The Ghost Camps of Katahdin
A look at the forgotten logging camps of Maine's deep woods. First published in History Magazine, Dec. 2019.…
A Fall on Big Moose Mountain
In which I recount the daring story of a man making a really dumb hiking mistake. First published in Appalachia, Winter/Spring 2019.…
I Interviewed Gilbert Gottfried (and it Went About How You'd Expect)
Even if you don’t know the name Gilbert Gottfried, you almost certainly know the voice: a shrill, grating thing delivered with annoyance, attitude, and a general disregard for the appropriate. You probably recognize it as the voice of the Aflac duck and as Iago the parrot in Disney’s…
Climb Every Mountain: the Moosehead Pinnacle Pursuit
Published in Backpacker, November 2018.…
The King of Seats.
The grey building sits midway down one of Bangor, Maine's tree streets, its western false front at odds with the exposed gable roofs of its more traditional neighbors. A sedan of respectable age sits idle in front of the lone garage door. The grounds are tidy, well-kept. A dumpster rests…
Punching and Huffing: Systema Comes to Town (and I Tried it Out).
Dan Colageo wants me to punch him hard, right in the abdomen. He tells me to give it all I’ve got. I have some reservations, but I do it anyway and slug him in the gut. He doesn’t flinch. In fact, he doesn’t move at all. Stop…
Deep in the Maine Woods, Tim Smith Teaches Others How to Live.
THE ROAD TWISTS and winds through the north Maine woods in something akin to white-knuckle chaos. It started snowing hard back in Patten. The roads are maintained here, but increasingly less so the deeper I get into "The County." They’re slick and rough, rutted, covered in mealy brown slush.…
A View of Your Own: Traversing the Wantatisquet-Monadnock Trail
Published in Backpacker, October 2018.…
Going for the Win
Published in Sailing, January/February 2018.…
I Ran the 2017 Millinocket Marathon (and Survived).
Somewhere around mile eight, an angel appeared. She was manning a water station and appeared to be holding a sign. As my tired legs brought me closer, I saw she was also handing out candy bars. The sign came into full focus: “WORST PARADE EVER,” it read. I downed the…