Hiking Along: A Feminist's Journey Through Teaching, Parenting & Outdoor Adventure

Dear B & V, Have I contributed to the degradation of this place I’ve loved for so long? Maybe degradation is a hyperbole but this word expresses the depth of my feelings. However in reality, my favorite park hasn't been destroyed nor do I have the hand of god to cause her degradation.  Change has occurred though to her natural space to alter my feelings about this place. Now when I hike the intimacy of her valley walls, my feelings turn to sadness, frustration and disappointment. Where once there was a single track hugging her stream banks, there is now a network of trails that spider, interlacing each other up and down her walls. Where once the species that make her valley home, she is now invaded by our lazy, man-made foot paths cutting through her living room. Where once there were blue, blazed trees standing erect adjacent to her trails, they are now toppled by the compaction of hundreds of daily tread strikes on her soil. Where once numerous wildflowers carpeted

Dear B & V, The hum and beeping were a distraction from the question being debated in my head - "should I stay or should I go?". I was in my fourth day of a six day hike on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT) in Pennsylvania.  During the trip, I faced multiple  obstacles: a lack of sleep due to busy mice, storms and noise pollution and the Mid-Atlantic being gripped by the biggest heatwave in years. However, these were not causing me to ask this question. It was loneliness. I chose this solo trip to discover if I could break my four day record of being on the trail by myself. A few years prior, I had hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) during an extended weekend. The difference between the LHHT and the AT is the amount of traffic. Each day and evening on the AT, I crossed and shared conversations with new people. Traversing the LHHT, I encountered a dozen hikers. On day three and four, I saw no one until the end of day four. I spent 36 hours by and with mysel

Dear B & V, Joy is not the same as happiness but many similarities exist between the two. I think of happiness as a sustained feeling, while joy is more momentary. Sustaining happiness throughout life is difficult but finding much joy can create happiness. Happiness rides a roller coaster, at times the coaster is struggling up hill and happiness feels out of reach. Then, the coaster reaches the crest, the view is spectacular and the ride downhill is thrilling - joy inducing. Joy makes me smile. Sometimes joy creates spontaneous laughter that makes my checks hurt and my belly ache. Joy makes my body feel light, often like wearing the most soft and fluffy slippers. It heightens my senses, like a thousand receptors feeling, seeing, smelling and hearing. It makes me feel bold and strong, like a female champion arm wrestler. In essence, joy makes me feel alive, like all my neurons are sparkling with electrical impulses. Joy is a gift whether created by oneself or shared between pe