Portland Trail Blazers

Thoreau. As days get shorter, hikes get longer on the Jessie Gerard Trail. Over a hundred trips to the summit and the view only gets better. When talking about hiking it is common to ask what is your favorite trail. This is mine. With a scenic view over the farmington river while also looking west for miles, this is a trail that will always have a spot in my heart. Everyday we climb to unreachable heights. When you start the trail you pick up the blue blazes and you are on your way. As you climb…

Bruce Peninsula National Park Dramatic cliffs rise from the turquoise waters of Georgian Bay. In large regions of forest, black bears roam and strange reptiles find shelter in rocky regions and diverse wetlands. Ancient cedar trees spiral from the cliff-edge; an abundance of orchids and ferns take root in diverse habitats. And the night is dazzling with stars in this Dark Sky Preserve. Welcome to the magic of Bruce Peninsula National Park. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Ontario’s Backyard Im…

Deep in the roaming hills of Pennsylvania, miles from any old dusty road lays the most beautiful scenery imaginable hidden from any hiking or motor trail. a) The journey starts at a small quant trailer park on the side of a hill. b) In the gully below sandwiched between the hill of the park and the naked hill across lays a tiny stream which slowly grows for miles. c) The streams turns into a small creek with shallow water but lays deep in the earth as washed out hill sides ambush and retreat…

or trails? Neither. Have you ever walked through a trail for the first time and felt the soft caressing breeze? Have you ever appreciated its surroundings, the soft round pebbles, dust, fallen leaves and branches - some dried and others fresh? Have you ever appreciated the old wrinkled trees bordering it and the ridged ground which marks those who walked down that trail before? Well, I have and still do. Ten years ago, on my way back home after running some errands, I walked through a trail…

Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved the Adirondacks. My family has a house up there, right next to our grandparents, where we spend a number of weeks every summer. For the last five years we have stayed in our house, before that up the hill in the larger one. The houses are right outside of Keene Valley, a town of less than a thousand people, nestled in the heart of the High Peaks, the region so named because it is home to all of the tallest mountains in the park. The mountains are incredibly…

The clock struck midnight. Four of my closest friends piled into the back seat of my car and convinced me to drive them to an all-night party. Reluctantly, I slumped into the driver’s seat and began to drive. All my life, I dreaded a night like this, and tried to avoid it at all costs. After all, I loathed making decisions that made people think differently of me. Knowing the tough choice I would have to make later that night, and trying to ignore the mess of thoughts that tormented me, I turned…

Throughout the world various cultures have excelled in particular sports. However, despite this wide array of sporting cultures some athletes prove to be particularly amazing. Throughout The Sports Gene we encountered athletes like Donald Thomas, sled dog, and to an extent basketball players. However, athletes like Dan McLaughlin, Jim Ryun, and Dominican baseball players seemed to be the product of arduous practice and their environment. Both of these factors allow devoted athletes to reach…

Call of the Wild The Alaskan forests can be harsh. That is where the book Call of the Wild takes place. Call of the Wild would be a good book to try out because of a nice challenge in the writing, good life lessons being taught, and it also had relatable characters. Some people may argue that the plot is too simple, with too difficult phrasing, maybe how there are too many lessons, and not enough entertainment, and too many characters, but not all readers may think that. Call of the Wild is…

In America every year, thousands gather in Alaska, to watch the greatest dog sled race in the world. 100 mushers start at the starting line in Anchorage, Alaska, and travel thousands of miles, to the finish line is Nome, Alaska. They are put out with many challenges along the way. Frost bite, below freezing temperatures, etc. etc. But somehow they all have a goal, the goal of being an idol to someone. To show people and kids, that it’s okay to go out there, when the chances are slim of surviving…

“I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.” Abraham Lincoln Located at the end of County Line Road, near Alfalfa, Oregon, the large sign at the entrance served as a notice that I was entering the Oregon Badlands Wilderness. Exploring the wilderness areas in Central Oregon and absorbing the seclusion they offer is invigorating. Beyond the dirt parking lot at the trailhead a gravel road continued into the federally protected wilderness area. Designated…