Blog: Walking with Wendy

Wendy on the Barren Ledges above Lake Onawa, Appalachian Trail, fall 2013. [Photo by Mark Young.]

Welcome! Achor Earth Ways is a newly incorporated nonprofit. Our mission is to to guide people into deeper, more joyful connection with nature. This healing connection will benefit both us and the Earth. It will enhance our well-being on all levels—spiritual, emotional, and physical. And it will inspire us to work toward healing the wounds we humans are inflicting on the planet that sustains us.

Achor Earth Ways will offer a variety of experiences to rekindle intimacy with the natural world: mindful nature walks, Earth-focused meditations, and celebrations of the seasons. Many of these practices are outlined in my book, Heaven Beneath Our Feet, for which I’m currently seeking a publisher.

In the spring of 2019, I hiked the easternmost segment of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail, starting on the Delaware shore and heading to West Virginia, teaching and learning along the way. My initial blog posts tell the story of this two-month pilgrimage. — Wendy Weiger, Achor Earth Ways Founder

Flowers blooming above the Potomac River

Miracles All Around Us

02 May 2019

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

Since my last post, I’ve spent another six days traveling on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath. I go for long stretches without seeing any other hikers or bikers; occasionally, a squirrel scampers across the path ahead of me or I spot some white-tailed deer. As the

My Journey Ends … My Onward Journey Begins

13 May 2019

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

After my last post, on May 2, I walked five more days along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal to reach its terminus in Cumberland, Maryland, a small city in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. En route, I passed through the Paw Paw Tunnel, a notable feat of

Just Published: An Essay About My Inner and Outer Journeys

08 Jun 2019

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

The Covey Club is a resource for women at midlife who want to continue learning, growing, and developing more authentic lives. If you’d like to read my essay in the June issue of the Covey Club’s online magazine, here’s the link:

The Sun Sets on Another Decade

01 Jan 2020

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

I spent the last few days of 2019 (December 27-30) at my off-the-grid camp on the shore of First Roach Pond. On December 31, I was back in Internet-land to welcome 2020, and watched the live stream from Times Square as twelve o’clock struck. What a contrast in night experiences!

Leaning Birch

30 Mar 2020

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

The shoreline of Achor, my land on First Roach Pond, is fringed with a typical Maine Woods assortment of second-growth trees. Tall, evergreen spruce and fir. Birch and maple that change from the green of summer to the yellows and reds of fall to the bare starkness of winter. An

Big Reed: Maine’s Ancient Forest

10 Jun 2020

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

On the last day of May and the first of June, I explored a primeval forest in the North Maine Woods: a five-thousand-acre enclave of virgin woodland, the largest contiguous tract of old growth east of the Mississippi. It’s an anachronistic island surrounded by the younger forests

Pemaquid Sunrise

27 Jul 2020

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

Last week, I spent a night at Pemaquid Point, best known as the home of the iconic lighthouse featured on the Maine state quarter. I believe it’s also a strong candidate for the best spot in Maine to watch the sun rise above the ocean. A spectacular sunrise depends on clouds:

Death of a Catbird

12 Oct 2020

Wendy Weiger, MD, PhD

The wild is not limited to remote places far from our everyday lives. Even in towns and cities, the wild is around us, though we often fail to notice it. Our neighbors include creatures who, though they are not human, are fellow beings nonetheless. That understanding makes my