Getting Ready for Patagonia Means Figuring Out Where to Stay Once we’ve reached Patagonia, the logistical challenges do not end. One might be tempted the think that you can just show up with a backpack and hike. The temptation is false; you can’t just show up and hike either the ‘W’ or the full Torres Del Paine circuit. In fact, […]
AT Thru Hike Season Gets Underway!
Spring has arrived! And for those who wish to try their luck at completing the entire Appalachian Trail – the celebrated 2192 mile white blazed Footpath that links Springer Mountain, Georgia with Maine’s Mount Katahdin – Late March/early April is typically the time that most will set out. Winter has not yet left the Southern Appalachians by any means, but […]
The Evolution of a Hiking Dog!
Our Time with Fitz Roy: We’re So Glad to be Adopted by a Great Dog! Few things have proven more satisfying to us than the adventure of dog ownership. When Sylvia and Brian married in 2009, Brian committed on paper to a dog. But that commitment stayed on paper for nearly a decade. Many valid concerns and objections were raised, […]
On A Clear Day…Olympic National Park
A while back we did a post about our visit to Hurricane Ridge in Washington’s great Olympic National Park. Hurricane Ridge is one of the best viewpoints in the Pacific Northwest, for sure, with a tremendous panorama of the Olympic Range. But this was not Brian’s first visit to the area. He first visited Olympic National Park in 2007, during […]
Fun With Fitzroy: High Above Highlands
Cashiers and Highlands, NC: Part II Just down the road from Cashiers, NC is the town of Highlands. As its name implies, Highlands is quite high up there, being situated at 4118 feet above sea level. This makes it one of the highest elevation towns in the eastern United States. Tiny Beech Mountain, NC, is even higher (at over 5000 […]
Fabulous Fitzroy’s First Big Adventure!
Cashiers and Highlands, NC: Part I Having successfully completed our inaugural hike with new team member Fitz Roy, we decided that it’s time to take him out to the mountains to see how he does on real trails. Fitz is of course part Shiba Inu…a type of dog specially bred for hunting in mountainous conditions in rugged central Japan. The […]
Can I Hike Mount St. Helens?
*Brian completed the Monitor Ridge Route Hike of Mount St. Helens in 2007…it was his second solo Bucketlist hike. Conditions on the mountain today may not be exactly as described here, and the permit system has changed. Check with the National Forest Service website before attempting this hike.* **This is NOT a hike that we would recommend to novice hikers. […]
To Kingdom Come: Hiking Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens: Part One *Completed by Brian solo in 2007, Mount St. Helens via the Monitor Ridge Route was his second Bucketlist adventure. It is one of the best day hikes in North America for sure, but be warned: This is NOT something that anyone can just show up and do. It is a long, steep, difficult and potentially […]
Uneasy Ground: Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens by the Monitor Ridge Route On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens changed forever. That day the top quite literally below right off of the mountain. The explosion was measured in the megatons (the same yardstick commonly used for nuclear weapons.) Combined with powerful flood waves of ash, mud and debris, the catastrophic blast resulted in the […]
Thinking of Doing Something Big This Year?
Visit Our Tour du Mont Blanc Planning Resources! Thinking of attempting something BIG this year that will change the way you look at the world (and yourself?) Consider the Tour du Mont Blanc. A very strenuous but incredibly spectacular loop hike out of the French town of Chamonix through the Alps, over a hundred miles in length, passing through three […]