Limping through a busy weekend after an absolutely crazy long week, Debbie and I sat at the dinner table after an early Sunday dinner and tried to regroup. Â As I looked out the window I saw the dogwood tree twisting in the breeze, I knew my evening plans would consist of something outdoors. Â Knowing that…
The epic 22+ mile hike in the Grand Canyon is glaring at me, now hovering only a few weeks out. It’s crunch time and I needed a good test of my readiness and to work out a few tweaks to my gear. Once again, Greensfelder County Park got the call and answered with a suitable…
After several solo hikes recently, I was able to meet up with some fellow rim to rim hikers and tackle a training hike along the Chubb Trail in western St. Louis county. Â On a beautiful and warm Sunday, I was joined by Eric, AJ, and Pete for a 14 mile endurance-building hike beginning at the…
The 9 mile loop at the Wilderness Trail at Meramec State Park was completely bi-polar today. Â I arrived at the trailhead around 10:00 to find no other cars there at all, totally shocking for April 15th at this popular park. Â Of course it was 35 degrees with a gusty wind, and it had rained each…
When we got to Elephant Rocks I was very tired but ready for the trail at the same time.  I typically don’t like hiking, but thought it would be fun.  We started with a little low rocks, compared to what was coming later. After that we went to the 120 year old ruins of an…
Feeling restless and anxious to log some more miles in preparation for my next Grand Canyon hike, I sought out a new, rugged trail at Don Robinson State Park. Â My plan was to go hike the 4 mile Sandstone Canyon Trail, then the 2.5 mile LaBarque Hills Trail and make it home in time to…
Valley View Glades Natural Area is one of my favorite St. Louis area hikes. Â The 225 acre natural area is home to some very large dolomite glades as well as a neat mix of oak, hickory, and cedar woodland areas with a series of wet-weather creeks running along side the trail. Â For just a short…
