I'll be the first to admit, I often lose sight of what's important. I get lost in life's little hassles. I worry about what I can't control, and I spend hours stressing before finally taking action on the things I can. I blow minor roadblocks out of proportion. I cry about money. I get angry …
Thunder rumbles in the distance, but the sun is still shining. Every now and then the wind gusts, the leaves rustle. Maybe the storm is finally headed this way. But then it is calm again, with only the buzzing of insects and the faint noise of a motorboat speeding down the lake to disturb the …
For those attending, it lasted 3 days. For those of us helping to make it happen, it was more than a week of concentrated effort, of thinking only of Dirt Fest, and of making sure that the event went as smoothly as it could possibly go. The houseboat arrived on Monday, and we had one …
The next week of my life is going to be nuts. This coming weekend, Dirt Rag's Dirt Fest happens at the Allegrippis Trails, and a couple thousand mountain bike enthusiasts from all over the county will be traveling to our backyard. It's a truly wonderful and exciting event to see and help make happen, but …
Following in the tradition of last year, on this particular Sunday, which is to us just a Sunday like any other, Evan and I headed outside for a day on the water and in the woods, paddleboarding from the Petersburg hydroelectric dam to the 4th Street Bridge in Huntingdon (which is conveniently located behind the …
Yesterday morning, my friends Jake and Jeff set off on a big paddling adventure---to canoe from the back door of the shop in Huntingdon to Jake's parents house on the Chesapeake Bay. The allotted time for the trip is 3 weeks, but they think they will be done a little sooner. They packed everything they need …
We were supposed to be on vacation this week. We were supposed to load up bikes with touring gear and hit the road, going somewhere we'd never been, exploring unfamiliar territory. First the plan was somewhere in West Virginia, then northern Pennsylvania's Elk Country, then the burning ghost-town of Centralia, a place we have both …
Outside, giant, wet flakes fall from the sky. The wind gusts, blowing the snow sideways. Pulling on a suit of neoprene that is perhaps still wet from yesterday's river adventures is anything but appealing. In fact, all I really feel like doing is curling up under the blankets with a good book or my laptop, …
It's pouring as I leave work, drive to the store, get gas, load paddling gear. By the time I'm done Evan is almost ready, and we load the canoe together, the rain down to a drizzle now. It's chilly and wet---the weather perhaps not ideal conditions for a paddle, but the creek is running high---perfect …
Last Saturday morning, after an evening of jamming out to Cabinet and exploring the town of Jim Thorpe, PA, we hiked off the hangovers at Glen Onoko Falls, a series of waterfalls just outside town in Lehigh Gorge State Park. Icy conditions made the trail treacherous, but luckily we brought our Yaktrax, which worked wonderfully. …
helena kotala 