George at Lakeview

George Novak has a dream. To eat the World’s Largest HOAGIE.

… um, actually that’s Homer Simpson.

George’s goal is to mountain bike from Athol to Lakview, Idaho. That’s 42 miles and 4hr 49min of hard riding, with well over 5600 feet of climbing, over infamous logging roads.

Will he ever make it?

I dunno.

Just in case he doesn’t, I photoshopped George into our photo from our adventure today. That’s him swimming.

Rick, Lisa, Dave, George
Rick, Lisa, Dave, George

more photos – flickr

Glasers to holiday in Kauai, Hawaii

They have 4 nights booked in July at the Tropical Family Villa.

villa.jpg

And a week booked at Hale Mana, a three acre multi-million dollar private estate on a bluff overlooking a waterfall.

bluff-waterfall.jpg

back-deck.jpg

This plantation style home is perched high on a bluff with pristine, 360-degree views of the ocean, valley, mountains and river below. …

details – Hale Mana

Rob’s looking forward to hiking the famous Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast. The same one I did earlier this year.

Wish I was going with them.

hiking Stone Mountain, Georgia

I heard the best hike close to Atlanta was Stone Mountain.

stone-mountain.jpg
Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis

Some say this is the largest exposed granite ‘stone’ in the world.

Did a trail run UP and AROUND the monolith when I was in transit a few weeks ago.

all my Stone Mountain photos on flickr

(via my hiking blog)

Hawaii 5-0

It took me 50yrs to finally get to Hawaii.

hawaii-rainbow.jpg

Don’t know why so long.

Hawaii is magic.

Back when we were kids in Calgary, only the RICH people went to Hawaii on family holiday. Most, like us, jumped in the car and drove to British Columbia. Also great.

Over on my hiking blog I have a number of additional posts:

With the Masons:

  • hiking Waimea Canyon, Hawaii with kids
  • dangerous spikes on the hiking trail
  • best hike south coast Kauai, Hawaii
  • hike Na Pali in Hawaii with kids
  • On my own:

  • my Alakai Swamp trail run in Hawaii
  • Powerline Trail, Kauai, Hawaii
  • Kaapoko tunnel hike, Kauai, Hawaii
  • Nualolo – Awa Awaphui Trails Loop, Hawaii
  • paradise – the Kalalau Trail in Hawaii
  • And I never even made it to Secret Beach.

    secret-beach.jpg
    larger – flickr – bryce_edwards

    Might have to go back. Glasers are going in August …. hmmm.

    hiking Joshua Tree

    Hello from Peabody’s Coffee Bar in Palm Springs, California.

    I’m just off to do a trail run on Mt. San Jacinto, off the tramway. It’s sunny summer down below. But I hear there is plenty of snow up high. In fact, they rent snow shoes and cross country skis atop the lift.

    tram.jpg

    After a few days hiking in the Joshua Tree area, I fly to Mazatlán, Mexico on Tuesday for more dental work.

    More falling water

    Just testing the flickr photo sharing “blog this” function. Seems to work better than it did in the past.

    From a recent hike we took in CAL-IF-ORNI-A.

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    More falling water, originally uploaded by busybeingborn.

    Phoenix one of the Worst Towns in the USA

    My hiking week in Arizona did not work out nearly as well as hoped. You cannot get around without a personal vehicle in the SW — when will I learn?

    I should have consulted Crow’s book in advance: The Worst Towns in the USA.

    Phoenix he describes as the nation’s “sweatiest” city. AmTrak won’t stop here. There are barely enough backpackers to keep one small hostel open.

    Phoenix really is a sprawling, one-story megalopolis that takes HOURS to commute.

    Yet, despite global warming, people are still moving south and west in the USA:

    map of USA

    source

    The highlight of my week in Arizona was biking and trail running in Phoenix.

    Banff Mountain Film Festival WORLD TOUR

    I love this event.

    The Banff Mountain Film Festival is on the road across North America and around the world. Whether you are an experienced mountaineer or an armchair adventurer, this event is for everyone. Don’t miss the excitement!

    The Tour Schedule is linked from the home page – World Tour: Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre

    The event sponsors are prominently mentioned — OK, it’s a commercial — in the second half of the video. But it’s still worth watching. This is the kind of TV commercial I like.

    Click PLAY or watch the promo trailer on YouTube.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Calgary: January 15 – 20, 2008 and April 5 & 6, 2008

    (via besthike.com)

    climbing Huang Shan in China

    Another very positive trip report from climbing Huang Shan (Huashan) in China.

    Gotta get there one day.

    1451336548_e30521c7a7.jpg

    … its right up there with the Great Wall in my book as far as the top sights to see in China.

    Backcountry Blog – Backcountry Adventures – Trip Reports

    More photos are posted on this page: Short stroll in a Chinese national park. (Thanks Rob and Yvonne.)

    related post – crazy cliff scramble – Mt. Huashan, China