How — and whether– To Pursue Adventure in the Midst of Pandemic Last week Sylvia and Brian were hiking out in the mountains of North Carolina Mountains, celebrating Brian’s birthday. We returned home to a different world than the one we left. True, the writing had been on the wall, if one had been willing to see it. Already, the […]
Three Canyons, One Trip…An American Southwest Sampler
Zion, Bryce and Red Rock Canyons: A Southwest Sampler *Zion Canyon, which we visited in March of 2013, is one of BecauseItzThere’s Best Places to hike in North America. We think it’s the best of the Southwestern US National Parks, excepting only Grand Canyon NP. Bryce Canyon and Red Rock Canyon aren’t chopped liver either. **Zion Canyon contains a pair […]
North Carolina’s Wild South Mountains
South Mountain State Park, NC *We traveled to South Mountains State Park in the Spring of 2015. This was a sad time for Sylvia and I as my mother had just recently passed away after a long and difficult battle with heart and lung problems. Among many other things, the outdoors is a place we go to heal. **We have […]
Forest Ridge Park in Wake County Opens
Forest Ridge Park is Wake County’s newest! Located in the extreme Northern Corner of Raleigh, near the Wake County Line, is the new Forest Ridge Park. We think it may become on of the best places to hike in the Triangle area. Though it is a multi-use park, most of this new recreational area is preserved in its natural wooded […]
Beat the Crowds to Crowders Mountain
Crowders Mountain State Park, NC **We originally hiked Crowders Mountain State Park in 2012, and this trip draws heavily from that visit…so if you see some fashion styles that appear ‘so yesterday’, this explains it. **We have added Crowder’s Mountain to our list of Best Hikes in the Carolinas. It’s got some very fine trails if you can find a […]
The Roof of the Smokies…The Gregory Ridge Trail
The Gregory Ridge Trail, Great Smoky Mountain National Park *One of the Best Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains is the Gregory Ridge Trail **We have added Gregory Bald to our list of the Best Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. It’s a fine trail well worth doing IF you can make the logistics work…this is one trail where getting there […]
Hummingbirds 101: The Basics of Backyard Birding
It’s a Fact, Hummingbirds are Cool **We’re getting ready to put out Hummingbird Feeder out for the spring…we expect to see the first bird in the next week or two. It has me thinking of birds, which means…I thought I’d perch on a different branch for this post…** BecauseItzThere is almost entirely a hiking blog, but sometimes we’ll indulge in […]
Countdown to the Alps!
***The Tour Du Mount Blanc is one of BecauseItzThere’s Bucket List hikes. It will be our headlining trip of 2018, and our fourth Bucket List trip completed as a team! The Alps is Three Months Away! ANY hiker worth his or her salt wants to take their game to the Alps. If I have to explain why…then you probably won’t understand […]
Can Anyone Hike Colca Canyon and Misti?
Wrap Up: Colca Canyon and Misti Peru Adventure The question you may find yourself asking as you read these posts is, can I also do this stuff? My usual answer is – if we did it, why, sure you can, too! Sylvia and I are active and experienced hikers, but we are certainly not outdoor athletes. Anything we can do, […]
The Wrath of the Volcano
Day 2: Misti Volcano The ‘day’ began with us being awakened by the guides hours before sunrise. The morning was cold and windy, wind chill well below freezing. This night had been a bizarre experience for us both. I was awakened at intervals gasping for breath, while Sylvia was simply cold, tired and hurting. The darkness outside the tent was […]
Under The Volcano
Day 1: Misti Volcano While Colca Canyon is by no means an easy trek, it did not break any new ground for either of us. Arid canyons, steep trails and multi-day hikes at elevation were all things we had done in the past, thresholds we had crossed before. But the next hike promised to push us far past the limits […]