Here we go! 1500 miles to Denali We made it to the official start of the World Famous Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Dawson Creek is an industrial type of town, a little grey during this cloudy day and closed-down season. We fueled up, took the obligatory photo in front of the sign, … Continue reading Fuzzy Animals ‘n Covid Curveball
Florida Sea BaseDenali Backcountry Lodge Ah, the privilege of working in beautiful locations on opposite ends of the spectrum, and country! It's just over 5,000 miles to drive a straight run from Islamorada, Florida to Denali National Park, Alaska. Then add in some side adventures, and a lay-over in Illinois, and our time and distance … Continue reading 5,000 miles from the Keys to Denali
We continued down trail from that heart-lifting trail magic from Abigail, alongside an almost catastrophic human-engineered canal system. (Humans trying and failing to control nature, imagine that). What did come from it was this nice shaded levee for the rest of our morning walk. We met a couple poking at a water moccasin snake, and … Continue reading Hiking is such a Pain in the…. Leg.
So here we are, a month into our hike. Up until this point, we have seen maybe a few dozen gators, miscellaneous amount of birds, a few deer, and fields of farm cows. No cougar sightings, no bear sightings... just a bunch of poo here and there. Well, today was the day. In one day, … Continue reading Critters and Springs abound!
Tramily - n. [trail family] - strangers who were brought together on trail, sometimes for days, sometimes for months, but grow into a supportive family who suffer through rough times together, and enjoy the fun times together. We were able to reconnect with some friends at Billy Goat Day, seeing some weren't too far ahead … Continue reading Tramily Matters
I have mentioned our new hammocks a few times, and what better time to briefly talk about them than during a post about our time walking through the beautiful, serene oak hammocks along the Florida Trail. To clear any confusion: hammock - a hanging bed or couch made of canvas, netted cord, or the like, … Continue reading Hammocks in the Hammocks
Back around the time we started planning our Florida Trail hike, we received an invitation to attend the wedding of Steve's friend AJ, an Appalachian Trail friend from 2015. As luck would have it, though AJ is from Boston area, his bride is from Florida, so the wedding was in Florida! As we started our … Continue reading Trail Camaraderie
The mud-riddled, wet swamp walk put us at 30 miles into the 1100 mile trail. Challenge 1 - done! The next part was a whole new obstacle to most trail dwellers. Out of the 11 National Scenic Trails in the United States, only 2 are complete trails on designated 'trail land' (public lands, easements, or … Continue reading Paved Paradise?
The Florida Trail not only offers a winter hiking option for non-snow inclined outdoor enthusiasts, but a unique chance to traverse a new ecosystem not found too often in the US - a true swamp. We rung in our 2020 checking our lists twice (and 3 and 4 times) to make sure we were set … Continue reading Into the Swamp
SMOR Adventures 