OffBeat Pathfinder Basecamp

You haven’t lived until you’ve gotten waterfall mist in your sandwich.

Hiked John Rock, got caught in a thunderstorm and made it down with a stranger named Rick who offered me boiled peanuts.


Got lost (again), ended up in Cedar Mountain. Found a diner where the pancakes are bigger than the plates and the waitresses call you “hon”.


Still have mud in my boots ...

Mystic is a goldmine for maritime nerds. The seaport’s preservation of 19th-century shipbuilding is legit—go inside the ropewalk, watch ’em twist tarred hemp into line.

Also: the drawbridge? Built in 1922, still running on original mechanisms. My favorite view is from the bridge, especially at ...

I lived there 4 years. Ian’s Pizza at 2am is how you survive. Also, Tornado Room for steak, just don’t show up in flipflops or you’ll get The Look. Rain? That’s called “spring” in Madison.

You can hear a band playing U2 covers in the campground every dang weekend.
Still can’t find any actual joshua trees named Joshua. False advertising.

Yall, I aint ever sweated so much in my LIFE as I did hiking round Alabama Hills this past week. I mean, the rocks look like they fell from some other PLANET – or like they got lost on the way to Joshua Tree and just set up shop here.


It aint just heat, it’s the kind where you see mirages of a ...

Durango Brewing’s IPA and river tacos = unbeatable. Saw a dog wearing sunglasses at the bar.

Mix’s pecan pie changed my life. Don’t @ me.

Whoever made the roads around Highlands must’ve hated straight lines. Got lost on the way to Glen Falls, found a vintage shop, a taco truck, and a free concert in the park—all before noon.


Dry Falls was poppin’, but Secret Falls was better—fewer crowds, more dogs, less chance of a stranger ...

Packed a flask, didn’t use it. Found a lizard in my Cheetos.
Red rocks, blue sky, weird day. Would snack again.