Welcome!
My name’s Matt, and I love to write and hike. I’m the author of 4000s by 40 and am currently working on book two. When I’m not doing that, I come here to share tales from the trail, reflections on the writing process, and explore hidden truths.
Whether you’re a hiker, a writer, or just someone trying to figure out their own next step, I hope this site encourages you to keep getting outside, keep exploring, and keep making new discoveries. I suppose this place serves as a very public reminder to myself that I need to keep doing the same.
Enjoy it out there!
What’s New
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Climb Where You’re At: Jasper Mountain
The plan was to climb Mount Hayes, but the route I picked was blocked. I didn’t know much about the area, and I thought one of the roads I saw on satellite images was a way through. Turns out it was a hydroelectric power station on the Androscoggin River that was off-limits to hikers. I…
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Reading “The Beauty of Ordinary Things”
Recently I read The Beauty of Ordinary Things, by Harriet Scott Chessman, and I thought I’d share because it’s so different than most of the literature we typically come across today. It’s contemplative, understanding, and forgiving—very much like the spirit of the abbey Chessman presents within its pages. I came upon this book through unusual…
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All Alone on Smarts Mountain
I didn’t expect this. On a beautiful sunny October day, with weather hovering in the high 60s, surely, I thought, someone else would be here. But as I made my way down a dirt road to the start of the Daniel Doan Trail, passing over a couple of wooden bridges that made me wonder if…
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A Ghost on the Trail
He came upon me like a ghost, a wisp of wind along the trail, but how he startled me the most by looking anything but frail. Ascending, strong and agile, one part bear, one a weathered fox, he thundered past with a smile, a panther pouncing on the rocks. I was caught looking at my…