An Unmapped Route: A Hiker's Blog

Tag: outdoors

  • Friday’s Photo: April 11, 2025

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    In lieu of a lengthy post,we’ll finish Friday with an image that may coax you into a walk outdoors. Traveling in Ireland, we stopped for a break at a small shop for refreshments. Across the way, this stone bridge beckoned to me to explore. Alas, time did not allow. I’ll always wonder where the detour…

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    snowpackjack
    A stone bridge centered in the image crosses a stream, framed in green grass and leafy green trees.

  • Treading A Careful Path on Group Hikes

    Sean and I were “catching up.” It had been a while since I had attended a group hike. The obligatory “where have you been?” covered, he asked me if I had been hiking solo in the mountains. “Yes” I replied. “Conflicting schedules make it hard to link up with friends on many of them. I…

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    snowpackjack
    A blue sky dotted with white clouds refeclts on a deep pond in the wilderness, surrounded by lush green vegetation.

  • The Discarded

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    Walking the beach, I spied a boat on the edge of the marsh. I’ve owned boats both wood and fiberglass and have strong opinions on them. The care for a wooden boat is without end, and can be a chore or labor of love, but fiberglass boat does not hold a place in my heart.…

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    snowpackjack
    A white fibberglass sailboat sits abandoned in a salt marsh, overgrown with vines and weeds. in the distance are boats at mooring on a cloudy day.

  • Peak Above the Nubble

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    This short bushwack in New Hampshire was one of my first trailless hikes for the Hundred Highest list. Having finished most of the blazed and trailed peaks on the list, I had picked most of the “low hanging fruit.” It was time to begin knocking off the hikes that required more care and research. The…

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    snowpackjack
    Hiker with packpack on a snow covered hiking trail