***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 […]
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 […]
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
To Hike Beyond the Sunrise: Haleakala Volcano
Haleakala Volcano ***Haleakala Volcano via the Sliding Sands Trail, completed in 2014, is one of Brian and Sylvia’s Bucket List Hikes!*** The Great Shield Volcano of Haleakala, at 10,023 feet, dominates the island of Maui. In fact, its broad slopes comprise 75% of the island…this and another lobe of uplands give Maui its distinctive butterfly shape, while the lowland that […]
Salkantay to Machu Picchu: Is this for me?
Salkantay to Macchu PicchuTrek…is it for you? Logistics and details.
Salkantay to Machu Picchu: The Lost City of the Incas
The Lost City of the Incas…Machu Picchu by the Salkantay Trek!
Salkantay to Machu Picchu: Hot Water in Aguas Calientes
Our fifth day of hiking arrival in the village of Aguas Calientes, gateway to Machu Picchu.