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Towns Along the Way
An index of some towns near trails and parks that I've described.































































































































































My Interesting Tales page has old front page items. Dated but still interesting.

Rails to trails: A discussion of historical connections to old rail beds

Radical Walking

Every dedicated walker has felt that at least sometimes their addiction was viewed as a crime. Taking a shortcut through someone's private property one might meet with the outraged "owner" of a large tract of land. (I scare quote "owner" because I lean to the native belief that no one can really own land. We can be caretakers and as walkers we must be caretakers of any land we walk upon.

If some of this sounds familiar, you're part of a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years. Have a look at Donna Landrer's "Radical Walking" essay. This is a fine piece of academic writing. "Whether in cities or the country, we are now in effect poachers in privatised space," concludes Landry.

She mentions 18th-century walker Foster Powell (right), who walked 402 miles in fives days, amongst other feats.







Finlo Rohr has written an excellent piece connecting walking with thinking, wandering, getting lost (in a good sense), writing, philosophy and the like. It's a BBC piece called "The slow death of purposeless walking" (May 1, 2014).


Some politics...

The U.S. government is cutting off its nose to spite its face, as my mum used to say.

Here's a piece from the Knoxville Daily Sun describing cutbacks to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and similar parks across the country. It's killing a thriving tourist industry and depriving millions of Americans of a cheap and healthy way to relax.


A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Rocky Bald on the Appalachian trail (127.5
miles from Springer Mountain). A photo cannot do justice to the breathtaking
splendour of these mountains: after hours of long, exhausting trekking, the top of
a mountain is reached, or there is an opening in the trail's forest canopy, and you
cannot fail to be awestruck by the grandeur of these ancient hills. Photo: June 5, 2013

Here's a touching story from 1969 about a seven-year-old boy who got lost in the Great Smokies and was never found.

In Canada, the federal government and the Ontario provincial government (and likely other provinces) are slashing programs too. It's somewhat more muted than the American version, but it's slow and steady and it's eroding our parks and natural spaces. (See this Globe and Mail report for federal park cuts; this Toronto Star article for Ontario park cuts.) Same end effect: a nasty jab at affordable recreation for the middle and lower classes, a devastating kick at the livelihood of tourist operators, and the elimination of hundreds of research programs, youth programs and the like to generally lower our standard of living. False thrift. Recently, (2014) the Ontario provincial government, backed off slightly, reopening three parks—and then wanted accolades for correcting their error.



While their language can be obscure, the U.S.-based  Performing Mobilities Network is intriguing. They apparently use performance artists to investigate aspects of "mobility" including walking. If they could get a tad further from the foggy artistic/academic doubletalk, they could be onto something. As one of my careers includes performance, it seems a good thing could be developed here. Of course, gypsies and the like were on to this years ago, but still, a formal (practical) investigation of art and walking could be exciting. Sign me up!







Camping in the air. This is from the Daily Mail. Slackwalking and now camping on nets and ropes. Definitely out there! Take a stroll with nothing but 420 feet of air between you and the desert sand.











Study of Gneiss Rock, Glenfinlas, 1853, Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford, England. Pen and Ink and wash with Chinese ink on
paper. Photo: From John Ruskin Wikopedia page.

Vanderwater Park, near Thomasburg, Ontario is my "home park." This ice and water pictorial essay of a little seasonal falls and creek that flows in the park, eventually pouring into the Moira River, describes one of my favourite haunts.

Photo: from the Daily Mail (see link above).

Stephen Gough is trudging across Britain as we speak (unless he's in the clink). In October, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights rejected his bid to get them to support his claim that his rights are being transgressed.

He has spent an incredible amount of time in prison for his efforts, but continues his hobby with passion. See this June 19, 2013 Guardian article for details on his latest jailing.   In February, 2013, the courts ordered him to cover up, but he  obviously didn't abide.

Prudery, attention-getting, psychological warts and so on aside, it's more about the right to be eccentric. The Brits, of all nations are experts at that.



Stephen Gough hiking in Scotland. See the full Guardian (on the link to the
left) article for more. Photo from the Guardian site.

In late June, the Appalachian has a nude hiking day. Here's a really bad cutline from the Christian Science Monitor in 2009. Apparently the governor of South Carolina took off unannounced on nude hiking day. The CSM made the connection, except that it was simply a coincidence. The governor may or may not be a really naughty guy, but the supposedly humorous connection may fool some into thinking he really did hike nude!

Of course, if you meet a naked hiker, depending upon your gender, it could be unsettling. Here's a woman who has some advice if you meet a naked hiker on the Appalachian, or any trail for that matter: Six safety tips a naked hiker taught me.

Some years ago, the Canadian Federation of Podiatric Medicine, declared Vancouver the best Canadian walking city. (By the way, the CFPM site is pretty cool if you're looking for advice on foot care.) Second was Fredericton, followed by Nanaimo, Brantford and Peterborough. A CNW article (which looks like it's actually a CFPN news release) provides more information, including a list of the top 15 cities. Westjet airlines has a 2010 list that's interesting, although a  check of where the judges live indicates some bias in city choices.

 

Texting and walking -- not a good idea.
2012: Here's a CBC report on texting and walking. Some U.S. states are considering a ban on texting or listening to music while walking. Recently, after a decline, there's been an increase in  deaths while walking. Some say this is because of inattentive walkers, listening to music or texting while walking. CBC filed a report from New York.

In Fort Lee, New Jersey, cops are Handing out $85 tickets for texting and walking. You are warned: in Fort Lee, just walk and chew your gum. Stop at a bar for a couple of beer before texting.
 

Time to walk faster. An article in the Post Chronicle discusses a study in which it claims older people who walk slowly will die earlier than those of the same age who walk faster. A report last year (2012) links slower walking with the greater chance of getting dementia in later years.

On the other hand, some claim that walking slower burns more calories. Be careful here: an often-cited University of Colorado report by Ray Browning actually makes a more subtle point, which is that obese people, who may like walking at a more leisurely pace will make more strides within a weight-loss management program than if they push themselves.

The Human Body is Built for Distance Check out this  New York Times article. It's mostly about running, but there are arguments here for walkers to ponder.

I like the pitch for lower tech footwear. I'm testing out a very light pair of Vibram Five Fingers now (March 2013).  It's too early to tell, but I think at the very least they'll make a light second piece of footwear for fording creeks and sitting around a camp in the evening giving my boots a rest.

August, 2013 update: my "VFF's" are great for teaching my toes not to overlap (which they do). However, I have found that they don't work for me in camp. After a tiring day hiking, spending a long time to put on shoes that are not particularly comfortable is a big negative. My pair is also very thin, so stumbling on any rock or root could damage my foot (and stumbling is much more likely after a long day).

Also, after not too much use, they stink. Washing with soap helps, but that's another job that's a drag. I'll stick with something that protects my toes a bit more and that I can slip into quickly to give my feet a break from boots.

Walter Benjamin, in One-Way Street (1923-26):
 

"The power of a country road when one is walking along it is different from the power it has when one is flying over it by airplane. In the same way, the power of a text when it is read is different from the power it has when it is copied out.

"The airplane passenger sees only how the road pushes through the landscape, how it unfolds according to the same laws as the terrain surrounding it. Only he who walks the road on foot learns the power it commands, and of how, from the very scenery that for the flier is only the unfurled plain, it calls forth distances, belvederes, clearings, prospects at each of its turns like a commander deploying soldiers at a front. Only the copied text thus commands the soul to him who is occupied with it, whereas the mere reader never discovers new aspects of his inner self that are opened by the text, that road cut through the interior jungle forever closing behind it: because the reader follows the movement of his mind in the free flight of daydreaming, whereas the copier submits it to command. The Chinese practice of copying books was thus an incomparable guarantee of literary culture, and the transcript a key to China's enigmas."

I am walking; it is enough.
 

           
Ice grass, Nesowadnehunk Stream,

            Appalachian Trail, Maine.
            November, 2008