Blissful Hiking
Fulfill Your Hiking Dream! Here to help fellow hikers by offering wisdom, ideas, and lessons learned from a two-time AT North and South, Long Trail, Foothills Trail, Allegheny Trail, Colorado Trail, Florida Trail, BMT, Pinhoti, Arizona, Shenandoah Nat'l Park 500 miler completions. Former AT Ridgerunner for six years. Author and Speaker on Hiking and Backpacking. 12,000 miles plus
Friday, August 01, 2025
When Injury Sidelines You
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Preventing Heat-Related Issues while Backpacking and Hiking
Yes it can get hot with bad water even in places like the Colorado Trail. Prepare! |
How to prevent heat-related illnesses from happening on a hike:
- Take frequent rest breaks in cool, shady areas
- Drink plenty of water and eat salty foods. Carry electrolyte replacement (like Nuun or Liquid IV Hydration) to add to water. Be sure to carry plenty of water in desert environments. if the sources are far apart or contaminated, prepare with filtering capability, a good guidebook, and containers to tote water. You can also over-drink and deplete your sodium levels, leading to other potentially harmful conditions. When you drink, don't overdo it either! Do NOT drink Alcohol which can lead to quicker dehydration as it pulls water from your body.
- Wear lightweight clothing and light colors. Wear a lightweight hat. Use sunscreen to prevent sunburn.
- Carry maps and guidebooks so you know where the water sources are. If you pass a source, no matter what, fill up. You can also collect water off your tent, etc. during storms. Check for areas too where you can take a dip and cool off. Use hiker intel to tell you what water conditions are like en route or ask in hiker forums before you go.
- Never go off on a hike, no matter how short it is, without water.
- Use common sense. If you are prone to heat related illness, choose a different location or wait for a better time to hike (such as early AM or late PM)
- Carry a cell phone for emergencies and hike with a buddy.
- If you feel hot, dry, your urine output is low, that means you are severely dehydrated and your core body temp is rising. Especially if you STOP sweating when you should be. That means DANGER. Stop immediately, rest, and rehydrate. Sunstroke kills!
Thursday, June 05, 2025
Learning from Tragedy
The recent tragic event on the high mountain of Katahdin in Maine, where a father and daughter both lost their lives to hypothermia, has prompted me to share a few thoughts.
I believe one of the most widely neglected parts of Leave No Trace is planning and preparing for high peak hiking such as Katahdin. It’s very easy to let things go because of the thrill inherent in summiting a major peak like this, and also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. I’ve been in that mood where one is so excited to reach a goal, you let go of the things that matter. Such as planning in a way that could save your life in certain situations. Humans like to believe in their invincibility, but we really do sacrifice it to the unknown.
I’ve summited Katahdin twice, and the second time I did was in July, when pleasant weather existed at the base. But once the hiker ascended into the high peaks, the weather turned. I was very thankful to have full rain gear and insulated wear when hail began to fall. But many people up there wore flimsy clothing, no packs with adequate clothing and necessities, and not even rain gear. Hypothermia in these high peaks is an all too frequent scenario that hikers must prepare for. In a temperature of 50° with precipitation and high winds, you easily lose body heat. I’ve been in a situation where one of my family members exhibited hypothermia, and they became totally confused, entering the mumbles and grumbles stage. They don’t think, and they don’t react appropriately. It's important to know the symptoms, to know what to do in hypothermic weather and be ready for it. Dealing with Hypothermia in the Wilderness
But if, for some reason, things happen and you get stuck, a way to alert authorities is crucial. Thankfully, I listened to a good friend of mine who encouraged me to carry an emergency device, and bit the bullet for a Garmin inReach that I now use. It can send out emergency texts when cell phones fail, as well as an SOS feature.
It’s important to do whatever you can to safeguard yourself. We mourn the losses, but through their experiences, perhaps future tragedies can be prevented.
1. Know your limitations
2. Check trail details ahead of time. Don't be afraid to alter plans.
3. Check the weather right up to the start date
4. Bring adequate clothing, wind and rain protection. Bring food and other survival gear.
5. Know first aid, including hypothermia symptoms. Bring a good first aid kit
6. Bring a Garmin Inreach
7. Leave word of your hiking plans with others, and if possible, don't hike alone.
Monday, June 02, 2025
Are You Ready for a Big Hike? Besides Gear, Consider These Steps
Here are a few tips I’ve used to begin the process and get myself ready for that next great adventure.
Veggies, especially the green types, lean meats and fish, whole wheat products, and drinking plenty of water are good choices. Try to cut down on refined sugary products and useless carbohydrates like white breads, crackers, muffins, things that will spike your sugar levels. Also, when you feel full, stop eating. Don’t take the second helping. Controlling portions helps. Look into intermittent fasting. A few pounds shed now is less that needs to be carried on the trip.
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I do day hiking in nearby Shenandoah to prepare. But any place where you can walk will do. |
Thursday, February 06, 2025
2025 Trail Festivals and Conference Schedule
2025
Check back for more events.
Sunday, January 05, 2025
Hiking in the Winter
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Winter snow and ice on the Pocosin Hollow trail in Shenandoah National Park |
Monday, December 30, 2024
2024 Blissful Hiking Review in Images
This was the year of finally returning to the Appalachian Trail (AT) and working my way northward, accomplishing 356.6 miles from Palmerton, Pennsylvania to Bennington, Vermont in three separate hikes.
But first came some hiking shakedowns in Shenandoah National Park, including a stay at the Jones Mountain Cabin, once owned by a mountaineer Harvey Nickols whose wife is buried on a knoll above the cabin. (cabins are rentable from the PATC)
Good waterfall hikes also added to a cardio workout until I could backpack.
But my first test began on the AT at Palmerton, PA and ascending the rocks that turned out to be tough. That night I inadvertently became entwined in a search and rescue with dogs and drones (the hiker in question was deceased in his tent a mile from me, I found out later). There is never a dull moment on the AT,
Finally I left these series of rocks behind and crossed into New Jersey. I have always been partial to the NJ views on the trail (this is my third hike of the AT).
I left the trail to attend Trail Days in Damascus. Though a bit damp, it was good to reconnect with hikers. I did not realize at the time though that this town and other places on the AT would be devastated by Hurricane Helene that fall, leaving it scarred and heavily damaged. Many places are still struggling to come back alive after such devastation.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
A New England Wander
Continuing on my journey of completing my third Appalachian Trail hike where I left off in mid-New York from my summer jaunts and onward into beautiful autumn weather.
For the first week, beginning shy of Bear Mountain, NY, I had mild weather and even shorts weather without any precipitation and lots of sunshine. However, despite the warmth, the leaves were starting to turn and fall was in full progress.
But like anything, weather can change on a dime as it did while on my hike, including snow as I entered Massachusetts at the highest point of Mount
Greylock. While there I stopped inside Boscomb Lodge for a nice cup of
tea and a sandwich which I had missed on my previous two hikes. Seeing the pines decorated in snow and ice was magical.
But it also taught me that carrying the winter gear I did for the first two weeks paid off on that last week when the weather turned cold. Always make sure you are planning and preparing for all weather contingencies especially if your section hike is a long one.
The hike was completed at Bennington, Vermont, of which next year I hope to finish the rest of the trail for my third AT completion.
I met several hikers out there, and a few even hiking the section I was doing in lower New England. Like all aspects of the trail, one has to get used to the rocks and doing the uphills. Stairmaster heaven. But after spending three weeks, I had accomplished some pretty good conditioning, hoping that pausing the hike at Bennington, Vermont will prepare me for the challenging White Mountains of New Hampshire and the mountains of lower Maine. Stay tuned for hiking adventures in 2025.
For books on my hiking adventures on the AT and the Florida Trail, check out Blissful Hiking