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Trail Karma
A common saying among hikers is that “the trail gives you what you need.” Wouldn’t it be great if, in return, we could all give the trail what it needs?!
Recently, some of my good friends over at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy let me in on a new trail initiative …
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High School: A Rocky Path
I feel the most pressure when I am standing in front of 9th to 12th grade students. I feel insecure and uncertain. I feel like I am back in High School!
As a speaker, it is exciting to customize the message of the trail to meet the needs of colleges …
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Life Shakedown
In backpacking, when you go through your gear and decide what you no longer need to carry it is considered a pack “shakedown.”
Mountain Crossings outfitter at Neels Gap, GA is famous for providing pack shakedowns for beginning backpackers on the Appalachian Trail. Each …
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Section Hiking is HARD
When I went to the Continental Divide Trail for a 12-day section hike this past August, I thought that I was going to reclaim something that was lost.
Independence.
At age 24, I started Blue Ridge Hiking Company, which turned most of my local backpacking trips into guided hikes. Then …
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Appalachian Trail Film Tour
It’s the year of the TRAIL MOVIE!!!
With Wild scheduled to hit theaters in December and A Walk in the Woods coming out in 2015, I am looking forward to spending some quality time at the movie theater eating buckets of buttery popcorn as I watch other people …
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Favorite New Trail Foods
I wanted this blog to about the reflections of my 11 day solo backpacking trip on the CDT. But there were two problems. Number one, I discovered I am still processing a lot from that hike and I don’t know quite how to put it into words …
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Trail Records: Positive or Negative?
After 12 months of traveling the country in a Prius and hiking in 44-states with our infant-turned-toddler, the Pharr Davis family took a 3-week reprieve to rest and recharge at our house in Asheville. The break, which seemed like an eternity in the beginning, was quickly …
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Takeaways of a Section Hiker
Over the past five summers, because of my schedule as a teacher and the fact that I married a trail junkie, I’ve had the good fortune of leaving behind work, bills, and- for all intents and purposes- the world to go for a walk in some of the …
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Mother's Day Remembrance
On book tour, Brew and I try to visit National Park units as often as possible. These landmarks include well-known parks such as Yellowstone or The Great Smoky Mountains, but also encompass National Scenic and Recreation Trails, as well as...
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Astronauts are Campers, too!
When Brew, Charley and I went to Houston on book tour, we took some time to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Not only did we get a private tour of the facility, but our family was able to have lunch with two different astronauts. …
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