mountains – Hug, The Traveler*

The Greenest Mountains: Burlington and a Big Red Bus

Jeffersonville, VT: June, 2021 It wasn’t far after crossing the Champlain Bridge that I began to notice signs in both English and French and saw Vermont’s namesake mountains paralleling the lake shore. It could have been self-manifesting confirmation bias but the trees really did look greener, as if they permanently retained the squint-inducing electric limeContinue reading “The Greenest Mountains: Burlington and a Big Red Bus”

Ascending the Indian Staircase: Red River Gorge with Lauren

Red River Gorge, KY: August, 2019 We began by walking down the Sheltowee Trace, a trans-Kentucky trail that starts just north of here and winds its way to the Tennessee border, the little cousin of the Appalachian Trail through the Appalachian state the original one forgot. It was a bumpy and shady single track andContinue reading “Ascending the Indian Staircase: Red River Gorge with Lauren”

Below Treeline: Spring in Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain NP, CO – May, 2017 We entered the National Park during a driving rainstorm after a perfectly clear drive up from Lyons. Longs Peak was shrouded in several layers of gray, after appearing dauntingly above the foothills for most of the trip. Pyramidal with snow covering the top third, Longs Peak looks likeContinue reading “Below Treeline: Spring in Rocky Mountain National Park”

Celebrating Silence: An Autumn Hike On Mt. Le Conte

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN: October, 2018 –Tennessee is said to have three Grand Divisions, physiocultural regions represented by the three stars on the state flag and on the Titans logo: East – Mountains – Bluegrass Music – Smokies Central – Plateau – Country Music – Nashville West – Delta – Blues Music –Continue reading “Celebrating Silence: An Autumn Hike On Mt. Le Conte”

Front of the Front Range: Hiking in Boulder and Not Running the World’s Most Famous 10K

Boulder, Colorado: May 2017 Mt. Sanitas is one of the easier mountains to summit in the area around Boulder and is so close to the center of the city that the hike more or less began when we walked out the door of the inn away from the bright rising sun. The neighborhoods sloping towardsContinue reading “Front of the Front Range: Hiking in Boulder and Not Running the World’s Most Famous 10K”