Putting My Condition into Remission

Today marks two weeks since I have been off prednisone. I had been on the medication for just over three years starting when I was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR), an auto immune inflammatory disorder. My symptoms began in the spring of 2020 shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak—and they grew progressively worst that by…

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2,321.1 miles!

Last year was a good year for me on the trail! I ended up amassing more than 2300 running and hiking miles which included some pretty memorable experiences. While I got hit with Covid (who hasn’t at this point?) in May, I thankfully was able to recover fairly fast and get back on the trail.…

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Pandemic Ponderings

It’s been a long past 12 months. But on this First day of Spring 2021, the sun is finally shining a little bit brighter on us. I spent a lot of time on the trail this past year doing a lot of thinking about us as a society, our relationships with the land, and what…

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Finding Solitude in Motorcycle Country

I love wilderness areas—especially wilderness areas with a large W. In those federally protected areas I am assured that the land I will be hiking or camping in is protected from incompatible uses such as resource extraction, roads, and developments. It will remain untrammeled. No bikes, motorcycles, motorized equipment, drones and other modern day intrusions,…

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Hike-a-thon was a huge Success!

325.1 miles hikes and more than $7700 raised for our trails! Wow. I am still catching by breath and catching up with my work after an amazing August. Since 2012 I have participated in the Washington Trails Association’s annual Hike-a-thon as a way to have a little fun and help give back to the trails…

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Closing Restrooms is a Crappy Idea

Covid-19 is no doubt a serious health threat, and we should be doing all we can to avoid contracting it. However, so is hepatitis and a buttload of other nasty diseases—and having to negotiate a fecal minefield is just as risky as being in a crowded room of people coughing and sneezing. While I applaud…

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Covid-placent: Indifference and Selfishness goes viral

Did I miss the memo? The one that said that the Covid-19 Pandemic is over. Because by the way many of our trails and parks looked this past weekend—and how so many people were behaving in public—you’d swear that we just subdued that nasty little virus and there was nothing more to be concerned about.…

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Avoid Crowded Trails like the…Coronavirus

Many of Washington’s state parks and forests will soon be opening back up for recreation. I imagine too that soon our state’s national forests will be doing likewise. To many hikers and runners including this one who has been adhering to the governor’s stay at home decree—we welcome this news. However, many others think it…

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The Weekend My World Forever Changed

It was a beautiful March day—a much welcomed break after weeks of incessant rain and a perpetual shroud of grey. My family and I needed to get out for a little hiking getaway. It was March 15th, and as the seriousness of the Covid-19 Pandemic began to register in the minds of most Americans, it…

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