Archive - JGB Writes

Achieving peak middle age

Insurance, yard work, and reading glasses, oh my!

May 4 •

April 2025

Failure is an option

Just under 2 miles up the mountain, I knew I was done. Huffing and puffing while climbing hills is a fairly normal, if humbling, thing for me. But this…

Apr 12 •

November 2024

A salute to summer 2024

A draft post I never published, publishing now, when the world has changed. But it's Thanksgiving week, and I'm still grateful.

Nov 29, 2024 •

September 2024

Backpacking the Alice-Toxaway Loop

"Do you ever worry that you're biting off more than you can chew?"

Sep 13, 2024 •

July 2024

Backpacking Crabtree Falls to Spy Rock

A recap of a backpacking trip from April 2023. Featuring some personal musings and introspection as well as tips for backpacking this route.

Jul 9, 2024 •

May 2024

“What’s the one lesson you need to learn over and over?”

This month, I and my regular travel partner, Shawn, got the chance to gallivant about the Southwest for a few days. As we drove through the gorgeous…

May 23, 2024 •

March 2024

Murphy and Fletcher, Texas Boys

On becoming a foster dog mom

Mar 10, 2024 •

December 2023

Open the gate...

Gates are, by definition, a little bit fantastical, don’t you think?

Dec 21, 2023 •

Dream beneath a desert sky

U2 at the Sphere and the Zion Narrows hike

Dec 5, 2023 •

November 2023

The power of walking a place

I wanted to go to the beach.

Nov 25, 2023 •

October 2023

"And into the woods I go, to find...nothing much"

I had a romantic solo weekend planned: two nights at a campsite, lovely little mountains to climb nearby... I was going to shake off some of the gloom…

Oct 15, 2023 •

August 2023

On snakes, getting lost, and trail angels

They say that hiking and nature are healing.

Aug 14, 2023 •

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