Category Archives: The Long Roadtrip

Great Island Trail

May 10, 2026.

6.3 mi. | 265′ ele. gain | 4:20 hr.

On our great roadtrip, we decided to trek out to Cape Cod. Despite growing up just a few hours away, I don’t recall spending time there. We had beaches closer, cheaper and easier to visit near my hometown. So, Cape Cod was a place where tourists went and that was that. Well, now I was one of those tourists.

With an overwhelming number of hikes to choose from, I just had to pick one. We hiked the Great Island Trail, just outside of Wellfleet, on Cape Cod National Seashore.

We got a leisurely 10 am start and the trailhead parking lot wasn’t even that full. I guess everyone wanted a relaxing Sunday morning. As luck would have it, we saw a coyote strolling along the mud flats very early on our hike. It seemed a good omen for what was to come.

As we followed the sandy trail along the mud flats, I noticed movement around my feet. Crabs. Thousands of them: Atlantic sand fiddler crabs and purple marsh crabs. They were the CUTEST things. The crabs scurried about, diving into their holes at the sight of us. The sand was simply abuzz with the activity of all these little crustaceans. My forward progress came to an abrupt halt as I wanted to make a personal connection with each individual crab. The beautiful color on their shells. The alien eyestalks. Their way of moving across the sand. Every part about these crabs was captivating.

But we still had some ground to cover, so I had to leave my little friends behind.

The next portion of the trail took us into a coastal forest. I’d located a highpoint on the map that I wanted to get to, so we got to wandering down a series of worsening user trails that I hoped would lead us there. We ended up wildly off course and entangled in dense coastal vegetation (a lesson I should have learned long ago). Ultimately we found our way back to the main route, and I can say confidently that finding the highpoint was not a good use of our energy.

There was a thin layer of puffy cloud blanketing the sky when we started the hike. The clouds thinned and eventually disappeared during our forest ramble, so we emerged from the trees onto a gloriously sunny beach. We plopped down on the sand, took our shoes off and had a nice relaxing snack break. From there, we walked straight down the beach back to where we started.

Now, there were a ton of people outside. It was a perfect day to be at the beach. We walked barefoot at the edge of the ocean, looking for critters, cool rocks and unexpected finds. Highlights for me included iron rich rocks that were bright orange and tiny little plovers that camouflaged with the sand.

On our drive out of the Cape, we made a stop at the Birdwatcher’s General Store in Orleans, Massachusetts. This is a bucket list place for anyone who’s interested in birds. Unlike our highpoint detour, this one was TOTALLY worth the side trip. We loved looking through the wide selection of items that would delight any hardcore birder, backyard birdwatcher or casual bird nerd. We had a great conversation with the owner and I earned a free pencil. That’s all I’ll say about that. Put it on your travel list, then thank me later.

Indian Head and Twin Mountain

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April 26, 2026.

11.4 mi. | 2600′ ele. gain | 7.25 hr.

Photo album

We had one day to hike in the Catskills, and I was going to take full advantage. I’d noticed the “Devil’s Path” on a map and was obviously intrigued. The descriptions online are so dramatic: “Most dangerous hike!” “Hardest hike in the east!” It is always described in superlatives. I did not buy into the hype, but I figured it had captured enough people’s attention that it was worth a visit. We didn’t have enough time to do a backpacking trip or the desire to do it all in a day, but I figured we had a good chance of getting to two highpoints using a short section of the Devil’s Path.

Our adventure began on a cool but sunny morning at the soon-to-be-busy Devil’s Path Trailhead on Prediger Road. The internet assured me this lot would fill up with cars, so we arrived early and cooked breakfast in the van there.

Once we were layered up and fueled up, we started hiking up the trail through a beautiful forest. There were way more wildflowers than I had expected, which made me happy. Cheery blooms brightened up the deep shadows along the babbling creeks and sun-dappled forest floor. The trail gently undulated as we walked, a welcome warmup to the grueling hike ahead.

But after that 1.5 mile initiation, we turned right to begin the first big climb. This is what I’d been waiting for: The Devil’s Path. The forest ramble turned into a legitimate hike, one that reminded me of the ones I’d fallen in love with in New Hampshire. The trail hurtled uphill with no regard for the roots, boulders and bedrock in its path. In several sections, we had to toss our poles up and use our hands as well as our feet to scale some more vertical rock. It was familiar enough terrain for me, but I can see how it would come as a surprise if you’ve never done this kind of hiking before. It’s always worth looking at a few pictures and reviews before trying a new trail in the mountains!

Some sections had a bit of water and ice that made things a little more precarious, but nothing ever felt that dangerous or exposed. The side benefit of all those roots is that there were plenty of nice handholds. Even the rock itself fractured in such a way that it provided excellent ledges for feet and hands. It was like having a giant, adult-sized jungle gym for several miles of the trek.

Once we reached the ridge, the slope eased up a bit and we got our first little view. I didn’t realize how closed in we had been during the hike so far; the distant hills and big, blue skies let me know that we were finally on top of something. We trudged along to Indian Head, where we celebrated our first summit. But, alas, there was no view to be had here. I quickly learned on this trip there was a reason I’d never heard much about highpointing in the Catskills; there are no views from the summits! Luckily for us, there were clifftop vistas to be found after the official highpoints and along random parts of the ridge trail. And doubly lucky for us, the weather had been improving all day. The sun was fully out and the air felt warm and comfortable.

We dropped down into Jimmy Dolan Notch and then climbed back up to Twin Mountain South. At this point, Aaron wisely opted to rest while I continued to the third highpoint of the day: Twin Mountain. This last bit of trail got a little confusing and I ran into a motley crew of Meetup hikers who had just walked themselves in a circle somehow. With the help of my map on CalTopo, I reached my last summit and enjoyed a little rest on a nearby ledge before returning to Aaron’s chill spot.

At this point, we only had 2 miles to go before the parking lot, but it felt endless. Dropping down Jimmy Dolan Notch, we encountered a very steep and challenging grade. That, or our legs were a bit tired. It took some doing, but we got through the worst bit and then sauntered down the more moderate trail to the trailhead.

This is where having a camper van makes us really spoiled. We were able to immediately change clothes, grab a cold beverage from the fridge and lay down flat for a few minutes before hopping into the driver’s seat. All I wanted was pizza and beer, which we did find in a nearby town. But both pizza and beer were pretty bad (and let’s face it, everything usually tastes amazing after a big hike) so I can’t make any recommendations. With that, we drove back to our campsite and spent the rest of the night in relaxation mode.

I hope to come back and explore more of the Devil’s Path!

Hickory Run State Park

Boulder Field to the Visitor Center

My dad and I got a ride to the boulder field and planned to walk back to camp from there over what I estimated to be about 8 miles of trail (it ended up being closer to 10). It was gray and gloomy, not a perfect day for a walk. But the point was to spend time outdoors with my dad and we’d deal with the weather. At least it wasn’t raining. But this drab backdrop made it even easier to see what little color was out there, namely eastern newts!

I spotted one on the trail and just about lost my mind. It was so tiny and SO orange! I took a bunch of pictures of this little guy and was excited to try and paint it later. We kept walking. Ooh, another one! And…another one. For the next mile of trail, we dodged newts left and right. I understood the value of the orange color; had they been brown I probably would have squished a few.

Later I learned a bit more about the eastern newt, a fascinating animal. After hatching from a gelatinous blob of underwater eggs, it lives the first part of its life as an aquatic larva. For 2 to 5 months, it swims around trying not to get eaten by predators. It has gills, so it is able to breathe underwater. If it survives this stage, it leaves the water as a terrestrial red eft. This is the phase we observed. The eft exchanges its gills for lungs and now thrives on land as an air-breather. It lives on land for 2-3 years. Next, it returns to the water for its adulthood. Its color changes to a more camouflaged olive green and it spends most of its time in the water or underneath logs and rocks. Scientists know that some individuals don’t strictly follow these rules, but we still have much to learn about the lifestyle of this mysterious creature.

On with the walk. The area had gotten a lot of rain recently, so parts of the trail were so flooded that we had to take our socks and shoes off to continue. The rocks underneath were slippery, so we slowly plodded along the underwater sections. I guess we were adopting the newt’s strategy of flexibly existing on land or water.

Recent rain also produced great waterfall viewing opportunities. When we got back to the main area of the park, we stopped to enjoy several small cascades. We knew we were getting close when there were people on the trail all of a sudden, a big shift from the majority of our walk.

When we reached the visitor center, we stopped inside. The building looked to be brand new, with many vibrant, interactive and educational exhibits. I really enjoyed learning more about the park we’d just walked through.

Cynthia picked up my dad here and I hiked back to the campground. Sitting by the campfire later, I painted the little newt we saw and planned another quick outing for the next day.

Hawk Falls

We had time for one more hike and we decided to visit Hawk Falls. The trailhead is just a 5 minute drive up the road from the visitor center. Here, we took a 1.2 mile round-trip hike to see a very pretty waterfall tucked in the trees below the highway. Cynthia set up her camera here and my dad and I explored a bit of the Orchard Trail nearby. The sun shone through the leafless trees and I pictured it as it would look a month from now, full of wildflowers and greenery. I was so ready for that time of year, but happy for the opportunity to be outside no matter what. One advantage of the trees being bare is that it’s easier to see the birds flitting around. Besides, the anticipation is part of the joy of being outdoors!

There is so much more to do at this delightful state park. Winter offers cross country skiers a network of trails to explore. Sand Spring Lake is a place for swimming in the summer and ice skating in the winter. There’s disc golf, a playground, a boat launch. I can only imagine the influx of crowds once school’s out. So, I was grateful for our cloudy and quiet day.

I’ve been impressed with the state park systems in most of the states we’ve visited so far, and this is no exception. They offer local alternatives to faraway National Parks for most families, and are often favorite stops for us, who currently have no home base.

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Photos and blogs about hiking, art, and wildflowers