Week 5 of my beginner’s writing class. Want to try it? — Brief: Think of a point in time when you were personally affected by a newsworthy event — historical, cultural, meteorological. Use an exact moment as your focal point and take a mental photograph. Where are you? How do you look? What are you doing? What’s going on in your mind…

Week 4 of my beginner’s writing class. Want to try it? — Brief: Begin writing a short story that opens with this line: Chris began to question the wisdom of this trip. Focus on a single journey on a single day. The story will be written in the third person point of view. Keep under 500 words. Response: Chris began to question…

44 days in the desert: the 2nd of a 3-part series charting my 74 days on trail. — Missed part 1? It involves a pig in Thailand, Prince Philip & the beginning of the trail. When day 11 came to a close, my body felt better. I had just hiked 66 miles over 2 days, though 3 of those were irrelevant because I went the wrong way. Yes…

At 17,300 ft. and 11 days in, it was the real highpoint of my time there. — In late September 2018, I was 11 days into the 230km Annapurna Circuit. My legs were weary and my lungs were struggling. With each switchback, my eyes rolled to heaven. In a place like the Himalayas, you don’t need to look far. All around you is this picture-postcard panoramic view…

After 2.5 months of hiking, I penned this poem. — In July 2019 and some 1,120 miles / 1,800 km into the Pacific Crest Trail, I decided to call it a day on my thru-hike ambitions. For now. Having completed my final day’s hiking, I wrote this poem over a diner breakfast. It sits somewhere between a love letter and…

This online trainer simulates the notorious screening at the world-famous club. — After 19 months of closure, Berghain’s doors have opened once more. You don’t need to be a techno Viking to know of its existence. In fact, since 2016 the building — an imposing former power plant — has been classified as a cultural institution. As a newbie to Berlin, I’ve…

Week 3 of my beginner’s writing class. Want to try it? — Brief: Pick a ‘hate’ and in under 500 words — say what it is, and why you hate it. Write it as if you’re talking to someone you know. Ranting? That’s fine. Response: Permission to be petty? Perfect. I enter a state of confusion when someone says they don’t hate…

My first Haiku —

The 1st of a 3-part series charting my 74 days hiking the trail. — 2 years ago, with the Pacific Crest Trail’s southern terminus at my back, I began to trudge north with the hope of reaching Canada some 5 months later. Since then, I’ve wound up here on 4 separate occasions — each time faltering, and failing, to capture my experience. I couldn’t…