Blog Archives

"The mosquitoes were affectionate today" and other musings in the Belly River...

2/28/2020

In Lake Clark National Park, Alaska sits a small log cabin that is part of the National Registry of Historic Places. Famed wildlife chronicler Dick Proenneke walked away from his 9-5 job as a diesel mechanic and built a legacy akin to the likes of Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone. He constructed a small cabin on the shores of Twin Lakes with handmade tools and materials gathered and worked with his own two hands. His precision and skill can be seen watching Alone in the Wilderness, wherein he films the labor of love and journals of the run-ins with the majestic animals of the mountainous terrain. So it’s no wonder that this hearty man’s man would speak of the likely swarm and annoyance of North Country mosquitoes as “being affectionate.”

There is a man’s man I know that ascended to the level of Proenneke manhood one summer day while backpacking the Belly River of Glacier National Park....

0 Comments

Facing Your Fears in a Kayak

2/27/2020

0 Comments

Happy to be on land after rounding Indian Head, Isle Royale National Park

Sometimes your spouse asks you to do things that really take you outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes things on their bucket lists are well beyond your scope of experience. This is what happened to me on my first trip to Isle Royale National Park.

Two pivotal moments caught my husband’s fancy while we were hiking along Rock Harbor for the first time.

We had barely set foot on the island when we saw 2 travelers unload their gorgeous, long sea kayaks down off the ferry. Our mouths dropped and there might have been a bit of drool drip as those sleek boats were unloaded and the paddlers sorted their dry bags of gear...

0 Comments

The Golden Rules of Hiking with Kids

2/26/2020

0 Comments

The backpack hung low on his back. It was the smallest backpack we could purchase, but still it seemingly swallowed our son whole. It was a red Osprey cinched up as tight as possible. Inside it held a white blanket with silky borders, called Bindy, and a few small snack bags. We had been chomping at the bit to take our little guy hiking for 3 long years and watching him light up on the trail was warming my heart.

Since that first hike of one mile, we have learned from the highest highs and the lowest lows of hiking with a child. Below is a list of do’s and don’ts compiled over 11 years of adventuring with our little man in tow...

0 Comments

The Dozen Dozen

2/26/2020

0 Comments

Loaded up for our first backpacking trip, two Lakes Loop Hoosier National Forest

Maybe you’ve heard of him...Aron Ralston.... the guy who saved his life by cutting off his own arm after being trapped by a boulder in a secluded slot canyon in Utah. His book Between a Rock and a Hard Place was right up my alley. You see, I’m what you call an arm chair adventurer. I’ve hiked to the top of Mt Everest at least a dozen times from the comfort of my own couch. I’ve bagged the Seven Summits on the Seven Continents while sun bathing on the porch. I’ve even swam the Amazon after putting my son to bed...

0 Comments

Why We Hike...

2/21/2020

0 Comments

The image of perfection after 5 nights on the trail...

So in a modern world with all the plush accessories and creature comforts available to us, a lot of people we know simply can’t fathom why on Earth our family would ever want to traipse out to the forest and sleep on the ground and squat in the woods. And at first glance, yes.... it does seem strange to prefer the ‘luxury’ of a 2 x 6 mat full of air to a queen size bed of pillows and soft, warm blankets.

We hear an endless chorus of questions (mostly about hygiene and food). At times we feel like its not even worth sharing in certain circles of people that just don’t get it. You would have thought we were pariahs or outcasts from the people who simple can no longer imagine what an evening without the tv telling them what to think and when to retrieve more snacks and use the restroom is like.

There was much debate in the family as to what we all enjoy the most, so I decided to mash up everyone’s answer, so here goes...

0 Comments

"The mosquitoes were affectionate today" and other musings in the Belly River...

Facing Your Fears in a Kayak

The Golden Rules of Hiking with Kids

The Dozen Dozen

Why We Hike...

Archives

Categories

We hope you find what you're looking for...

"The mosquitoes were affectionate today" and other musings in the Belly River...

Facing Your Fears in a Kayak

The Golden Rules of Hiking with Kids

The Dozen Dozen

Why We Hike...

Archives

Categories

​​We hope you find ​what you're looking for...

We hope you find what you're looking for...