Having climbed two Colorado 14ers earlier this summer, I better appreciate the tips on alpine scrambling I gave in Backpacker's Predicament for June: Trapped on a Peak. What causes snowblindness? What's the proper way to hold an ice axe? And how can you safely slide down a mountain on your butt? Trust me: it's more fun to do it than write about it.
The April 2010 release of my new book--The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backpacking and Hiking--has encouraged me to do some publicity. During the next few months I'll sign copies and demonstrate hiking skills at book stores and libraries in the Lancaster, PA area, and also in my hometown of Hudson, Ohio.
I landed a newsy feature article in the March 2010 issue of Portland Magazine, Maine's city magazine, about a local group's efforts to acquire the USS John F. Kennedy, a 60,000-ton aircraft carrier the navy wants to donate as a museum ship. I will continue to follow this story as it develops.