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Yes, depending on the dosage, chlorine should kill all of the pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of E. coli. But, as has been stated elsewhere, chlorine will not kill all the bugs in your water,...

The reality, unfortunately, is that cows carry lots of intestinal parasites that are transmissible to humans. One of them is E. coli 0157:H7. That's the same strain of E. coli that is sometimes...

Baldface Circle Trail in NH White Mtns near ME border. Do it in August. Blueberries, views, swimming hole, relatively few people. A lesser known gem.

I'm not from the Atlanta area, but here's my advice anyway: Don't overplan. Don't bother deluding yourself that you're going to follow a schedule. Accept that you need to be flexible. Do get in...

It is very common for people to believe that just about everything causes cancer, so why worry about it. Toxicologists will tell you that in fact relatively few chemical compounds cause cancer. I...

Why buy a magazine that's so jammed with ads you can't find the articles? When you finally do find the articles, they're pushing products. No thanks.

I spray my boots with Permethrin before hiking in tick-infested areas. It's pretty toxic, so you don't want to get too much on your skin. Deet (also toxic?) seems to work as a tick repellent too.

I started section hiking the AT at 22. At 33, I thru-hiked it. Since then I've hiked many other shorter trails (the LT, the Rees-Dart in New Zealand, etc) and now am section hiking the CDT. A few...

I cook over wood fires on the trail. At home, I'll often grill over wood (maple)coals - great flavor - and indoors will heat and cook stuff on a wood stove. I make a killer chili that simmers all...

I started off in Georgia with a stove, quickly got rid of it, and cooked over small wood fires all the way to Katahdin. You learn where to find dry wood in the rain. On the ground at the base of...

I'm with the Frolicking Dinosaurs - you can cook with a very small wood fire for free. The only thing you have to carry is matches, which you can also get free at many stores. If the woods are wet,...

Status Crow, I really enjoyed reading about your hike. You write really well - there could be a book in this for you...

Allow me to wish you a Class I day when you do climb Katahdin.

Remember, ticks carry far more than Lyme's disease (Rocky mountain spotted fever, erhlichiosis (two varieties), babesiosis, Q fever, etc. etc.) These diseases can kill you.

Lyme's disease is a...

Cervantes' Don Quixote. One of the funniest books ever written.

When I was thru hiking the AT, I met an Englishman named John Merrill in Damascus, VA. He was then walking a 4,000 mile route across the U.S. from east to west, a trek that he wrote about in the...

Don't brag about how many miles you've done, or how far you've come, or how far you're going or how fast you're hiking. Realize that bragging inevitably has an opposite effect to the one intended. ...

...that I carried some firewood into the house, stoked the woodstove, and cooked some oatmeal, just like I do on the Trail. Later, I jogged down the dirt road in front of my house in a snowstorm,...

Keep in mind that Lyme Disease is just one of many tick borne illnesses. It's the tip of the iceberg. The long list includes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Erhlichiosis, Babesiosis, and Q Fever. ...

I've had subungual hematoma, and the treatment that was described (poking a red hot paperclip thru your nail) seems medieval, but it works like a charm. Kudos for including this in the medical...

Towards the end of my thruhike, I was in a group of six. The oldest (who was 47), said, "For most of you [younger hikers], this is just a trip. For me, this is my life."

He had been looking...

I started my thru hike on April 16th on top of Springer. I, too, hoped for sunny days in the 60's. Instead, it rained 12 of the first 14 days I was on the Trail. And it wasn't just rain. It was...

Thanks to everyone above for your input. I've read a bunch of stuff on CDT-L that says not to skip Macks Inn. What do you think?

Is there a trail linking Yellowstone and Grand Teton Nat....

Aus, yes, at least for me, time does seem to slow down on a long distance hike. After about 3 weeks on the trail, a lot of the mental clutter of modern society falls away, if you're lucky. Then one...

Dave, welcome and thanks for asking a good question. I think everyone here has a different approach to physical conditioning. What works for me is to have a base of fitness to start from. I jog or...

This summer, I plan on hiking from Leadore, ID to Yellowstone. Next year I may do all of Wyoming southbound.

I'm interested in alternate routes that skip Mack's Inn, take a top notch route thru...