Welcome to Denny’s Adventure Blog

I enjoy sharing my outdoor adventures to include hiking, kayaking, and paddleboarding, as well as participating in obstacle courses and endurance events.

KAYAK GROUP

It was an awesome day on the water. In the morning, I led a kayak group in Dundalk. We paddled to a snowball stand (Stouten’s) towards the end. Then in the afternoon, I paddled to the new Seasoned Mariner to meet Miriam. The empanadas were incredible! The first picture is me arriving at the restaurant on a kayak with Miriam standing on the dock. I ended up paddling about 9 miles.

KAYAK from ISLAND VIEW

After my early client, I launched from Island View Cafe and paddled to Hart-Miller Island. I saw a bald eagle on the island and a snake at Island View. I set up a shade tent on the main beach. I did 3 sets of pushups in the sand.

North Point State Park

I had a great workout & stretching session on the beach. I brought my kettlebell to the park. Afterwards I had lunch on a hammock.

Backpacking in Pennsylvania

One night backpacking trip in Pennsylvania. It was beautiful for this time of year. Nice to see green on some of the trees in the winter. The hike started off flat an easy until the shelter. After Tumbling run shelters it’s a very steep uphill climb. I didn’t do until the next day since I got a late start. It was an easy hike to shelter on the first day but I still did a mile with a heavy backpack. I didn’t pass anyone on the trail. The shelter is directly on the trail so you can see people as they hike by. I prefer when it’s slightly off trail for more privacy.

When I first got to Tumbling run shelters I just sat inside shelter. I took advantage of being the only one there. I figured I could setup hammock tent later. I was very impressed! It looks very well taken care of. It has 2 shelters. 1 for

Snorers and other non-snoring. The privy (outhouse) was nice. It even had a front door. Some are missing . I collected firewood after looking at journel that hikers write into when staying there. Collecting firewood by yourself is hard work. Lots of bending over to pick up branches is a pain on low back. I started off with small dry branches that snap instead of bending. I also used fatwood and Vaseline with paper. Even with all that I struggled to get it going. I boiled 2 batches of water I got from spring. The spring was close to shelter but you had to cross a stream by walking on boulders. But some boulders were wet & slippery. I made a mistake of not bring coffee filters to make sure only water gets in. I should have used my shirt because I saw some things floating in it. I poured water in kettle with lid on to fliter some. But it was mostly things like pine needles and a twig or two so wasn’t worried. I have to stop depending on fire for food and water purification. Need to bring my water filters in the future. Also will use alcohol stove or gas stove which are more dependible. The fire went out a half hour after boiling water since not enough dry wood. I used boiled spring water to make hot chocolate, flavored electrolyte mix drink, freeze dried macaroni and cheese. The firepit was in front of shelter. I was at fire pit and shelter for hours before setting up camp. Only two people came by the shelters while I was there. One other person passed by on trail. As always it took a long time to setup hammock tent. Lots of lines you have to tie to it and wrap around tree. Also lots of stakes to put in the ground. Then you have to put tree straps around tree. Attach hammock to tree straps. Readjusting a bunch of times to get the right height. Then attach underquilt and also readjust several times. I bring tarps to lay gear out on. This way I can get to stuff I need in middle of night without having to dig through backpack. After setting up tent I went back to shelter to hang. I didn’t hang in tent until 7pm. I slept very well. About 7 hours total. It was warm (50+°) so I was comfortable.

The next morning I had breakfast (protein bar) around 8. Then I broke down camp which takes forever with hammock tent. It was nice having the shelter to help put away gear in backpack. After hanging out at shelter I started my trek to buzzard rocks overlook. I knew from reviews that it was mostly uphill. I underestimated how steep of hills they were. All trails app had it ranked as medium. It was a thousand feet climb in less than a mile and a half. I took 3 different breaks on way up to overlook. It was a fun, short rock scramble right before overlook. I was hoping to take a break there but wind was too powerful. On the way back down it was so steep I couldn’t go fast. I needed my hiking sticks to take pressure off of knees and ankles. Averaging below 2 mph on entire hike. Usually I average around 2.5 miles per hour while backpacking. It was only a little over 5 miles total but the incline was the real challenge.

HART-MILLER ISLAND

I paddled to Hart-Miller Island, rode a bike around the island and practiced self-rescues on the kayak. I saw bald eagles, blue herons, ospreys, and a turtle.

Robert E Lee Park

Today I hiked 2 miles at a quick pace (4mph). I completed a trx workout than hung in hammock.

Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area

After an early morning client I drove to the trail. I started hiking before sunrise. It was muddy & overgrown in some areas. Loved maneuvering around the stream crossings. I also did a trx workout then chilled in hammock. 5.71 mile hike.

Matapeake beach.

On the way back from vacation, we stopped at Matapeake Beach. I did a leg workout then stretched on the sand. Water was so calm!

paddle to days cove

I joined a meetup on my inflatable stand up paddle board (sup). We had 8 people launch from Mariner Point Park. We went to one of my favorite places, Days Cove. We all took our break together floating while attached to each other in the cove. Saw ospreys and an eagle. It was calm on the paddle to the cove, but was choppy on the way back. I was able to stand the whole time. We got rained on (no lightning) several times, which felt great. The GPS messed up, but I think I paddled close to 6 miles.

client workout

I had a good workout with my early client this morning. We walked up and down his steep hill by his house 6 times for 2.33 miles and 387 feet of elevation gain.

Sunset Loop Trail

One night backpacking trip on the sunset loop trail. I started at Pine Grove Furnace park, Pa. Most of the hike was on the Appalachian trail. I passed the halfway marker which is in the first picture. I got to the trailhead early leaving my house around 6:30 am.

The hike starts off with a few roads and also passes some house as you enter into the woods. It started off with rolling hills and a few easy stream crossings. After a half mile or so there is a steep incline. I took a break at the top of hill since it was so challenging. I hiked 4+ miles to Toms run shelter. When I arrived at 10 am I was the only one there until late afternoon when a couple showed up. I already had my hammock tent setup in hammock area. They setup tent in tent area which was about 30 feet away. I had a fire going in front of shelter. The couple had their own fire in tent area so we had plenty of space & privacy. I decided not to bring any food I have to cook or even boil water for. I brought my sawyer water filter. The spring was close by but I collected all the water I needed in the afternoon. I had the mini filter which takes 3 times as long to filter water. There was a lot of chopped firewood lefy for the backpackers. I found a bunch of dry leaves to help get it going. I also brought toilet paper roll mixed with dryer lint and candle wax. Also had some fatwood which is a highly resinous piece of wood that burns hot. I sat around the fire until 8:15 pm. It was so dark I couldn’t find bearpole even with flashlights. So i hung drybag on a high tree branch. While the was going I would periodically go to my tent to setup for night. I put underquilt on hammock and dragged a chair inside tent. I strung lights and put out clothes to change into on a tarp on the ground.

I drank way too much water before bed. But I slept pretty well except for having to get up to pee a bunch in the middle of the night. I didn’t bring my headphones so stopped listening to my podcasts around 9 pm. I didn’t want to disturb the couple. Also it’s nice to put away technology sometimes. I didn’t need to use my hot hands hand warmers since I had lots of layers.

The next morning I started packing up my backpack early inside tent. The chair I put inside the tent was a game changer because I could put away hammock and still be able to sit & change clothes. I fell on my butt taking lines off of tent. Luckily it was a soft landing. I love the tent hammock but it takes forever to setup and break down. So many stakes and paracord involved.

On the second day, I started hiking around 8:20 since had a few afternoon clients. I was still 4 miles away from car but thought I did the toughest part already. I was very wrong. The second day was much tougher. It started off with a steep incline similar to the first day. But there was also a half mile rock scramble that was extremely challenging with my backpack on. The views were mediocre at the overlook. After the rock scramble there was a steep downhill climb. It was too steep to go fast or even medium speed. That hill killed my leg muscles and my knees! I took lots of short breaks. I was back to car at 11:30 with plenty of time.