Today is the French Holiday of Bastille Day, when France Celebrates it’s independence. And tomorrow may be another special day in France. What better way to celebrate than with fu-fu coffee at a local French restaurant? But our special days in France are also coming shortly. Sylvia and I will soon be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime – […]
A hundred Miles of Up and Down
Countdown to the Tour Du Mont Blanc… The TMB — one of our Bucket List Hikes — and the majestic French Alps are looming close, and we’ve been busy getting ready for what promises to be the adventure of a lifetime. This means physical, mental and practical preparation. It also means spending a lot of money on things like this…a universal […]
The TMB Just Three Weeks Away! (and of course the French train workers are on strike)
Update on the Tour Du Mont Blanc So… We’re just three weeks out from the Tour Du Mont Blanc…our hundred plus mile circumnavigation of Western Europe’s highest peak! The excitement is building for this, the most ambitious thing we have ever done. Brian’s ‘Tarzan French’ is improving daily to the point where he now believes he can communicate with any […]
The TMB Hits a Snag, the Next Hike…and Waterfall Week!
We are now weeks away from the Tour Du Mont Blanc, and it’s beginning to sink in that we are actually going to do this thing. There is no turning back now! Finally, we going to be in the Alps! It is a dream of mine of as long as I have been a hiker. It’s also the next of […]
Is the Santa Cruz Trek for You?
The Santa Cruz Trek: Logistics and Planning What about me? Can I do the Santa Cruz Trek? This is what you may be asking yourself. The scenery looks great, sure, but can I do it? How hard it is really? If you are an experienced hiker with lot of time spent at high altitude the answer is an emphatic yes, […]
…And Of Course the End is Always a Downer
Santa Cruz Trek Day 4: The Final Day **An older version of this post originally appeared in 2015 on the old legacy blog. We hope you enjoy this updated version! The last day of our hike is here! I emerged from the tent to clear blue skies and three freshly deposited cow turds. Folks I will say this up front…if […]
Landscape With a History of Violence
Santa Cruz Trek, Day 3: The Santa Cruz Valley **An older version of this post originally appeared in 2015 on the old legacy blog. We hope you enjoy this updated version! Waking on the third morning I was greeted, as I stuck my face from the tent, by a cow. This animal, standing about twenty feet away, took one look […]
The Other Side of the Mountain
The Santa Cruz Trek, Day 2: Punta Union We awoke the next morning to the sound of the guides already up and busy with the camp chores. Sylvia had, as she often does, suffered through the whole night from cold feet. We had brought along a pair of hand warmers to counter this but, considering the next campsite promised to be […]
Where the Roads Fade to Paths
The Santa Cruz Trek: Huaraz, Peru…Arrival *This is the third in our series of “reboot posts” of our Peru trips that were featured on our old legacy Blog, but have never appeared on BecauseItzThere.com. The first was our Trek to Machu Picchu via the Salkantay Route in 2012. The second was our successful hike of Colca Canyon and somewhat less […]
Into the White: The Santa Cruz Trek
The Santa Cruz Trek, Peru Can you name the single most impressive thing you have ever done? We can. In July of 2014 Sylvia and I embarked on what was the greatest hiking adventure of our lives…The Santa Cruz Trek in the Andes Mountain of Peru. We had already completed a tough hike just a couple years earlier when we […]