I can't believe its a new year already. 2014 seemed to fly by, and here we are, once again looking back on one year and ahead to the next. It's a natural time to reflect---on the good, the bad, and what we've learned and experienced in the last 365 days. And it's a time to …
Spring in December.
The past couple of days have been unusually warm, with temps rising into the 50s, and sunny skies to boot. And, lucky for me, I had a rare Saturday off due to the holidays. I took full advantage of this fortuitous combination of events and broke out the Willard for some back-road and gravel exploration. …
Solstice.
Yesterday, I celebrated the shortest day of the year by going on a hike with Dinah on a portion of the Standing Stone Trail. A few weeks ago I wrote about hiking the SST from the hawkwatch to Greenwood Furnace State Park. This time, I headed in the opposite direction, beginning at the end of …
Tussey & John Wert.
For the past few weeks, I've been really stoked on this loop in Rothrock State Forest---up Tussey Mountain Trail and along the ridge, then back down to Thickhead Mountain Road and John Wert Path. It's about 11 miles, doable in 2-3 hours, and is full of stunning views and challenging rock gardens. And, only about …
Progress.
"It never gets easier, you just go faster." -Greg LeMond I think of this a lot, and there is a good amount of truth in those words. It can be hard to measure progress, especially when you're not necessarily on the lookout for it all the time. I'm not obsessed with getting faster. I don't …
helena kotala 