Author Archives: CheeseBlock

I started hiking the John Muir Trail on July 4th, 2024, with my parents. The trail runs from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the top of Mt. Whitney, 206 miles through the High Sierras in California. The trail mostly follows the same path as the Pacific Crest Trail through the mountains, which I hikedContinue reading “JMT Days -1 to 1: The Beginning”

The time had come. No longer would my New England Trail adventures be confined to one state. For only the third (and fourth) time in my life, I was hiking across state lines. I arrived at the trailhead a tenth of a mile north of the Massachusetts-Connecticut border at about 14:30. The last storm ofContinue reading “New State, Same Cold Weather”

It having been almost a month since my last adventure, I was very happy to be outside hiking again. Reflecting on it, this trip divided very neatly split into 4 parts. The first part started, as it usually does, at the beginning. This day’s adventure began in a parking lot at the edge of theContinue reading “MA NET: Section 10, an Adventure in Four Parts”

After hiking the Pemi Loop, it was a while before I found time for another adventure. It took about two weeks to recover enough from the abuse I’d suffered in the White Mountains that I felt comfortable going out again, and by that time I was engrossed in family and the holidays. Maria and IContinue reading “One Frigid Tuesday”

This is the final entry in a three-part series describing my most recent backpacking trip into the White Mountains. To find out what happened over the previous two days, click here for part 1, or here to see part 2. I did not sleep particularly well on the second night. Given that I had triedContinue reading “Mountains of Pain, Part 3”

This post is the second in a three part series describing my most recent backpacking trip to the White Mountains. If you want to read the first part to better understand the roots of my misery, follow this link. The last part should be out next week, and I’ll link to it as soon asContinue reading “Mountains of Pain, Part 2”

This post is the first of what I expect to be a three-part series describing my recent backpacking trip to the White Mountains. After my first draft reached almost 5,000 words, I figured it might be good to break it up into parts. Here’s Part 2. I’ll include a link to Part 3 as soonContinue reading “Mountains of Pain, Part 1”

I only had time for a short hike this week, so rather than continue south as I had been for an 8ish mile hike along section 2 of the Massachusetts New England Trial, I went for a shorter 4 mile out and back trip to complete section 1. Once I return to complete section 2,Continue reading “A Pleasant Evening of Mild Adventure”

I was all set and ready to spend three days in the mountains. I had my food. I had my gear. I had my maps. I had even resubscribed to my Garmin inReach plan for satellite communication and rescue in case of emergency. However, as I was finishing some final checks with the inReach beforeContinue reading “Through Darkness”

It had been far too long since my last mile-eating hike. I think almost two months. Taking it slow and stopping for frequent breaks and pictures has its place, as I’ve mentioned before, but sometimes I just need to hike long and fast, breathing hard and aching. Today I filled that need. When planning forContinue reading “A Return to Eating Miles”