Halibut, the universal name for a life changing hike
Our captain was a young woman, fair in beauty and seemed groomed into the family business. A Dutch couple Hank and Marianne, and a German woman Olena were being dropped…
A rough hike to Palmerton presents fallible excitement on the trail
“Dear Pennsylvania, How I loathe thee. If Virginia is for lovers, Pennsylvania is for haters. If Satan’s feces were rocks, then he must have taken a laxative and taken a…
‘Twilight’ confrontation in Forks, Washington
The last two times I’ve been pulled over were in 2009 and 2010, in Forks, Washington. Neither of the officers were named Charlie. I did not receive a ticket, nor…
Capturing lasting images at the Pacific Ocean
I passed a green highway sign that pointed west to Shelter Cove as I curled down in my Acura down this heavily forested part of northern California called the Big…
Meeting different people in Nuknek
Do you remember Goofy the Walt Disney dog with the big two-buck teeth? Well, I knew a different Goofy who got his name ironically. At the Red Salmon Cannery in…
Traveling mountain trails initiates nickname
Most know me by my given name. Others, namely hikers, know me only as Bard, or, in its formal manifestations, Bard the Changeling.
Hiking adventure turns from sunny to stormy
Two miles outside of Rangeley on the Appalachian Trail I was to end another successful 18-mile day. The sun was shining through that Maine forest and the elevation gains were…
Appalachian Trail expedition unsatisfactory, disappointing
I had been on vacation so long that I had become disillusioned. It is one thing to be on vacation and wanting to stay on that tropical beach, but it…
Rumbling and bumbling in the national parks of the west
I was twelve at the time, a point in my life where I didn’t have to be reasonable with my obsessions. Probably around the time when computers were going to…
Observing the Packer game with distinct spectators
There are a bunch of ugly antennas on my friend Nick’s Chevy SUV. He is a ham. No, really, he loves HAM radio. He also loves the Packers. So Nick,…