by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas | Apr 8, 2018 | Uncategorized
Today, ten years ago, I took my first step on the Appalachian Trail. It started the trajectory to the hiker I am today. When I set out, I barely spent more than a few days on the East Coast. I could count on my fingers the number of nights I had spent out under the...
by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas | Jan 31, 2018 | Uncategorized
However you define “big miles,” here are tips to do your first 10, 20, 30 or 50-mile day hike. A few weeks ago, I posted a story on Instagram about re-hiking Cactus to the Clouds, a dayhike called “one of America’s hardest and deadliest” by Backpacker Magazine. It got...
by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas | Jul 4, 2017 | Uncategorized
The irony of my trip to Corsica is that for for weeks, I had been looking forward to hiking in Europe because I was getting tired of training in the hot, dry, scrubby, California ecosystem near my home. As soon as our plane landed, the view of the mountains looked...
by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas | May 15, 2017 | Advice, Uncategorized
I hear complaints all the time from climbers, runners, trail runners, mountaineers, mountain bikers about hiking: It’s slow. It’s repetitive. It’s boring. In a world of FKTs, GoPros, and Snapchat, the simple beauty of hiking...
by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas | May 3, 2017 | Advice, Uncategorized
It’s no secret this is going to be a big snow year on the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, too. It got me thinking about how I learned the hard way how to keep my feet warm in snowy “summer” hiking conditions. Distance hikers are going...
by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas | Apr 26, 2017 | Hike, Trail, Uncategorized
Nothing tells truth like humor. Last August and September, Naomi “The Punisher” and I hiked the Great Divide Trail through the Canadian Rockies. While I never blogged about it, now is the time. I’m gonna save you a lot of reading and let this Top Ten...
