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 […]
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 […]
Hitting the (3500 foot) Wall
Day 3 Colca Canyon There is no way out of Colca Canyon that does not involve walking. There is no vehicle road to the bottom, no helicopter service and no elevator. To escape you must climb the wall…either under your own power, or the on the back of a hired mule obliged to do it for you. We chose to […]
The Deep Abode of the Rio Colca
Day 2 Colca Canyon I was awakened the next morning at 4:45 am by someone yelling outside the hostel. Figuring it was some local yelling at a stubborn burro or lost chicken, I dismissed it and went back to sleep. A couple hours later, it was time to rise for real and get breakfast. The room had been decent; though […]
Colca Canyon: The Long Walk Down
Colca Canyon, Part Two: The Long Walk Down Arriving back at Chivay after the condor trip we prepared ourselves for three straight days of hiking in the canyon. The little pavilion at the start was mobbed with hikers; even though our tour consisted of just myself, Sylvia and the guide Eli, many tours start from here…serving as a reminder that […]
The Cross of the Condors
Colca Canyon, Peru: Part One, The Cross of the Condors At 1 am we rose groggily and prepared to depart our hotel. Close proximity to a cobblestone main street, through which traffic never stopped rolling, had denied us any real possibility of sleep. Not exactly how you want to start five days of rigorous hiking, but such is the way […]
From the Bottom to the Top: Colca Canyon and Misti
From the bottom to the top, Colca Canyon and Misti Volcano **This is a reboot of an old post from the defunct V 1.0 blog about our epic adventure in Colca Canyon and Misti Volcano, Peru, in 2017. It was in some ways the hardest thing we had ever done up to this point. For those that read the original […]
Why Colca Canyon?
Why hike Colca Canyon? Because… It’s the second deepest canyon in the world It is visually stunning Unique Andean Culture Stay in Hostels along the way, no need to tent Chance to see Andean Condors It’s there. So… WHY NOT! Coming soon on BecauseItzThere.com…Colca Canyon and Misti Volcano, Peru