Three Ridges Hike Day II: Harper’s Creek Shelter to Reid’s Gap (and out!) **Note that none of these photos is doctored or enhanced in any way…this is exactly what we saw, just as we saw it.** During the night we thought we detected the faintest fall of rain, seeming to dampen our wishes for a clear day to take in […]
The Back Stairs: The Mau-Har Trail
Three Ridges Hike, Day One: Reid’s Gap to Harper’s Creek Shelter A drive of nearly an hour and half got us to the the trail head at Reid’s Gap, which we found as expected to be already well populated with cars. It seemed overflowing already on this Friday morning; only when we returned would we see what it REALLY looked […]
To The Last Ridge: The Three Ridges Loop Hike
The Three Ridges Loop Via the AT, One Of Virginia’s Best Hikes With Patagonia fast approaching, we are faced with the dilemma of how best to prepare for the challenges in the little time that we have, especially with all the other commitments we have at the moment. We expect the hiking on Torres Del Paine’s ‘W’ to be mostly […]
Fitz Roy Rocks the Beacon
Fall Expedition: Beacon Heights and the Blue Ridge Parkway Sylvia and Brian can be found in the Blue Ridge Mountains virtually every fall, and have been since 2009. We have been trying to remember what year it was we saw the last fall color show worth mentioning. Best we can recollect it was probably 2015. We missed most of the […]
Fall Is The Best Time For Hiking!
Prime Hiking Season is Underway! The heat of summer has finally gone and Sylvia and I can happily confirm that, while fall arrived a bit late to the mountains once again, this year the colors have been far better than the last two or three, and we managed to hit them far closer to peak. As we write this colors […]
Snake Safety in America’s Snakebite Capital
Snakes, Snake Safety, What You Should and Shouldn’t Be Worrying About Fall might seem like a strange time to be talking about snakes. However, just this past weekend we saw this on the trail during a routine walk at Forest Ridge Nature Park just a few miles from our home. In fact, Brian nearly stepped on it. Sylvia and Fitz […]
Fall Hiking Season is Finally Here!
Fall is Officially Here and its Time to Hit the Trail! Fall is upon us. Of course, summer officially ended — and Fall arrived — on September 22nd. But here in the south, Fall don’t arrive tell it dang ole feels like fall out. Pp until the last few days, it hasn’t felt that way. Last week the thermometer hit […]
Climate Change Threatens Mont Blanc’s Glaciers
Glacier Feared to be Close to Collapse, Forcing Closures If there weren’t already enough signs that the Earth is warming, here’s another; one of Mont Blanc’s glaciers has become unstable, and may be close to collapse. The Planpincieux Glacier, just to the northeast of Courmayeur on the Italian side of the mountain, is considered to be at risk of collapse […]
Fitz Roy and Brian — Alone!
Brian and Fitz Roy Indulge In Some Male Bonding Adventures Recently Sylvia traveled back to Peru for a family visit. This left Brian and Fitz Roy alone to fend for themselves. Fortunately, obedience training has paid off handsomely. Brian has overcome his separation anxiety and is now much better able to handle such situations. This is the first time Brian, […]
Fitz Roy and the Whale
Whale Rocks, Durant Nature Preserve We have blogged before about the excellent Durant Nature Preserve near our home in North Raleigh. Shortly before our trip to Colorado, we finally completed our exploration of its trail system. We brought Fitz Roy along with us, since he can never seem to get enough walking in. You could say that this time out, […]