Lost On A Mountain Of Maine

Did you know that highly trafficked areas like Niagara Falls are best for solo hiking? Highly populated areas such as Niagara falls are exquisite hiking spots for novice hikers, even if someone is hiking a simple trail, it is pivotal that people are notified of the individual's whereabouts. It is crucial to communicate with family or trusted associates before you go on a hike owing to the fact that hiking alone can pose threats such as injuries, complicated weather, and dangerous wildlife.

My eyes peeled open slowly and the bright sunlight flooded into my eyes, blinding me. I heard the sound of running water and felt the cold breeze flow over my body. I looked out of my hammock and in front of me was a beautiful waterfall and several towering, bright green trees. My friends whom were with me shortly awoke and we packed our things and set off on our first true day of hiking in the Appalachian mountains.

The mountains are a beautiful adventure. As you walk up the incline, trees overhang, animals run wild, and rivers roar. All of these are things that keep me coming back to hike. On my most recent hike, while it may have been 100 degrees back home, where I was it was a chilling 40 degrees. As we walked around ten miles up and over the mountain, I took many breaks to catch my breath and take in the majestic scenery. There are also the snow skiing vacations. While you can’t see anything besides snow and trees, the adventure of cruising down the slopes is full of adrenalin. The mountains have always signified an adventure for me. Just like the mountains, life is a beautiful adventure. I do not know yet what adventures are in store for my life, but I look forward to them. I strive to see the beauty in everything.

Strayed had gone through quite a bit before deciding on taking a hiking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail. Strayed thought the Pacific Crest Trail would help her find who she was before her mother’s death. To illustrate, “I’d set out to hike the trail so I could reflect upon my life, to think about everything that had broken me and make myself whole again” (84). This hiking trip was her way to find the person she was before her mother died. After hiking for three weeks she noticed, “I am not afraid… I realized…I’d done to myself and all that had been done to me” (122). Having spent three week hiking up Strayed become aware of a change in herself, she began showing confidence in herself (122). Her confidence is practically oozing out of her by the end of her journey (310). She tries to pass her confidence on to another person who was considering going on a similar journey on the Pacific Crest Trail. She emphasized, ‘“You could. You should. Believe me, if I can do this, anybody can”’ (310). Strayed has truly understood who she is after hiking eleven hundred miles through gruesome and extreme environments. Now, she is an inspiration to those who have hit rock bottom and need to find

In Matthew Hedger’s article “Yosemite National Park Day Hikes: Vernal Falls Death March”, he claims that you don’t always know what you’re getting into and find that things are harder than they seem. Hedger supports his claim with a story of his hike up Vernal Falls. His purpose is to inform his readers that you can always get through difficult things and that they’re stronger than they think. The intended audience is anyone who enjoys a good story and wants to know about hiking.

We were all encouraged to choke down as much food as possible. Any kind of energy was essential. A melancholy atmosphere hung heavy as the journey progressed. Minutes walking slowly progressed into hours, the sky seemed to darken steadily. All of us were oblivious to the danger shrouded by the dim evening. Only moments after scaling a rather steep ledge did nature dice to turn sour. A deafening rumble made each climber perk up. Snow began to descend at an alarming rate. Thunder began to mic the steady beating of a drum, causing more concern among the ranks of climbers. The powdery snow became more of a risk than ever, climbing under pressure and leaving nothing to stand on. Third base was more than three hours away. Three hours wasn't possible at the rate. Snowfall this bad could be detrimental to the climb’s success. Snow obscured vision and numbed faces. Shouts and orders deemed lost in the screaming wind; people’s figure became shapeless blurs frantically shifting, hoping if they struggled against the wind hard enough, they might find someone. Of course, this was to no avail. Not a single person doubted their demise would come at this point: the stakes were high and no-one could play too well against Mother Nature. The snow crept up to knee-level, making it harder and harder to travel. Death and I were face-to-face. To some, they couldn't bare the idea of dying up here; they had families and friends, children who need parents and

The mountains were tall (11,000 feet +) and covered with bright powdery snow. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was eager to set-up camp and prepare for our nine day hunt. But, Dad said that we had to drive around and check out all the good places, just to make sure that we were in

Taking on a journey stretching well over 2,100 miles, covering fourteen states (from Maine to Georgia) by foot is no simple stroll where at the end of the day a comfortable bed and hot meal would await you. Instead, hiking the Appalachian Trail can be an endless battle with all the elements of mother nature: whereas in one state spring would have sprung already with wildflowers dressing the forest floors and insects buzzing through crisp air, on other parts of the trail it [the weather conditions] would be smothering heat, but meanwhile a few states north the rain would fall endlessly with gusts of cold wind, and snow would blanket the pathways of the trail and more than likely blizzards

There are many alluring opportunities to witness nature, such as local trails and protected woods, but even a peaceful park or a backyard pond can produce such a feeling. As for me, I enjoy hiking the Appalachian Trail, the longest national park and a 2,200 mile stretch of elegant woodlands. From the summer of 2013, my father and I have established a tradition of taking two or three days to hike twenty mile sections of the trail. Though hiking the whole trail is unrealistic, the trips are most significant to me as a chance to hike, forgetting about homework, extracurricular activities, and other stressors. Admittedly, I am always reluctant to believe that climbing up rocky mountains with a twenty-five pound backpack will is a form of relief, but somehow, it always is. We typically sleep in hammocks, which allows

Life can be pretty stressful, and at times I feel the need to escape. When life’s pressures build to a critical mass my favorite place to go is Collier Township’s Panhandle trail, with its long hiking, and bike riding path, the more secluded hiking trails set deep in the woods, and fossil cliff it’s the ideal place to escape this mad mad world. I begin my journey at the start of the trail that stretches from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. The sound of tiny stones crunch under my feet as I walk, birds fly through a vibrant blue sky, and come to rest perched high in the trees that frame the walking, and bike trail. I continue down the trail for a quarter of a mile reading the small signs placed on the edge of the path set there to inform you of

Just this past summer, under the hot, and sticky sun, we pushed our car to the limit, on our 1,000 mile journey to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, although in actuality we might have pushed our fears to the absolute limit. Flipping through the Colorado vacation brochure proved to have posed some interesting vacation destinations, such as "Big Bear Lake" and Trail Ridge Road. With the intent to get high in the sky, our family headed out the next morning to Trail Ridge Road, which is a road that takes you up to a staggering height of 12,000 feet. Although optimistic, we imagined of the vast fields of green, the glacier-topped mountains, and the valleys that undertake the them. As we climbed up to the peak, it seemed apparent that there

We setout with our nalgines full of watter and we thought that we would not even use halph, But we undermested the heat and the terain of the trail. At first it was nice and shadie walk through nature. There where lots of trees and felids of crops surrounding us, and I loved it. We where all happy untill we had to climb a 200 foot h, and to make things even worst the clouds have moved and now the sun is bakeing. When we made it to the top, we where all

I tried to smile back but just the thought of going even a few inches off the ground terrified me. A few weeks ago our history teacher Mr Brown, an old and boring professor had informed us about a field trip that was supposed to help enhance our understanding of the olden times. I was pretty excited for the most part as history was my favourite subject but a week later when I was told it was to camp out in the mountains, I decided against it. But soon enough my friends were begging me to go and I mean the thought of it a few weeks ago seemed adventurous, cool and fun. Now, I watched in horror as the bus approached the starting point of descending up the mountain. I shut my eyes tightly as I squeezed James hand. I could hear the laughter of my friends, Marissa, David, Sheila, Finn and Mike watching the stupidity of my fear. After a while, I finally opened my eyes and looked out the window despite the level we were at and my heart thumping at the thought of it I looked at the breathtaking view of the city below. The view looked like something out of a story book, the city below us was lusciously green and the vibrance of the bodies of water seemed to dazzle from afar, I could see the long chain of cars

The classic American short story I have decided to delve into and discuss in these

It was a bone chilling January night; my mom received a call at about 11:15 PM, a call that changed my life forever. My Aunt June was on the other line. She was crying so hard my mother could barely understand her. Through the sobbing my mom finally understood that Brian, my cousin, had been in a horrible accident and she didn’t know how bad it was. My mother jumped out of the bed after she hung up the phone. She screamed up the stairs at my sister and me; it was a nerve shrilling scream. I could hear fear in her voice. My mom was always yelling at us growing up if we forgot to do something. She would even get us out of bed to finish something that wasn’t done completely. This particular