Tag: hiking

You used to call me Sparrow. Why?

Live & Learn25 Comments

Dear Mother, You used to call me Sparrow. Why Sparrow? Well, because the woods are full of sparrows, and you loved everything outdoors. Songbirds, wildflowers, wind. You could read the weather like a poem. But why did I remind you of a sparrow and not another songbird? I never thought to ask. With their white cheeks and dingy underparts, plain brown sparrows are everywhere. They beg at outdoor tables and hop under city benches. They nest in chimneys and rafters and even tailpipes. Sparrows are not much to look at, but they’re smart. Canny. Tiny, feathered battle-axes. Sparrows are survivors. I like to think that’s what you meant… No woman is a star. No woman is a god or a tree or a magician. But for a while, in your arms, the universe was the right size, and I knew where I was…Mothers have a sixth sense. Their love is occult.

— Amity Gaige, Heartwood: A Novel (Simon & Schuster, April 1, 2025)

Notes:

SMWI*: Moucherotte

Live & Learn14 Comments

Moucherotte – 2013 – L2A Production from kevin valliere on Vimeo.

Take a slow and easy walk up Moucherotte in the French Alps…wrapped in R&B, Al Green-like soul music by Darondo. “Didn’t I” can be found on iTunes here. (What a great song!)

SMWI*: Walk

Live & Learn24 Comments

walk, walking

“Two hikers with separate agendas and hiking solo, unaware of the other, set out to break the record for fastest time in completing the Pacific Crest Trail, a grueling, 2,650-mile test for thru-hikers…”

“Heather “Anish” Anderson, a previously overweight high school student who dreamed of one day setting some sort of athletic record, and Josh Garrett, a dedicated vegan raising awareness for Mercy For Animals, both succeeded in their quests, and did so within a day of each other.”

“I carried all of my gear the entire way. I did not have a crew of people meeting me. When I needed supplies, I walked into and out of towns, which added about 30 miles total to my hike…”

“I cry when I think about all the things I have overcome to get here, both on this hike and off. It makes me ever so grateful to that chubby girl who dared to dream big, audacious dreams. I am even more thankful that she grew up to be a woman courageous enough to make those dreams reality.”

“Her dreams came true…reaching the Canadian border by averaging nearly 44 miles a day.”

Continue reading “SMWI*: Walk” →

SMWI*: Playground, Italy

Live & Learn16 Comments

Playground, Italy from Matty Brown on Vimeo.

Incredible. When can we go?!

SMWI* = Saturday Morning Workout Inspiration

Sunday Morning: Tenting it for 165 days

Live & Learn25 Comments

“A pair of backpackers, trail names of North Star and Shutterbug, quit their day jobs in 2012, and took 165 days to hike the Pacific Coast Trail, from Mexico to Canada, all 2,660 miles of it. And each day, they snapped off a photo of their tent.” The foot-tapping music is “Old Pine” by Ben Howard.

Bottom line: LOVED IT.

Good Sunday morning.

Source: Grindtv.  “North Star” is Anna Sofranko, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Shutterbug is a professional photographer and a native of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Both are dedicated backpackers who this year will be hiking the Appalachian Trail on the East Coast and the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand. You can find their blog @ Wandering the Wild.