First Everest sighting today!! Rain and clouds moved in yesterday evening, and I heard it raining every time I woke up through the night, but happily the clouds had parted slightly by the time the sun rose. We were able to finally get a peek at some of the peaks that tower above Namche, which … More Expedition Poke-Everest, Day 4: to Tengboche
Today is an acclimatization day in Namche Bazar. We did a 2.5-mile hike up to the Tenzing Interpretive Center, just above 12,000 feet, but otherwise our assignment for the day is to rest, explore the town a little, and practice breathing at this elevation. Namche is an incredibly cool town. The only way to get … More Expedition Poke-Everest, Day 3: Namche Bazar
Today begins the upward trek! Getting out of town at 8am was a whole lot like joining rush hour traffic, if streets were muddy paths and cars were hikers wearing enormous packs and trucks were donkeys and yaks. I’d known these treks were popular, but seeing the body-jam in person is another thing. People found … More Expedition Poke-Everest, Day 2: Bistari, bistari
Here’s the best and most reliable tip I’ll have to offer for this whole adventure: hire a guide. If you hire a good guide, you can stand back and watch the guideless-tourists struggle to communicate and figure out all the red tape while your guide jumps to the front of the line and just makes … More Expedition Poke-Everest, Day 1: Get yourself a guide
“This is going to be a difficult hike for you,” our orientation guide said, looking at Dustin. “And it’s going to be an extremely difficult hike for you,” he said, turning his attention to me.
I wanted to be offended, but he was obviously not wrong. … More Expedition Poke-Everest, Day 0: I’m doomed.
I suspect you should not go to the Himalayas as unprepared as I am, despite all the reassurances the adventure guide companies offer about how any “reasonably fit” person can accomplish this trek without any specific training. … More Hummingbird Aims High
“Taste it now,” Lizzette said after the first grinding. I squinted at her suspiciously. I’d fallen for this once. Why would the ground beans taste any less bitter than the whole beans? But I did it anyway, because I’m all about the experience. … More Puerto Vallarta 2023: we learn to make chocolate
“There’s another reason,” the guide continued. “This is a reason you never touch any sea turtle at all. Not the eggs, not the adults, and not the babies. Not even if you think it needs help. It’s the reason you see all our volunteers wearing gloves.”
Uh oh, I thought, thinking of baby birds again. … More The Necessary Optimism of Baby Sea Turtles
Sometimes in January (or February or December or March), the weather in the Black Hills gets to be danged-near springlike, and you get the idea that you ought to go outside and enjoy yourself.
“Hey! It’s going to be 65 degrees tomorrow! Let’s go for a hike!”
And then you pick a hike you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. You drive down to Custer State Park, and then you realize that 65 degrees in Rapid City does not necessarily translate to 65 degrees anywhere else in the Hills. … More Black Hills Winter Hiking: Cathedral Spires in January
And then we found the real current. Between the current and the wind, we were suddenly fighting actual waves. My rowing muscles, which had been born only that morning, started to howl. As we came around the first knob of Mica Island, making progress against the shore at a rate of two inches per paddle stroke, I began wailing along with them. … More Canoeing and Camping in Voyageurs National Park
Thither & Yon 