Tag: trekking
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Weather threatens to halt trek
The blue skies of the past five days have gone and there has been a bit of rain, thunder and lightening today, a rest day in Champex, Switzerland. We met trekkers who had to turn back this morning from the next day's col due to lightening. They faced a 200€ taxi to the next town…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Switzerland awaits
Today, our seventh day of walking and our eighth day on the Tour du Mont Blanc, the trail led us 8,300 feet up and over the Grand Col Ferret and down into Switzerland. It was quite a climb! Our first two hours of walking delivered us to Refugio Elena, strategically nestled into the hillside…
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The way to Chamonix: Trains and costly surprises
Naïveté, bad luck and good fortune all had parts in our eventful journey from sunny Strasbourg to rainy Chamonix in the French Alps on Monday. Three trains were to take us on the nine-hour trip, but a bus and a very expensive taxi ride saved the day in the end. The second train ride,…
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Castle Crags: A granite monument from Jurassic times
We headed about 90 miles into California from Oregon for a training hike last weekend. As the challenge of an Alps trek next month nears, Castle Crags State Park gave us a chance to test our lungs and legs in the Shasta National Forest. The seven-mile walk took us up about 2,500…
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Three Sisters are a treat to behold
“Like scoops in the world's largest sundae,” the Three Sisters “are served up as the centerpiece of the state's most visited wilderness,” writes William L. Sullivan. Just west of Bend, Oregon, the three 10,000-foot peaks and many lakes offer a plethora of outdoor activities. Sullivan's book, Oregon Trips and Trails, highlights more than 30 pages…
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Park City reunion leaves trail of fun memories
A perfect day and a four-mile trek at the Park City Mountain Resort marked the last day of our family reunion. Sue and I were sad to see the kids pack up and head for home, but we felt so grateful that we were able to get together. Sue and I drove to the eastern…
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Arches’ grandeur thrives superlatively
Violent forces lasting millions of years have produced one of the most peaceful and inspiring sites on Earth, Arches National Park in Utah. We knew that small parking lots at trail heads fill up quickly on busy days so we left early this morning, thinking a Monday would be a good bet. It worked. Formed…
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Diversions
The sign on the trail firmly ordered us to stop. It seemed that the Forestry Commission was logging along the section of trail in front of us. We looked to our right where another sign politely insisted we take an alternate route; a diversion. With apologies for the inconvenience and a promise that the new…
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