Sunset on the Washington Channel I've lived in the Washington, DC area for 12 years and in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood for nearly seven years, so I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that it wasn't until the summer of 2016 that I decided to try my most local water sport: dragon boating. When people ask me what dragon boating is, I often describe it as paddling a giant canoe with 19 of your friends (plus a steerer in the back and - on competition days - a drummer up front). Of course, it's not exactly canoeing, but that's enough to get a picture started in their mind. I paddle with the DC Dragon Boat Club , which calls DC's Washington Channel home. Between April and October you'll find us out on the water several times a week. One of the things that I liked about the club from the start was that it was very welcoming to beginners. Each week the coaches and other team members help newer paddlers learn the correct form - and make sure that experien...
I have been a recreational hiker for most of my life, spending hours or a whole day exploring the woods. I grew up in the mostly flat Midwest, and except for one climb in the White Mountains of New Hampshire when I was 10, most of my hikes consisted of fairly flat terrain. I moved to upstate New York for graduate school, and occasionally my friends and I would venture a few hours away to the Adirondacks for a hike. But it wasn't until I moved to Washington, DC that I had easy access to more difficult terrain. I started with rock-hopping on the Billy Goat Trail and soon began venturing a bit further, exploring trails (and learning how to hike uphill and down) at Sugarloaf Mountain, Shenandoah National Park, and Catoctin Mountain Park. Luckily, I married someone who also enjoys recreational hiking. When my wife and I sat down to plan our next "big trip", we agreed that we wanted to try a hiking vacation. But where? Neither of us has backpacked, so we weren't inte...