“It’ll be a pretty severe consequence if you fall off here. A wee bit more than a headache.” So says Keith Melton, the proprietor of Go Glencoe Guiding, who led me up a couple of Munros — a summit above 3,000 feet — during my time on assignment in Scotland last week. The two peaks we did…
Advance copies of my book have landed. The publishing date is April 1, 2015. (It should be called “Born to Wait,” one friend said.) Here’s what my publisher, ECW Press, has to say: “The humble act of putting one foot in front of the other transcends age, geography, culture, and class, and is one of…
“It could be a frequency illusion, a manifestation of my own obsessions with walking and environmental armageddon, but pilgrimage lit seems to be trending. When the going gets tough, the lost go looking.” My review of Saskatchewan writer and naturalist Trevor Herriot‘s wonderful new book, The Road is How: A Prairie Pilgrimage through Nature, Desire and…
Last summer, I spent a few days walking along the Wales Coast Path. I was following an ancient pilgrimage route, in the only country in the world with a footpath showcasing all of its seafront terrain — a country where walking also happens to play a significant role in the economy. My feature about the…
When a freeway becomes a river, this is what happens. The Cheonggyecheon Freeway used to carry nearly 170,000 vehicles through the heart of Seoul, South Korea, every day. A decade ago, in the face of angry protests, a crusading mayor torn down the elevated 16-lane highway, replacing it with an urban boulevard and park, and “daylighting”…
Heading to Kingston, Ontario, for the weekend. By car, unfortunately. Even when it’s -38 C (with the windchill), walking is fine. As I learned while living in Edmonton for a decade, layer up, cover your face, and your biggest worry will be sweating too much. There is a trail between my home in Ottawa and…
A friendly man named Mike from Fitness Depot in Ottawa arrived a few minutes ago with a LifeSpan 1200-DT5 treadmill desk for me to test walk, with the folks at Flaman Fitness in London, Ont., helping to set up the loaner. (Correct me if I’m wrong, all you Edmontonians out there, but I believe Flaman…
An inspiring phone interview today with Sean Gobin, the ex-U.S. Marine who started an organization called Warrior Hike and, in concert with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, launched the Walk Off The War program. Basically, it helps American veterans of combat find themselves — physically, mentally and spiritually — by thru-hiking the trail. Gobin, who did…
water borne 