Thanks Brion and Betsy for hosting. I had a great time hiking and biking out of your mountain town.
We met in Nepal 2013 trekking the Manaslu Circuit.
Since then they’ve added a new hiker to the family. 🙂
Category: hiking
gone hiking …
I’m off (and offline) somewhere in the Colorado Rockies. 🙂
night walk in Costa Rica
My first night in the cloud forrest I signed up for a 2 hour night hike.
I’d done something similar twice in the past: 1) Amazon and 2) Nepali jungle. Both were terrific. This one was too.
There are a number of choices. But Kinkajou Night Walk seems to be the most popular.
We saw a kinkajou. A sloth. Tarantula, sleeping toucans, frogs, snakes and huge insects. I’d not imagined a cockroach that large. Not even in a nightmare. The Walking Sticks are cool.
Somebody forgot to email me the memo reminding to wear long pants and long sleeves when walking through a jungle at night with a flashlight. I was the only person wearing shorts.
It’s spooky enough to keep your adrenaline high. One beetle or another is regularly flying at your head.
Recommended.
South America next winter
I stayed in Canada this past winter. What a mistake. How can people live in this frozen wasteland? 🙂
January I’m tentatively (again) planning to travel to Patagonia for hiking and cycling. Here’s some inspiration.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
That stunning footage was taken over a 5 week trip through Chile | Bolivia | Ecuador | Brazil | Argentina | Peru.
(via Adventure Blog)
Texas, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica
Tickets booked.
NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships 2015 in Fort Worth.
Then in April returning to Panama City and San Salvador as a volunteer for the International Gymnastics Federation. And adding a new nation (to me) on the same trip – Costa Rica.
As driving might take 97 hours, I’ll fly. 🙂
I’ll stay in Costa Rica an extra week or so to do some hiking.
NEPAL – Never Ending Peace And Love
I depart Nepal today. Another memorable hiking adventure completed, this time the Langtang, Gosainkund and Helambu.
I’m already planning what to do on my next (6th) trip to N.E.P.A.L. 🙂
Makalu Base Camp, I’m thinking.
to Ethiopia – Land of BBC Documentary
I’ll be a tourist in Ethiopia Dec 1-14th.
The main goal will be trekking the highlands. The famed Simien traverse.
Ethiopia looks GREAT. 🙂
Land of Extremes
BBC documentary showcasing a glimpse of the natural serenity Ethiopia has to provide. From the magnificent, Semien mountains often called the roof of Africa to the lowest place on earth or the erta-ale which contains the only active volcano in the world. From Axum, capital of the great Axumite kingdom, hailed as one of the four super powers of the last millennium to the sturdy tribes men of the south. One of the best documentary about Ethiopia. Definitely a must visit place for every one.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Nov 2nd, 2014
I spent my 57th birthday tenting in a stone Yak shack at 4110m, close to the Tibet border in Nepal.
Next morning I scrambled up that gap towards Tilman’s Pass.
During the long, cold night cocooned in down and nylon, I listened to one of my favourite authors, Peter Matthiessen, read one of my favourite books, The Snow Leopard.
It’s his classic philosophical account of a November 1973 Nepal trek to Shey Gompa, Crystal Mountain. A spiritual journey.
If you wonder why I keep returning to Nepal, read Snow Leopard. Matthiessen is most eloquent on the joys and challenges.
bus to Syabrubesi, Nepal
7-9hrs of crumbling mountain roads today.
Wish me luck. 😦
happy Diwali
Diwali also known as Deepavali and the “festival of lights“, is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year.
The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.
The festival preparations and rituals typically extend over a five day period, but the main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. …
Tonight. 🙂
In Nepal, Diwali is known as “Tihar” or “Swanti” …
I was in Nepal last year for Tihar, and I’m back for another month this year. There’s no better place for me in November than the Himalaya.
The mainstream media news reports on the Nepal snowstorm disaster, by the way, are not accurate. Click over to wikipedia for ongoing updates and an a more objective overview of the tragedy.
I’ll be careful up there, as I was last year on the Annapurna, just after a snow storm. 🙂
Rick McCharles 