Rocky Mountain National Park II: Deer Mountain With the limited time we’d had on our first day in Rocky Mountain National Park, we’d still managed to bag scenic Emerald Lake. But with a full day to play with we wanted something more ambitious. Brian had considered several all time Rocky Mountain greats including Deer Mountain, Mount Ida and Sky Pond. […]
The Colorado Rockies At Last!
Rocky Mountain National Park I: Emerald Lake We had one week to see as much of Colorado as we could. But it only took us maybe an hour after landing to start asking, “Why did it take us this long to get out here?” We boarded a nonstop flight in from RDU and spent the first night in Denver itself. […]
Centennial State
We FINALLY Make it to Colorado After returning from Mexico we found ourselves at the tail end of the summer season, not in the best of shape and with barely fourteen weeks left until our trip to Patagonia. Temperatures in Raleigh were nearly what they had been in the Baja Peninsula…not ideal for hiking, and our time spent by the […]
We’re Planning Something Big!
We’re About to Explore New Territory on BecauseItzThere! Sylvia and Brian are fresh off their Anniversary trip to Baja California. We enjoyed ourselves greatly, but did no hiking on this trip. You would not want to hike the Baja in summer, unless you have a fondness for heatstroke. However we are about to embark on a second trip out west, […]
How to Spend Summer In the South
What To Do When It’s Too Hot To Hike: Part I We hope you had a happy Independence Day! The Fourth of July is the day Americans celebrate the simple joy of being an American, which is certainly something celebrate.But it has other meanings as well. For some, it’s also a day when we reflect upon the enormous sacrifices made […]
Are These Really the Best Hikes in Every State?
Outside Magazine Online recently released a list of the Best Hikes in each State. We were made aware of it through Besthike.com as many people were…they were in turn clued on by the Adventure Blog, which we also follow. https://www.outsideonline.com/2393036/50-best-hikes-us We have bashed Outside Magazine in the past, and this is exactly the type of thing — a try to […]
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. […]
Are the US National Parks Becoming Less Safe?
Are Accidents and Fatalities in the US National Parks on the rise? A man was seriously injured on Thursday falling into a volcanic crater in Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano National Park. The man was apparently trying to get a better view of the caldera when he plunged 70 feet down to a lower ledge; initial reports stated that he lost his […]
It’s National Parks Week!
US National Parks Waive Their Entrance Fee for a Day It’s National Parks Week! US National Parks offered free admission on Saturday, April 20. Did you take advantage? Many people have likely heard about the entrance fee increases in National Parks. While some ghastly numbers were bandied about as trial balloons early in the process, the actual fee increases ended […]
North Face Team Climbers Presumed Lost in Avalanche
Three Respected Climbers Missing, Presumed Dead in Avalanche at Canada’s Banff National Park Tragic news from Banff National Park this morning. Three of the most respected members of the mountaineering world have apparently been killed in an avalanche. https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/18/americas/north-face-climbers-presumed-dead-avalanche/index.html David Lama, Jess Roskelley, and Hansjörg Auer were “caught in an avalanche earlier this week while attempting to climb the east face of Howse […]