Tag: Hiking

  • Day 2: Montbonnet to Monistrol-d’Allier

    Day 2: Montbonnet to Monistrol-d’Allier

    ~10 miles, mostly downhill (but very steep and difficult) Todays walk was hard. We descended about 1500 feet in just a few miles; the track was near vertical and filled with rocks and roots and lined with blackberry and stinging nettle. The long decent was rough on my knees, but we went slow and managed…

  • Day 1: Le Puy to Montbonnet

    Day 1: Le Puy to Montbonnet

    ~10 miles, mostly uphill (although fairly easy overall) I’m not even sure where to begin. Today was a multitude of days all contained within about 10 miles of waking. We started in Le-Puy-en-Valley and ended in Montbonnet, crossing farmlands, fields, tiny villages, and many hills. The day was relatively cool (low 60’s) and it rained…

  • Packing for the Camino

    Packing for the Camino

    I have this funny narrative in my head about having the “perfect” backpack of belongings for our upcoming walk on the Via Podiensis in France. I’ve had 11 years to plan (since I walked my last Camino in 2012 and learned so much about pack weight—mostly that I had TOO much), so it just seems…

  • Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

    Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

    I had the pleasure of spending the last few days in Estes Park, Colorado for a work conference and was captivated by the expansive and dramatic landscape. In between workshops, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours (I know, not nearly enough time, but it’s all we had!), in Rocky Mountain National Park…

  • The Next Adventure: Camino de Santiago (Via Podiensis—France) July 2023

    The Next Adventure: Camino de Santiago (Via Podiensis—France) July 2023

    Two months ago I bought plane tickets to Europe with plans to walk my second Camino, this time the Via Podiensis (also knows as the Chemin du Puy) in France. I walked my first Camino 11 years ago this summer (~175 miles total on the Camino Frances in Northern Spain); a decision that, at the…

  • Siouxon Creek Trail

    Siouxon Creek Trail

    In late June, 2020, I emerged from months of sheltering in place, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and ventured out into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, in SW Washington State. It was a beautiful, sunny, 80 degree day, with a light breeze. The forest service road to the trail head was mostly paved, but full…

  • Photos: December in Forest Park

    A beautiful, misty,  December hike through Forest Park in Portland Oregon:

  • Olympia, WA Fall 2014

    Went for a cold, mid-fall hike in Olympia, WA today and to my surprise still found lots of mushrooms and other natural wonders along the way!

  • Photo: Witches Butter (Tremella mesenterica)

  • Mt. Rainier National Park