I’m Jamie, and I like to go hiking.
Are you planning a trip?
Your time on the trail can be everything you want it to be, and so much more.
I find a lot of fulfillment in my hikes, and I hope the same for you.
Backpacking is a strange thing. It can feel so meaningful, yet finding a tangible meaning in it is so elusive… like life itself.
DownTheTrail.com is here to help with your outdoor adventures
Like most hiking blogs, Down The Trail began as a self-indulgent place to chronicle my trips.
It all started back in 2001 when I hiked the Appalachian Trail and kept an online journal. Later in 2006 I rode my bicycle across the United States and kept a similar journal.
Both of these logs were hosted on other people’s sites. I wanted to consolidate them into my own online space, and this website was born in 2008.
I still maintain it as a place for my journals, but now there’s a lot more practical information here.
Stuff that’s actually useful.
You’ll find plenty of trail guides and articles like my gear list and best cameras.
Here’s my outdoor “resume”
- Appalachian Trail
- TransAmerica Trail (bicycle tour)
- Long Trail – Vermont
- John Muir Trail
- Teton Crest Trail
- Colorado Trail
- Inca Trail
- Trails in Hawaii (Nepali Coast, Mauna Loa)
- A season in Alaska (several weekend hikes)
- Hayduke Trail (long sections)
- Trans-Zion
- 4 Grand Canyon rafting trips (2 as boatman)
- 4,000 miles hiked in Grand Canyon (and 39 summits)
- Piecing together an end-to-end hike of Grand Canyon (Less than 50 people in all of history have done this)
- more day trips and weekends around the U.S.
- I’ve visited all 50 states
Where’s everything from the Grand Canyon?
I used to have a good collection of Grand Canyon photos and information on here. I have more experience and knowledge in Grand Canyon than any other destination, so it made sense to create a separate site dedicated to it. That was my intent with ElvesChasm.com.
Elves Chasm is still online but the site is essentially dead. Once DownTheTrail is up-to-date I intend to take another stab at a dedicated Grand Canyon site, but I don’t anticipated getting to it for a long time. Elves Chasm will be up in the meantime, but I eventually intend to take it down and start over with a new domain.
What’s the Next Big Adventure?
In 2019 I’m thru-hiking the Arizona Trail!
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