usa Archives - Christine Bedenis

Falling in Love with Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge

November 14, 2017

Last month, while I was back in the States, I had the chance to participate in Queer Adventure Storytelling. It’s a monthly event were queer people can come together to tell and hear stories about a variety of adventures. It’s hosted by Jenny Bruso, who started the Unlikely Hikers Instagram account and Travis Clough of the Venture Out Project. I told the story of how I came to consider myself a hiker, and I thought I’d share that here.

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Logos of the Peace Corps and Americorps side by side

Recognizing Service: Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Weeks

March 4, 2016

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

President John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961

When President Kennedy spoke those words, the Peace Corps was still being workshopped by a group of motivated students and the seeds of AmeriCorps were stuck back in the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

Service for your country was considered in the terms of the military. Even today, when people use the phrase, “served their country,” it’s pretty much exclusively employed in reference to members of the military. Attend any major league sporting event and you’ll likely hear a “salute to our service men and women.”

But the reality of service today is much more multi-faceted that simply military service, and today is right in the middle of the time of year that is meant to recognize that service, as it is the end of Peace Corps Week and the beginning of AmeriCorps Week.

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vejigantes, costumed and masked adolescent boys at carnival in ponce puerto rico

Celebrating Carnaval in Ponce, Puerto Rico

February 26, 2016

Carnival. That party that happens before Lent every year, with places like Rio de Janeiro or maybe Venice coming to mind. Images of lithe, bronzed women in sparkly costumes and huge feathered headdresses or intricate masks and elaborate gowns and suits.

But the truth is that Carnival is celebrated across the Caribbean, and in a number of places around the world. While New Orleans’s Mardi Gras is perhaps the most widely known version in the United States, Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second largest city, is also known for its Carnaval, known as Carnaval Ponceño.

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the sun set over the ocean with tide pools in the foreground

Vieques: An Island Getaway on your Island Getaway

February 19, 2016

Most people head to Puerto Rico as their very own island getaway; sun, surf, sand, what more could you ask for. Turns out there’s another island that you could stop off at for a few days to have an island getaway from you island getaway: Vieques.

But why would you want to go out of your way to get there? Sun, surf and sand are already covered, remember? How about some of the best diving and snorkel spots, the best bioluminescent waters and beaches all to yourself.

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A scene of dry forest plants with a short bush in the foreground

Hiking in Puerto Rico’s Guánica State Forest

February 12, 2016

Puerto Rico is known as La Isla del Encanto, or the “Enchanted Island.” No doubt, the beaches with crystal clear waters, gorgeous keys and small islands, and a mountainous rainforest, including El Yunque National Forest, are big parts of what makes Puerto Rico feel like an enchanted place. But I’d add the Bosque Estatal Guánica, or Guánica State Forest, to that list.

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View of the El Yunque Rainforest through an arched window of a tower

Camping in Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest

February 5, 2016

As the fading light slipped through the spectrum of golden-yellow to cool-blue, the coquís began their daily symphony, starting with just a few chips and croaks that grew to a roar as darkness filled the corners in the rainforest. This is the heart of El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rainforest that is a part of the U.S. Forest Service and one if the oldest forest reserves in the Western hemisphere.

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A bare tree standing in a field of brown grass partially covered with snow under a blue sky

Winter Hiking at Island Lake State Recreation Area

January 29, 2016

Leafless trees line a river under a blue sky

Snow on the ground of a forest with a log on the ground

An icy pond in a forest with snow surrounding the water

A body of still water reflecting the trees and snow surrounding it

Snow with twigs and small plants poking through

A clear blue sky over a still river with snow on the riverbanks

Looking up at evergreen trees against a blue sky

An evergreen branch in a forest with the ground covered in snow

Island Lake is the third busiest park operated by Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources. It offers several miles of hiking and biking trails, canoeing on the Huron River that runs through the park, camping, cabins and even a hot air balloon launch area. The natural landscape features various hardwood trees, open brush land and some meadows. It is in Southeastern Michigan, southeast of the I-96 and US-23 interchange.

Lots of icicles hanging from a cliff face with some scare green trees

A Trip to Ohio’s Hocking Hills State Park

January 22, 2016

One of my top books that I read last year was Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery, a biography of the first woman to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail (at age 67), as well as the first woman to do so multiple times and the first person to hike it three times.

She also hiked the Oregon Trail, from Missouri to Oregon. However, despite the thousands of miles she accumulated on her Keds, her favorite stretch of trail was in her Ohio backyard: a six-mile stretch from Old Man’s Cave to Ash Cave in the Hocking Hills State.

In 1965, an annual winter hike of this stretch of trail led by Grandma Gatewood, herself, began and this year was the 51st annual hike. After reading about this celebration of this woman, relatively close to where I’m currently living, I knew I had to go.

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A frozen river bends with snowy banks and forest in the background

Crooked Lake Trail at Pinckney State Recreation Area

January 15, 2016

A stand of small bare trees with snow coating the ground

A small creek running through woods with snow-covered ground

A frozen river entering into a lake with a log and reeds poking through the ice

A very snowy path through a forest of bare trees

Pinckney State Recreation Area is probably the best place in Southeastern Michigan to find long trails and a semblance of wilderness solitude. Historically, the area was home to George Reeves who operated a sawmill, gristmill, distillery and tavern in the town of Hell, which is located in the park. Today, many people enjoy the miles of trails for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing; the various lakes for canoeing, kayaking and fishing; and the campsites, cabin and yurt. Moraines, kettle lakes and swamp areas dotted with deciduous forests are characteristic of the area and provides habitat for a variety of birds and mammals. You can get to the park by taking the North Territorial exit from US-23 (which is between M-14 and I-96) and heading west about 10 miles, following the signs.

Making Snowshoes at Michigan’s Ludington State Park

December 18, 2015

Three years ago, before I left for Thailand, I spent quite a bit of time researching and contemplating buying snowshoes. And then I reminded myself that I was moving to a nearly tropical and certainly snow-less country for just over two years and that would be a ridiculous purchase to make and that I should just wait. Well, now that I’m back in Michigan, and winter is supposedly approaching (though this El Niño affected weather system has me fooled), I thought this is the time to get those snowshoes.

Then I learned that there is a snowshoe making class at Ludington State Park offered several times in the late fall and early winter, that provides all of the materials and an instructor to make your very own traditional snowshoes and I jumped on that opportunity and decided to make a bit of a trip out of it.

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