Thru and Back Again
Just finished reading Luke “Strider” Jordan’s book about his 2013 thru hike of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Reader’s of this blog are well acquainted with the fact that there is such a thing. I’ve posted a number of times on the diversity of the NSTs, and the fact that they go well beyond […]
GPT – Photo of the Week – 7/10/2017
The previous two photos were both from South Dakota, so let’s switch it up a bit and head south on the trail to Nebraska. This is one of my favorite shots of the Pine Ridge, taken in Oglala National Grassland. The dark skies give it an ominous and powerful look.
GPT – Photo of the Week 7/3/17
Oops. Missed last week (been on vacation), and I’m barely sneaking this one in on Monday due to absence on said vacation. Here’s this week’s shot from the trail, this time from the famous Black Hills of South Dakota: They are an island of forest in a sea of grass. You can see the grassy […]
GPT – Photo of the Week – Slim Buttes
Here’s a new thing: Every Monday we’ll post a photo of the week from somewhere on the Great Plains Trail. This week is a shot from Custer National Forest in western South Dakota. This parcel of National Forest is in the Slim Buttes region, which was the site of an influential battle between the Sioux […]
South Dakota
Bison
Guadalupe Peak
National Trails Day!
Today (June 3) is National Trails Day. It’s a time to celebrate trails of all shapes and sizes. From well known long distance trails like the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail to local bike paths and neighborhood walking trails. That said, not every trail is technically a “national trail.” There are three categories for […]
The National Trail System Act of 1968
On October 2, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the National Trails System Act, which among other things, seeks “to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation.” Here are some more wise words about the NTS […]
Are Long Distance Trails Normal?
As a brief follow up to my previous, wordy, rambling, existential treatise. I want to also talk a little about typical, usual, “normal” businesses. In the scene I described in the previous post, the standard suburban shopping area, there is nothing that is out of the ordinary, nothing unusual, nothing that any modern American would […]
Are Long Distance Trails Necessary?
A few weeks ago, while driving around the heavily suburbanized outskirts of my home town looking for something or other, I began to wonder about all of the businesses I was seeing. In just a short scan of the near horizons, there were several restaurants, a coffee shop, a home center, a shoe store, a […]
Making tracks on the Picketwire
We all know the Great Plains for their wide and open spaces. With little to hinder the eye – no peaks, no forests, only rolling hills and sometimes not even that — we can see far and deep. Thunderstorms a county or two over boil up before us by day, stars are seen horizon to […]
