So What's This Blog About, Anyway?

Ever since I was a small child, I have been fascinated with the sights and sounds of nature. When I was about 8 years old, my grandfather took me fishing a few times. He and my grandmother lived in West Virginia. My father also took me on nature walks often. I live in Maryland, pretty close to Washington, DC, in the USA. The Appalachian mountains are pretty close to where I live, relatively speaking. So are several rivers and creeks. My area is very richly forested, too. I have also gone hiking in Germany, Japan, and a little bit in Ireland, The Netherlands, and Norway. In Norway and in the USA I have done extensive camping, and I consider camping to go hand-in-hand with hiking. Lately I have not had much time for camping, though.

Since the year 2000, I have also started doing cross-country skiing. I have done this wonderful sport here at home in the USA and in Japan.

My attitude towards these activities is pretty simple. I do have some special equipment, but I only use it for camping trips. I have the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!) mentality. I take my time when walking in the wilderness, and I enjoy the fresh air and the views. I occasionally enjoy the company of good friends, but more often I enjoy the isolation. I usually walk alone or in very small groups. The photo that I included above, from Weverton Cliffs in Maryland, pretty much sums up why I go hiking.

When I am able to get people to go with me, they are usually from other countries. That's because my American friends do not like hiking, and they all claim they don't have time. I have met several exceptions in the Terrapin Trail Club (see the link at the right). Since about 1992, I have taken friends from all over the world hiking, and shown off the local Appalachian mountains to them, as well as a few other things. I also tie in hiking with local history. In my area there were a number of Civil War battles on or near the mountains, and there are several parks with small museums and exhibits related to this topic.

In this blog I hope to share my love of nature with the world. I will also showcase my local area and describe its quirks. I will also describe what equipment I use. So stop by, enjoy, add a comment or two (keep it clean, please).