Archive
Hocking Hills State Park
Hiking at Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio, including Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, Old Man’s Cave, Rose Lake, the Buckeye Trail, and other trails connecting these areas.
Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve
Hiking at the Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio.
Rachel Carson Trail Challenge
The Rachel Carson Trail is a 34-mile hiking trail near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every year on the Saturday closest to the Summer Solstice (to provide the longest possible daylight), the Rachel CarsonTrail Challenge is held, where participants hike (or attempt to hike) the entire trail in one day.
This was my first time participating in this event. It took me about 15 hours to hike the entire trail; I finished, but not before the “official” cut-off time.
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- Pre-hike fuel at Ritter’s Diner
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- Claire prepares her footwear.
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- Waiting in line at the check-in table
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- Mile 0, 5:40am
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- The first of many steep hills to come.
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- “It’s all up here.” Just after Checkpoint 1, about mile 7.
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- View of the Allegheny River
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- Another climb, about mile 11.7.
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- Claire tends to her wounds at Checkpoint 2, mile 14.8.
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- The glory of nature and Wal-Mart
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- Made it to Checkpoint 3, mile 20.1, 2:10pm.
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- Checkpoint 4, mile 26.6, 5:20pm
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- Approaching the finish…
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- THE END mile 34.6, 9:10pm
Chugach State Park
Snowshow hiking at Chugach State Park in Anchorage
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- Looking towards Flatop Peak
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- Looking down from the trail into Anchorage
Western Road Trip – Another summit in Boulder
On Tuesday 13 Jan, Brad took went in late to work so we could get our last hike in, this time up Green Mountain. It was pretty icy there, plus it was getting late, so Brad turned around about two-thirds of the way up to head to work, and I proceeded to the summit.
I spent the rest of the day on Tuesday exploring around town some more, including The Hill area near the University.
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- A view from the summit of Green Mountain
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- Another view from the summit of Green Mountain
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- Me on the summit of Green Mountain (elevation 8,161 ft.)
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- This one is for Ron
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- Bikes parked outside the vegetarian market, a typical Boulder scene
Western Road Trip – A Brick Workout in Boulder
Sunday 11 Jan was designated as super-workout day. In the morning, Brad and I headed up once again to Mt. Sanitas. Then, we immediately headed out on our bikes to Lee Hill Road, a 1200-foot climb.
On Monday 12 Jan, I spent the day taking a rest from exercise, and wandered around town looking at the many gear shops again. I test rode an Ellsworth Truth mountain bike (very sweet) and a couple of Rocky Mountain bikes. I spent too much at the Performance Bike store.
Me and Brad on the summit of Mt. Sanitas
Western Road Trip – More Nederland, CO
On Friday 9 Jan, I headed up to Eldora Mountain Resort to ski for the day. It was a decent hill, but it has a reputation for being very windblown. The front side on this day was in pretty good shape. I ventured over the the back side once, but the main slope there was a solid sheet of ice, and the more interested backcountry terrain was closed. The front side was enough to keep me having fun for the day, though.
On Saturday 10 Jan, Brad and I headed back up to Eldora for more snowshoeing. It warm a warm and beautiful day, and the people-watching was good, with lots of other groups of snowshoers and cross-country skiers out.
After the mountain excursion, we stopped in the town of Nederland for coffee, then headed back down to Boulder for a fantastic lunch at Hapa Sushi Grill. Their happy hour rates allowed us both to eat our fill of sushi rolls for under $20.
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- Brad at the summit of the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
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- Me at the summit of the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail once again
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- View to the west from the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
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- View to the west from the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
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- Brad on the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
Western Road Trip – More Boulder, CO
On Wednesday Jan 7, Brad, Kristin, and I loaded up the skis and headed to Breckenridge for the day. It was a decent day; intermittently sunny and not too cold, but many of the lifts were closed in the morning due to high winds. Things calmed down later and just about everthing was open for the afternoon except for Chair 6.
On Thursday Jan 8, Kristin caught the bus back to the Denver airport, Brad headed to work, and I was on my own for the day. It was considerably warmer and clearer than earlier in the week, so I decided to head up to Mt. Sanitas again. I took the Ridge Trail up the back side, which is more in the shade, so still had a good bit of ice and snow on it. The way back down the main trail was pretty clear and easy going, though.
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- Boulder from the summit of Mt. Sanitas
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- University of Colorado from the summit of Mt. Sanitas
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- North Boulder from the summit of Mt. Sanitas
Western Road Trip – Nederland, CO
Our outdoor activity for Kristin and I on Tuesday was snowshoeing at Eldora Mountain Resort. The temperatures had warmed up a bit this day.
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- Me near the top of the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
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- The summit of the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail (elev. 10,025 ft.)
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- Kristin at the summit of the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
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- Me, later on the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
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- Me, later again on the Lone Star Loop snowshoe trail
Western Road Trip – Boulder, CO
I left Columbus on Jan 3, 2004. I headed west on I-70 through the rest of Ohio, Indiana, and grabbed some lunch at Denny’s in Effingham, Illinois. I went on through Missouri and made my way through Kansas City around mid-evening. I had planned to spend the night somewhere in this area, but I still felt pretty alert, and decided to keep going. I grabbed some dinner at the service plaza on the Kansas turnpike.
I started feeling pretty groggy in the western half of Kansas, plus it was snowing fairly heavily, so I pulled over at a rest stop to take a nap. After about an hour, I woke up feeling alert again, and the snow had tapered off, so I got back on the road.
I got to Brad’s place just before dawn, around 6:30am on Sunday Jan 4. I knocked on the door, and called the cell phones of Brad, Kristin, and Becky (she had flown out on New Years Day), and had to leave messages each time. I knocked some more until they finally woke up and let me in. I crashed on the couch immediately, only to have to wake up an hour later so that we could all grab some breakfast and give Becky a ride back to the airport. Brad, Kristin, and I spent the rest of the day exploring the bike shops, breweries, and coffee shops of downtown Boulder.
On Monday morning (Jan 5), Brad had to head to work, so Kristin and I went to the local IHOP for breakfast, then headed up for a hike on Mt. Sanitas. Before Kristin and I left for our hike, Brad called to warn us of the unusually cold weather outside that day. We misunderstood him to mean that it was 10 degrees below freezing; we found out later it was actually 10 degrees below zero! With the brisk walk through town and up the Mt. Sanitas trail, the temperature didn’t feel too bad, but the cloudy skies made the views less impressive than usual.
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- Mule deer on Mt. Sanitas
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- Me on the summit of Mt. Sanitas (elev. 6846 ft.)
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