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​Welcome to Rucksack Zen, a journal of my adventures on the trail. The name comes from Buddhism and the references to rucksacks in Jack Kerouac’s Dharma Bums, one of my favorite novels. I have loved the outdoors as far back as my scouting years with Cub Scouts Pack 363 on Long Island, New York and summer vacations at Lake Sebago in Harriman State Park during middle school. As I became an adult and life got busier, my connection to the outdoors began to drop off, especially after I moved to New York City. But like all things in life, what is old is new again, and I have returned to the trail and the mountains - slowly but surely. I have three goals: completing the Catskill 3500 (summiting the 35 highest peaks in the Catskills), the Long Path through upstate New York, and the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Thanks for coming along!

​MARK ZUSTOVICH
NY-NJ Trail Conference Trail Maintainer
Appalachian Trail Corridor Monitor
​NYC Marathoner (2013, 2014, 2020)