There are only a few places this summer where we stayed for more than a few days. Texas was one of them. 10 hot days. I lost 2.5 lbs just by breathing in Texas. Thursday, it finally rained in Texas (yeah for them!) and Friday, as we were driving the last bit of the Longest…
We’ve traded in coniferous trees and high-alpine lakes in the Pacific Northwest high country for barren landscapes and prickly cacti in the Southwest. We had forgotten how HOT it is in the Southwest, even though it is approaching “fall,” but we’re still hiking! Lately, we’ve had local “guides” on our hikes. In New Mexico, we…
We knocked off 2 more high points as we have been making our way to the Southwest … this makes 7 for this year! With 17 left, you’d think we were in the home stretch. But many of the high points left are daunting with their elevation and difficulty … and we know how I…
As I said in my last blog post, our time in the Pacific Northwest was wrapping up. But I couldn’t go without one last blast of pictures from Crater Lake National Park in Oregon because this place is too good to be true. Almost as unbelievable as its beauty is its formation. Something like 7,000…
I love Washington … always have. How could you not love a state with such diverse ecosystems? We have been lucky enough to come to Washington 3 different times this year and get to really experience its diversity. You already heard about our experience in the alpine ecosystem up on Rainier. But to get the…
I’m going to switch gears from backpacking to pure road tripping in this post. In our travels during the last few weeks, we’ve stumbled onto a few cinematic hot spots. Admittedly, they are not the coolest of movie locations, but you can still geek out and get excited. Astoria, Oregon Location for: The Goonies (1985)…
… you have to stop and smell the roses, literally and figuratively. The last couple of days have been splendid. We have been staying at University of Portland’s Holy Cross Court, mostly apartments for priests, but we have our connections. UP is a pretty sweet campus, set far enough from the city in that there is…
We just spent the last week exploring Idaho. For those of you thinking Idaho is not so cool of a state, think again. It is way cool. This state is covered more by national forest and wilderness land than anything else. The state even survived a mysterious volcano and earthquake, so brownie points for that.…
It seems like we have been jetting all over west these days. We went from Mt. Rainier (climbing) to Salt Lake City (Outdoor Retailer Trade Show) to Denver (Civilmony Celebration) to Idaho Falls (Event #9). While all of these events were cool for their own reason, I am only highlighting one of them: Jamie/SILAdventure and…
I’ve always said it is about the journey, not the destination, and this is certainly true for my experience on Mount Rainier! As you all probably know by now, J successfully summited, along with Fire Marshall Mac. In J’s words, it was the most difficult outdoor recreation thing he ever attempted–even frightening at times–but he…
We are alive and well!!! J and Fire Marshall Mac beat the mountain and hit the summit at 5:45 am PST … on the other hand, the mountain beat me at a little over 11,000 feet. A more detailed account will come … soon!!!
We did a full day of training today with our RMI guides right under the shadow of Rainier. It was exhilarating, frightening and encouraging all at the same time. Even though these pictures may make it seem like we are just playing in the snow, it was not easy. This is brand-new territory for us. We…
After stopping in Seattle for a brief overnighter (and seeing Rainier from a distance for days and family!), we are in Ashford (with WiFi!!!) and had Day 1 of our 5-day summit climb attempt. We basically just met our guide (not Dave Hahn as we originally thought, but we did get to meet the legend)…
We are leaving Colorado tomorrow to head to Rainier!!!!!!!! Our summit climb attempt is July 25-29!!!!!!!! Overuse of exclamation points is meant to express my trepidation!!! Just do us a favor and think of us specifically on Sunday morning when you are sitting comfortably in your home and drinking your coffee … because hopefully we…
A lot of people have asked if J & I are still attempting to climb Mount Rainier at the end of July. Could be the fact I have not mentioned a single peep about it on the blog in a LONG time … Indeed we are! We were able to work the time in with…
We are slowly making our way west, not without a few pitstops and visiting of course!!! In June, I slept on a bed at a friend or family’s house 18 nights, 8 nights in the van, 3 nights in a hotel and only one night camping. J, on the other hand, slept 10 nights at…
So I anticipate every post my wonderful wife puts up on this blog. Even when she makes fun of the “couple” of concerts I may hit each year. And amiss this busy tour while driving hundreds miles a day I did manage to find me some shows. To be exact the one and only Telluride…
My 10 days in dirty Jersey (with a brief 4-day stint in CT) is coming to an end and it was filled with the typical summer fun … Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of the following summer-associated activities: 1) sitting on a beach 2) swimming in a…
For those who may be newer to this blog, this is Mr. McKinley. J & I adopted him in 2004 when he was 6 months old. We kept him until 2011, when my parents agreed to take him in temporarily during our thru hike. We finished up hiking, bounced around the country on a road…
In May, we spent 17 nights sleeping at friends’ or family’s houses, 7 nights in the van, 5 nights in a hotel, and 1 night camping. In June (for the nights J & I were together), we spent 8 nights sleeping at friends/family’s houses, 3 nights in a hotel, 2 nights in the van and…