I’ve always found my best inspiration in the wild—especially in the mountains. Below is a collection of posts shaped by time on the trail: reflections, stories, and moments pulled from the ridgelines, woods, and summits that continue to influence my writing.
Dispatches From Higher Ground
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To Summit, or to See? -
The First Rule of Hike Club -
A Bear on the Trail -
The Tallest Mountain in South Carolina -
Needed a Winn -
Forgot About Clay -
Letting Your Kid Hike Solo -
Respect for the Mount Washington Auto Road Driver -
Mount Tecumseh and the Thundering Herd -
Pack Attack: A Mother's Day Hike Up Pack Monadnock -
'Tis a Steep Climb Up Cannon Mountain -
It's Still Winter in the Mountains -
Tread Carefully Out There This Spring -
Back at North Pack -
Messages From the Federal Hill Fire Tower -
A Sixteen Year Return to Mount Watatic -
Peakbagging for the Win -
Lessons from Mont Blanc: The White Mountain -
Rounding Out the Wapack Range Summits -
A Mountain With Meaning: Montserrat -
My Favorite Hike -
Tuckerman Ravine—Finally! -
Skiing Duke's Trail on Mount Cardigan -
Still Get Scared Hiking -
Lock-Steps -
We Had to Climb Something: Park City's Desolation Peak -
To the Gorge! — Ice Climbing Flume Gorge -
Always Worth Another Look: Artist’s Bluff -
Rediscovering Old Ground: Mount Pemigewasset -
The Backcountry Code -
Peakfinding: Barrett and New Ipswich Mountain -
Pulling in a New One at Artist's Bluff -
Side Quest: Redlining the Wapack Trail -
Butt-Sliding on Cherry Mountain (aka Owlshead) -
Peakbagging or Peak Chasing? -
Discovering Surprises on Middle Sister -
Concerns About the Growing Outdoor “Epic” Culture -
Still Learning Lessons on Mount Tecumseh -
Getting Back to Our Roots -
Bring Out the Imp (and Middle Carter) -
A Blustery Day on Mount Monadnock -
Through the Portal on Kidder Mountain -
Climb Where You're At: Jasper Mountain -
All Alone on Smarts Mountain -
The Uncanoonuc Mountains -
The Everest Question -
The Faraway Guys -
Waiting for My Change -
Finding Solitude at Mount Monadnock's Kiasticuticus Peak -
Patching in for the Belknap Range -
Mountain Disagreements -
Chasing Fall Foliage on Mount Tremont -
The Legend of Joe English -
Scouting Little Monadnock -
Hedgehog Mountain: A Mountain for All Weather -
Only the Mountains -
The Wonderful Welch-Dickey Loop -
Mount Pierce: My Favorite 4000-Footer -
Too Many Pine Hills—Let's Fix That -
Finally! Knocking off the Belknap 12 -
The Search for Stories -
The Webster-Jackson Loop -
Pawtuckaway Not Faraway -
Stop Waiting and Go -
Hiking Solo vs. With Friends -
A Paugus Among Us -
Ranking the 4000-Footers -
Breathwork for the Climbing -
A Window for Bald Peak -
What in the Blazes? -
There's Bears Out Dere! -
Back to the Backcountry! An Overnight at Sawyer Pond -
Round Pond -
Fumbling About the Mack—Klem Loop -
Hatching Plans with the B.I.L. -
Kamikaze Bugs in the Belknap Range
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Peakbaggers = Truth-Seekers -
Pine Mountain and Chapel Rock -
Who Are You, Arthur Josephson? -
An Easy Go on Mount Willard -
Middle Sugarloaf: Dusting off the Hiking Boots -
Cheating on Middle Pack Monadnock -
Why 4000s by 40? -
Ice Climbing Kinsman Notch -
No, the Other Black Mountain -
Hillman's Highway: Learning and Earning Late-season Turns -
Not Smarts Mountain -
On Georgiana Falls -
New Trails and a Happy Return to Winter Hiking -
Way Up There -
Those Summer Days of Autumn -
They Call Him Bilbo Baggers -
Misdirection on Mount Percival -
Looking for Frank on Mount Chocorua -
New Looks at Old Faces: Mount Moosilauke -
The Presidential Traverse: When the Heart Is Bigger Than the Head -
A Celebratory Return to the 4000-footers: The Osceolas -
Getting Back Out There – Mount Cube -
When the Mountain Says No -
My Overburdened Pack
More Mountain Stories
If you’re looking for more stories about hiking and the great outdoors, 4000s by 40 shares what it’s like to tackle the 4000-footers of New Hampshire, highlighting both the successes—and the missteps—one may experience along the way. Currently I’m exploring the 52 With a View peaks, also in New Hampshire, and will be regularly posting stories from those climbs here as well.
Enjoy it out there!