The weather is perfect. Everywhere I step there’s a profusion of black trumpet mushrooms (Craterellus fallax). I carry a camp stove, cookware, my own dehydrated and foraged food – and Larabars, but nothing like butter or olive oil.

So I crushed a number of shagbark hickory nuts and the oils blended beautifully with the smoky flavor of the black trumpet.

Why do I continue practicing wilderness skills, when lightweight camping gear makes life outdoors much easier? In a word, RESPECT.

Gear – for both computer and light-weight backpacking – requires research online and in the field. Learning a new computer operating system while field testing new tools creates both obstacles and opportunities.

Politicians, pundits and power brokers cannot legislate the laws of nature. Survival is as much a mental skill as a physical skill.

Two valuable online resources for people who’d rather spend time outdoors.

A useful site for winter camping enthusiasts.

The voting machine at my polling place was not working, so I voted by paper ballot before heading off to work my Tuesday CSA shift. Yesterday was an amazing day. My fellow Americans embraced faith over fear to elect President Barack Obama, who clearly possesses superior leadership skills. The last eight years have been rough; [...]

There are as many styles of nest as there are birds and animals that build nests. Here are some photos of “green” architecture from our feathered friends.

The Hawk Circle advertisement reads: Two Feet of Fresh Snow 17 Degrees Below Zero No Tent No Electricity No Problem. The reason: a quinzee – an Inuit word for a snow shelter made from compressed snow, which is then hollowed out.

Growing up in coastal Connecticut, I’ve witnessed the power of a “Nor’easter.” Counterclockwise air currents being pushed from the northeast, draw moisture from the south, creating a storm as dangerous as a hurricane. When a Nor’easter dumps snow, the impact is devastating. This particular Nor’easter has me glued to the window. Even the gossip which [...]