Even for a day-hiker, reaching this sign is an accomplishment in and of itself, which is occasionally followed by the vertigo of the Knife Edge. For the southbound thru-hiker it is the beginning of the adventure, and it is a significant milepost for a flip-flopper like myself. Most importantly, it is the dramatic and iconic
I find something mysterious and alluring about the old lighthouses along the New England coast. One of the more accessible ones, the Portland Head Light is located about an hour north of Boston near Portland, Maine. The light serves as a beacon for ships heading into Portland Harbor. Back in April, after a day of
Happy Thanksgiving! For all those celebrating, have a happy and safe holiday, and don't eat too much! Nelson Crag Trail Hiking in New England has always been a special experience for me, or at least for the past few years. Mount Washigton in New Hampshire is a place I have gone to year after year
For those of you who have not been, New York state is really a lot more than just New York City. Actually, one such area of beauty isn't all that far from the big city. The Catskills is a mountain range in south eastern New York that has a lot of pretty wild spaces. In
Holiday weekends have always excited me. I love using them as opportunities to get out to the mountains with my friends and explore. On Labor Day weekend last year, A small group of friends and I loaded our cars with camping and hiking gear and set course for Mount Washington in New Hampshire. We wanted
One of my favorite quick trips this Summer was to Coastal Maine. One of my outdoor pursuits is rock climbing, and when I did my homework on Acadia National Park, I found all kinds of fun stuff. In addition to rock climb style hikes like the Precipice and Beehive trails, there is a coastal climbing
The New England states often get overlooked in regard to awesome and challenging backpacking adventures due to the relatively small mountains(when compared to western peaks), but that is not the case at all. This past weekend I headed to Catskills State Park in New York to spend a night on Devils Path. Devils Path is
In the east coast, the idea of backcountry skiing is all but non-existent. One of the few, if not the only backcountry experiences in the east is that of Tuckerman Ravine, on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Hiking into the base of Tuckerman Ravine ravine takes a few hours, but once you are there, you
Prints Prints! Just a heads up! all of my work is available as a framed print. Framed prints are currently $30. If you want a chance to win one, head over to facebook.com/patrickgenselfreelance and like the page. I'll be giving away a signed, numbered, and framed print once we hit 250 likes. If you can't
By Patrick Gensel The alarm began to blare at 5:15 am and I sat up almost instantly with an anxious grin, not unlike a child on Christmas morning. This was my Christmas morning. after nearly a month of planning and studying routes and weather, the day was finally here, I was going to climb Mount