My sister called this afternoon to find out how the “lady of leisure” spent her day. Yes, that’s right, I am now a lady of leisure. Last Friday I became the casualty of budget cuts…

Such a lovely day in Knoxville, sunny, blue skies, the bare hint of a breeze and low 50’s. Days like this bring to mind the fact that spring is not far off and the sense…

The backpack was a great break after the 10k and a chance to see if my running and bicycling have made a difference in my hiking. The answer is a resounding YES, I can see…

The weather Saturday morning was ominous. As we pulled out of town (around 10:40 AM), dark clouds hung low in Knoxville. When we reached Elizabethton, dark clouds gave way to light rain and fog. A…

Long underwear-check, rain jacket-check, hand warmers-check, down sleeping bag-check…. H-m-m-m-m, somehow all this stuff Has to fit in this! Can backpack #65 really be almost here? Just a month ago, with frozen fingers and toes,…