Death Toll for the 2019 Himalayan Climbing Season Could Be Near Thirty Himalayan Hiking Season is finally, and perhaps mercifully, over. At least eleven people died attempting to summit Mount Everest this year. Tragically, several of those who died had in fact summited and were on the way down when they collapsed and died. The deaths attracted considerable media attention […]
Top Ten Hikes in the Southern Appalachians, Version 1.0
For some time we’ve been toying with the idea of publishing a list of our Favorite Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. We have a whole page devoted to the subject of course…but we have never published this as an actual ranked top ten list. Mostly this is because we didn’t feel we’d hiked enough times hereabouts to get a real […]
BucketList: The Far Side of the World
The Most Exotic Places on the Bucket List …And once more into the bucket we go! As promised here are landing pages for the rest of our BucketList destinations by region. Some of these are among the most exotic and far flung of our wish list! Click on the links or pictures below to see the landing page… Photo credits […]
Elk Knob – A Hike For Everybody
Elk Knob State Park Summit Trail is Fitz Roy’s First Mountain Hike *We have added Elk Knob State Park as one of the Best Places to Hike in the Southern Appalachians. This is truly an excellent hike for everybody; a very well graded trail, excellent viewpoints, and not too crowded (yet.) Last weekend Minister of Expedition Planning Brian broke down […]
The Most (Potentially) Dangerous National Parks
What are the Most Dangerous National Parks for Hikers? Last time we talked about safety in the National Parks and speculated if accidents in the parks are on the rise. We were unable to find any evidence this is so. But the parks remain wild and potentially dangerous places. The wildest of them are not places to tread into lightly. […]
Can I Hike the Rae Lakes Loop?
The Rae Lakes Loop *Completed by Brian in 2014, the Rae Lakes Loop is one of BecauseItzThere’s BucketList Hikes. It is recommended to fit, self-sufficient hikers as a reasonable alternative to the John Muir Trail, which should only be attempted by VERY fit and experienced hikers. Location: Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA (nearest city Fresno) Distance: Approx. 42 miles Elevation Gain: […]
An Unexpected Blast From the Past
The Golden State, back in our Golden Age I was recently rooting through some of my old photographs from the pre-digital and early digital age…the days when you still had to get pictures ‘developed’ before you could see them. I must admit I have no nostalgia for this age whatsoever. My purpose was to dig up so old pictures from […]
The Great Fall Color Chase Part II
Aim high! Fall Trip to the Blue Ridge Some mourn the passing of summer, but not us. We love being in the mountains, and there is no better time to be in the mountains than Fall. Summer is an overrated time of year in our opinion, especially in the Southeastern US…hot, humid, buggy, crowded and prone to frequent and often […]
Tour du Mont Blanc: The Return of Our Buddy, Mont Blanc!
TMB Day 9: Trient to Tre-le-Champ *The Tour du Mont Blanc is the most famous and celebrated hike in Alpine Europe and is the fifth Bucket List Hike that Brian and Sylvia have completed together. It is also our first hike together of any kind in Europe.* After an uneventful rest day in Trient, which both Sylvia and I felt […]
Tour du Mount Blanc: We Opt for The Bovine Route!
TMB Day Eight: Champex to Trient The eighth day of our trek dawned ominous and cloudy, a low gray ceiling that promised a near certainty of rain. Weather was on our minds. The M.E.P. had seriously debated taking the high variant for day eight, described by Kev Reynolds as “…The toughest of the whole route.” This was the Fenetre d’Arpette, […]