Hiking In the Time of Danger

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 […]

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 […]

The Colorado Rockies Join Our Bucket List!

Colorado Makes the Grade as a Hiking State, Duh. Our recent visit to Colorado confirmed to us what we essentially already knew – that the Centennial State is a kick-ass place for hiking. Therefore we have done the needful and added the Colorado Rocky Mountains as a Reserve BucketList destinations. This is a long overdue move. There is still no […]

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 […]

Climate Change: Has The Battle Finally Turned?

Don’t Be On the Losing Side Of The Climate Change “Debate” There is no doubt that climate change is occurring, no doubt that the Earth is warming, and no doubt that human influence is by far and away the principal force behind the rise in global temperatures. There is broad scientific consensus on these facts, enormous amounts of scientific research […]

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, […]

The Countdown to Patagonia: Fitz Roy

Our Second Patagonian Destination, Los Glaciares National Park of Argentina A few weeks back we talked about the planning for our upcoming trip to Patagonia, and especially the challenging logistic of Torres Del Paine National Park. Today, we’ll check in with our other by by no means less interesting Bucket List destination, Fitz Roy…aka Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, or Glacier […]

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, […]