Check out the full version of this hike at Mount Mansfield on our YouTube channel!

There were a lot of interesting facts about Mount Mansfield I could have used this week, but I'll defer to Vermont's Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation:

"The summit ridge is only one of three mountains in the State where alpine tundra survived the ice age. It should be noted, that the 400-acre summit ridge is actually owned by the University of Vermont."

Desert vegetation along the trail in Las Cruces

For more photos like this: https://out-on-trail.tumblr.com/

Visit our blog

Subscribe on YouTube

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

As the snow started to fall this afternoon in southeastern Wisconsin, I found myself longing for warmer weather... This site in New Mexico, managed jointly by the Bureau of Land Management and New Mexico State University, is a great destination for warm-weather winter hiking!

Dolly Sods is the highest plateau east of the Mississippi River, with its highest point being about 4,500 feet. It was a great place to get an early start on fall colors, during my late September/early October trip...

This week's YouTube video chronicles my third, and final, day in the wilderness. Thanks for checking it out!

Fall on the shores of Lake Michigan

For more photos like this: https://out-on-trail.tumblr.com/

Visit our blog

Subscribe on YouTube

The Ice Age Trail, like the Appalachian Trail, is one of only eleven National Scenic Trails. The entirety of the Ice Age Trail is about 1200 miles...

On the last Saturday in October, we hiked a little over 15 of those, mostly along the shores of Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful trail.

At 3,848 feet, the summit of Breathed Mountain is around 1,000 feet shy of West Virginia's highest point, Spruce Knob. That said, it's still not a bad spot to peep some fall colors...

I'll let the US Forest Service handle this week's interesting fact:

"Beginning in August of 1943, the military used the area for maneuvers and mountain training for World War II. Many of the artillery and mortar shells shot into the area for practice still exist. In 1997, a highly trained crew surveyed the trail locations and known campsites for shells. They found 15, some of which were still live. All were exploded on site. Many more may exist and they are dangerous."

Fall colors in the forest...

The top of Parnell Tower is the highest point in Wisconsin's rather expansive Kettle Moraine State Forest... Where else would we go to find out whether southeast Wisconsin has reached "peak" fall colors yet?

A rainy, but colorful, autumn day in the forest...

This week, we visit one of Wisconsin's oldest parks. This place offers views from 500 feet above the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers and also gives you the option to get down to water level. If you're hiking, just remember that every step down means a step back up!