A bust of a Boy Scout with a thousand-yard stare sits atop the Tower of Friendship, a Depression-era obelisk on newly public Scout land in Tusten, NY. ( Pamela Chergotis) Orange means go! I’ve been reminded lately of mornings growing up in my gritty industrial town in North Jersey, when I’d sniff the air for... Day Tripper 20 Sep 2023 | 11:16
The Delaware River blanketed in smog from Canadian wildfires on June 7, less than a month after the pandemic was officially declared “over.” ( Pamela Chergotis) This time, there’s no safe bubble After the United Nations produced its we’re all going to die climate report in March, Al Franken looked into the camera.... Day Tripper 08 Jun 2023 | 02:06
We have time: a busy family’s mantra There is a sense of urgency in the spring. Even as the days warm up and we spend long afternoons enjoying the sun and shirking... Day Tripper 01 Mar 2023 | 10:27
Home sweet base camp If I made an activity chart of my retirement so far, the biggest slice would be devoted to cleaning. In nine months I’ve... Day Tripper 27 Feb 2023 | 11:16
Breaking free of the desk chair My Fitbit, like a secret spy, has spent the past dozen years creating a dossier on me. I bought it to replace an old-style... Day Tripper 22 Nov 2022 | 11:45
The Picture Window, overlooking a curve of the Upper Delaware, is part of 60 miles of Boy Scout trails in Sullivan County, NY to be preserved for public use. ( Pamela Chergotis) When the campers go home During the height of camping season along the Upper Delaware, the air is filled with wood smoke, the river with rafts, and... Day Tripper 17 Aug 2022 | 09:21
During the Sheep Mania of the 19th century, rock walls like these at Wawayanda State Park went up in a frenzy. ( Pamela Chergotis) The wonders underfoot Tom Wessels stands next to a stone wall at the start of his Reading the Forested Landscape YouTube series. Sporting a frizzy... Day Tripper 28 Jun 2022 | 01:08
AllTrails led the writer — via Waze, after jotting down its directions onto some reliable notepaper — to Bald Mountain, elevation 2,723. ( Pamela Chergotis) A funky little party mountain I’m merging with traffic as Anne Boleyn takes her last trip down the Thames. A Boleyn watcher since sixth grade, I know how... Day Tripper 11 Mar 2022 | 03:59
Scorched earth elegy I didn’t know what I was looking at. I recognized only a sickening dread. The badlands of the Shawangunk Ridge at Sam’s Point,... Day Tripper 19 Jan 2022 | 12:45
Moss like an altar to the goddess of chlorophyll on the Minisink-Lenape Ridge. ( Pamela Chergotis) Welcome to the Great Northwet We’ve traded places with the Northwest. It’s late summer, but the greens haven’t mellowed. In the valley below is a stunning... Day Tripper 09 Sep 2021 | 09:46
The historic community of Walpack Center tells a story of a way of life: one main street flanked by a schoolhouse, church, post office and general store. ( Pamela Chergotis) Finally, living a ‘way of life’ Over the past year I have lived a way of life. “Lifestyle” doesn’t really describe it. When I think of “a way of life,” I... Day Tripper 01 Jul 2021 | 07:52
When the masses head back to the bar or Legoland or wherever, I’m hoping to see hikers who loves the panoramic vistas of places like the Neversink River Valley as much as I do. ( Pamela Chergotis) Magical micro-friendships I can’t wait for the day when everybody is back swarming bars, packing into restaurants and queuing up at carnival rides.... Day Tripper 05 Mar 2021 | 10:05
An Angel on Mahackamack Trail in Watershed Park, Port Jervis, N.Y. ( Pamela Chergotis) Art, unexpected Out of a sense of obligation, Tom and I visited the Rijksmuseum on a trip to Amsterdam about ten years ago. I realize now... Day Tripper 07 Dec 2020 | 12:31
Long Path, the view from Vroman’s Nose ( Pamela Chergotis) There goes my heart This has been a time of questioning assumptions. A person who seems healthy might be shedding a deadly virus. A strong economy... Day Tripper 30 Sep 2020 | 10:49
A pink lady’s slipper orchid, the first the writer had seen in years. ( Pamela Chergotis) Homo frigging sapiens In the early days of the pandemic, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy was peeved. Newbie hikers were slipping out of quarantine... Day Tripper 08 Jun 2020 | 11:42
