gear, Oregon Coast Trail
Do you want to know my biggest challenge while thru-hiking the Oregon Coast Trail (or OCT)? It wasn’t the road walks along busy Highway 101. Nor was it the long stretches of solitude without a trail family. It wasn’t even trying to time the ocean’s...
by Paty | Sep 19, 2021 | Gear, Timberline Trail, West Coast
My 40-mile trek around Mt. Hood was my last backpacking trip of the 2021 season. The mid-September weather was still dry and warm, so I was able to pack pretty light for this adventure. Nonetheless, I still wanted to try out a few pieces of gear that weren’t on...
by Paty | Jul 19, 2021 | Gear, Oregon Coast Trail, West Coast
Packing for the Oregon Coast in June/July was a much more daunting challenge than I ever expected. First up, I wanted to pack appropriately for the weather conditions. Locals joke that there are only two seasons on the Oregon Coast: (1) rainy or (2) windy. I’d...
