Episodes

When I was a child, my dad allowed me to steer the family boat for the first time. The lesson I learned from that day set the course for how I would navigate life. It’s a philosophy I try to embrace whether I’m working on a project at home, spending a few days on a hiking trail, or traveling the highways and backroads to see something new. The post Keeping the Fate appeared first on Tales from the Cabin.

In the 1910s, a vast Indiana marshland known as “Limberlost” was dredged and drained to provide access for the timber and oil industries and to create more farmland. At the time, not many people were considering the effect that practically eliminating a 13,000 acre marsh would have. A local author, who had written several books about Limberlost, tried to make her voice heard. Yet, her concerns were largely ignored. One hundred years later, a farmer who was dealing with consistency losing crops ...

Grandma Gatewood was an Appalachian Trail pioneer. In 1955, at age 67, she set off to escape an abusive relationship and blazed a path that inspires women to this day. A new project seeks to create two bronze statues of Grandma Gatewood. one at her gravesite and one adjacent to the Appalachian Trail. I interviewed renowned sculptor, Bridgette Mongeon, whose work appears at the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame®, in numerous other celebrated public spaces, and at private gravesites about her i...

You don’t have to quit your day job to hike the Appalachian Trail — unless you want to :) I spent 28 years hiking the 2,100-mile trail with my friend, Wayne and I learned a ton about trip planning and preparation. Here are some things to think about if you’d like to visit part of the storied trail yourself. Trip Planning Resources Appalachian Odyssey: A 28-year hike on America’s Trail Suggested Section Hikes by State My Guide to Loop Hikes and Shuttles Appalachian Trail Conservancy Shuttle Pr...

I am always intrigued by the question of whether a conservationist’s love of nature came from the environment they grew up in, the influence of parents and/or other mentors, or both. To find out, I prefer to visit the places they were raised and where they practiced their craft. Tracing Aldo Leopold’s roots was something I had yearned to do for many years and I finally got to it. As always, I was grateful for the opportunity. If you’d like to take a deeper dive into Leopold’s life, accomplishme...

In 2024, he is practically unknown — a man who considered himself an abject failure toiling in the shadows of America’s greatest triumph of its day. Yet, Steele MacKaye’s greatest “failure” spawned a number of things that are familiar and inspirational touchstones for millions of people worldwide. Things he never got to see because he was felled by his own shame. The post Steele’s Legacies appeared first on Tales from the Cabin.

In 1983, I set out with a few friends to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s hard to believe now, but it was a time when fewer than 15 people completed the trail each year. In the ’70s and ’80s, when the trail through southern California wasn’t traversing mountains on well-established tread, it dropped into desert terrain, where dirt roads, known as “Jeep Roads” became the norm. Water sources were always a challenge, but the Mojave Desert area raised the level of uncertainty and danger. This is ...