The Liebster Award

June 25, 2014What's Up With That?Liebster AwardNick Gatel

What’s Up With That?

Okay, I haven’t posted much during the past couple of months. I have been busy using up my inventory of recreational time by hiking and camping.

I saw a post over on backpackinglight.com that I had been “tagged” for the Liebster Award. Of course that is the only way I could find out because this website doesn’t allow comments or emails to me. I value my privacy too much to have to deal with other people who might want to communicate their thoughts here.

The fellow who “tagged” me is a nice guy who happens to live in Sweden. So I thought I would discuss this Liebster thing.

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Buckeye Trail Section Hike

June 24, 2014Backpack Trip ReportBackpacking Trip, Buckeye Trail, Grandma Gatewood, OhioNick Gatel

My last post was a review of the book Grandma Gatewood’s Walk. Toward the end of the article I mentioned that she was a founding member of Ohio’s Buckeye Trail Organization. One of Emma’s favorite hiking places was a section of the Buckeye trail in Hocking Hills, Ohio near a place named Old Man’s Cave.

So not much more than a week after I read about Emma Gatewood, I decided to head to Ohio and do some Buckeye Trail backpacking. This, like many of my trips, was a last minute spur of the moment decision.

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Book Review: Grandma Gatewood’s Walk

June 16, 2014Backpacking, Book ReviewEmma Gatewood, Grandma GatewoodNick Gatel

A Good Read

In 1955, at the age of 67, Emma Gatewood walked the entire 2,000+ mile Appalachian Trail (AT). This is a quick review of the book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman who Saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery.

What makes this book a good read isn’t necessarily Mr. Montgomery’s writing ability, but that Emma Gatewood was such an incredible person. Before her through-hike of the AT, not many people had heard of the trail that runs from Georgia north to Maine, and only a handful had hiked it in its entirety. Emma would become the first woman to complete it. No one before or after her did more to popularize the trail.

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backpacking trip cancelled. went camping instead.

May 27, 2014CampingCamping, Mojave DesertNick Gatel

Over the past several years I have made a Memorial Day Weekend tradition of hiking what I call the San Jacinto Loop. One would be hard pressed to find a more varied and diverse 60 mile route in just about any place in North America; maybe anywhere in the planet. Due to a route that passes through 5 climatic zones, Memorial Day timing is about perfect. Not too hot in the desert and not too cold in the alpine zone. You can read about the 2009 and 2010 trips.

But this year I had to cancel.

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The Death of Renaissance Man

May 20, 2014General Talkcompetent man, polymath, renaissance man, Robert A. HeinleinNick Gatel

Sometime in the last generation Renaissance Man passed away. Also known as Polymath, he lived for almost 2,400 years. The cause of death was apathy and specialization.