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Home » Archive for  Musings (Page 2)

Category: Musings

My views on life, the universe, and everything.

One step at a time, differently – Long Distance hiking vs. Thru-hiking

Posted onNovember 20, 2025April 23, 2026AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Not every long journey on foot is a thru-hike and not every long-distance hike needs to be one. Some musings on the difference. Read More …

CategoriesLong Walks, MusingsTagslong distance hiking, thru hiking

WANE Bonus : A Post-Hike History Tour

Posted onNovember 12, 2025November 12, 2025AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A “bonus” entry from my New England Walk where I took in colonial, early US, and early 20th century era history. Read More …

CategoriesLong Walks, Musings, Other Outdoor JauntsTagsRhode Island, wane

Paralysis by Analysis

Posted onAugust 8, 2025August 8, 2025AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

A look at paralysis by analysis that I think stops people from getting out in the wild places. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, MusingsTagsgear

Not Gatekeeping – Guardrails

Posted onAugust 3, 2025March 3, 2026AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

Some thoughts on maps, miles, and giving people the tools to see what they want to see. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsfavorite, Wilderness Ethics

Pay to Play on Public Lands

Posted onJuly 29, 2025January 6, 2026AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A piece inspired by a recent article in the Florida Phoenix about a private corporation now controlling access to public lands. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagspublic lands

Whitman – Almost a decade later

Posted onJuly 28, 2025July 29, 2025AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

More thoughts about Whitman almost a decade later since I took my solo Walk Across Southern Utah. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, MusingsTagspoetry, Whitman

A Tale of Three Mugs

Posted onJuly 20, 2025July 20, 2025AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A review? A philosophical look at gear? Navel gazing? Or recognizing I seem to run on caffeine, sarcasm, and stubbornness most days? Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagscoffee, cooking

Celebrating the wild places

Posted onJuly 18, 2025March 3, 2026AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

We celebrate not the trail, but the wild places it passes through. – Ray Jardine, PACIFIC CREST TRAIL HIKER’S HANDBOOK, 1996 Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsfavorite, Ray Jardine, wild places, Wildness

Times are a changin’ – Walking in time of weather extremes

Posted onJuly 13, 2025July 13, 2025AuthorPaul Mags11 Comments

Call it climate change, weather events, cycles, or bad juju. But there are more fires, swings in snow levels, droughts, closures, etc. Some thoughts. Updated July 2025 Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsclimate, climate change, favorite, weather, wildfires

First time on the Appalachian Trail

Posted onJune 28, 2025June 28, 2025AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

I am contemplating an extended walk in New England this Autumn.  This post comes back to mind. If all goes well, I will be returning to what sparked my love of the outdoors nearly 40 years ago. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsAppalachian Trail, boy scouts, New Hampshire

Another baker’s dozen – favorite campsites

Posted onMarch 16, 2025March 16, 2025AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Another “Baker’s Dozen” of favorite camping spots. A sequel of sorts to what I wrote in 2017. Rather than specific places it is areas we enjoy. Read More …

CategoriesMusings, Other Outdoor Jaunts

Two+ Year review – LightHeart Gear Fleece Hoodie

Posted onMarch 4, 2025AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A longer term review of the LightHeart Gear micogrid fleece hoodie. Made in the USA, readily avialable, warm and fuzzy, but best for people who run cold or static use. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsclothing, fleece, gear review, Joan West

Ultra-light but not ultra-precise

Posted onJanuary 18, 2025December 6, 2025AuthorPaul Mags8 Comments

Why I stopped counting ounces with my gear…at least precisely. Updated for 2025. Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsgear, grams, lightweight, ounces

2024 in review

Posted onJanuary 6, 2025January 6, 2025AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

The 2015 version of a 1995 holiday newsletter (as I am too old/lazy to do a 2025 TikTok video) .
Read More …

CategoriesMusings, PMags NewsTagsyear in review

Thoughts on seventeen days away

Posted onJanuary 5, 2025January 5, 2025AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

We just returend from seventeen days away in Texas going to Hueco Tanks, Big Bend National Park, and Davis Mountain State Park. Some initial thoughts. Read More …

CategoriesMusings, Other Outdoor JauntsTagsTexas

Sunday Blues

Posted onJanuary 5, 2025January 5, 2025AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

All about the “Sunday Night Blues.” Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsSunday Blues, work life balance

The Enshittification of Gaia GPS

Posted onAugust 30, 2024September 2, 2024AuthorPaul Mags25 Comments

Gaia is now potentially new  sharing tracks and GPX waypoints unless you mark it as private.  And based on their past behavior, I don’t trust them for legacy tracks. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsenshittification

On “Structured Rambling”

Posted onMay 16, 2024March 16, 2025AuthorPaul Mags16 Comments

What got directed as an insult months ago seems less an insult and more of an aspirational idea worth striving for. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsfavorite, structured rambling

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A Quick Guide to Moab

The Squak – A readily available, $60, active-focused grid fleece hoodie from a Utah-based company. Read the review.

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The Squak Camp Dress 

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A hike to our local mountains did not go quite as planned. With an AQI of 176 in Moab due to the fires in our corner of the world, we sought refuge in the mountains.
"Effective today, June 30, 2026 at 12:00 PM, all Forest Service lands, roads, and trails within the Monticello Ranger District of the Manti-La Sal National Forest (San Juan County, Utah) are temporarily closed due to the Babylon Fire. "
"So far this year, 35,247 fires have burned more than 2.9 million acres nationwide. " -National Interagency Fire Center
The CDT forms the backbone of the continent. The Long Trail makes a classic East Coast walk. Brett Tucker's routes require some advanced skills. My DIY routes don't even have schwag.
A couple of days at the edge of the San Juans. Storms moving in had us trading backpacks for a car camping trip, but we still wandered to the edge of treeline. We also settled in with hot drinks while wearing puffies, a welcome contrast to the sweltering heat in Moab earlier in the week.
Some graupel in the San Juans. From @ramblinghemlock

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Disclosure: This website may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products to which I link. These sites include Amazon, REI, Moose Jaw, Gaia GPS, Six Moon Designs, Squak Mountain Co, and ULA Equipment. There is no additional fee for purchasing items through these links.

 

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    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
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      • Utah
      • Colorado
      • New Mexico
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