The trail continued around the east side of the lake entering a gathering of trees forming an insignificant forest along the lake’s shoreline. From our viewpoint, the trees concealing the trail eventually dispersed on the southeast side of the lake, and the trail blended into the landscape. Using our imagination, we envisioned the route against the rugged terrain sloping into the lake. No point in taking a vote now, we had trekked to the lake and the consensus was to proceed with a lap around the lake.…
“We finally get to leave for South Dakota today.” Brody said. “ I know I can't wait to get there, but it's going to take 13 hours to get there.” I said. “Yea but we can sleep the whole way there and when we get there it’s going to be lots of fun.” Brody said. “That is true, well ok I am going to sleep I will see you when we get to South Dakota.” I said.…
It all started when a few days before summer break began last year when I overheard my step-dad and uncle talking about a hiking trip in Colorado that we were going to take sometime in the month of early July. So I just let it be and was going to see and find out if I was going to go along with them. long story short, I got a really, really early Christmas present from my mom and step-dad. A hiking trip to the Rocky Mountains!…
Throughout the year, Mount Snow in central Vermont offers a wealth of outdoor adventure for the whole family. Crafts Inn is located in the heart of Vermont and is a perfect vacation destination to have access to all the region has to offer. In a National Historic Landmark building, you will find Mt. Snow timeshares for sale that offer you the vacation of a lifetime every year at an affordable price. Amidst the gorgeous mountain scenery, you can own a one or two-bedroom beautifully decorated apartment with a fully equipped kitchen, free Wi-Fi, cable TV and DVD player. Your timeshare in this year-round resort also gives you access to the spa, sauna, Jacuzzi, billiards or pool table and swimming pool. There is also an on-site playground, racquetball…
My feet ached as I passed through the automatic screen door to the snow filled Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport parking lot. The cool, crisp air stung my face, but my smile remained. Seven slow years have passed since I visited Crested Butte, Colorado, and I have been craving to return the moment I left. The towering mountains, blissful blue sky, and blinding white snow from the piercing sun makes Colorado a place like no other. I stood waiting on the icy concrete for my dad to pull around Baby Blue, a 1996 Chevrolet Astro van my family had nicknamed. My family visited Colorado in 2010, because my mom’s boss owns a timeshare condo, which included Baby Blue. He offered us a vacation to Crested Butte where we could have a free place to…
The day was finally upon me, today is deployment day, this is what I’ve been training for my whole life and what a great line up I have with me……
Yesterday me and my Dad went on an 11ish mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. This hike was probably one of the coolest hikes I've been on. It went from one beautiful landscape to another. As I was laying in bed that night with my muscles aching from the extra 1.5 miles we didn't plan on, I realized I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my Dad. He introduced me to my love of the outdoors and my passion to hike the entire AT. I hope one day ,Dad, we can stand on Mount Katahdin together and look back at the 2190 miles behind…
Growing up in rural Kansas was boring. Especially since I grew up in the seventies. There were no cell phones or game systems to occupy my time. My family had an old black and white television set. I loved to watch The Price is Right in the days before Bob Barker’s hair turned white. After the show was over, the only way to kill time was to play outside and wander down to the creek that ran parallel to our property. There was a secret trail buried in the wall of trees that lined our two acre yard. My brother and I would slide down the trail, landing on the dirt banks like explorers on a mission. Sometimes we would hunt for crawdads under rocks. Other times we would take our poles and fish. We never went into the water after the time I got bit by a gar.…
I conquered Mount Le Conte at the age of nine, the 3rd highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains. It intersects with North America’s longest hiking trail - The Appalachian Trail - with over 2,200 miles of mountains, rivers, and pure wilderness. Ever since learning about the Appalachian Trail, I have wanted to hike it. So that’s what I did.…
It was an extremely cool day in the Poconos Mountains, and we had made a reservation to go white water rafting. The next morning we had to wake up extra early to eat breakfast so we weren’t late for our trip. When my parents said, “were going white water rafting” I thought we were going straight down to the river , but of course it wasn’t.…
on June 2, I woke up at 4:30 A.M for my 8th grade trip I got to the school at 5:20 A.M everybody who was going on the trip loaded our bags on the bus. We left around 5:50 off to Philadelphia We go. on the road everyone was looking out the window looking at the scenery as We passed on by we stopped at a little station in Rhode Island there was a statue of a bear and an Indian we were there for about 20 minutes then we were back on the road. About two hours later we were in Philadelphia our first stop in Philly we took a tour in an abandoned coal mine. To get down into the mine we took this trolley that descended into the darkness of the mine our tour guide explained about all the tools and…
I've never been an "outdoors" experience kind of person. Maybe, it's because I'm very sedentary and prefer to stay inside to read and enjoy tranquility. I avoid all types of chaos and crowded places. Nevertheless, my visit to the Camuy River Cave Park (back in 2004) was refreshing and enriching in knowledge, historically, scientifically and spiritually. That experience brought the best out of me, as a human being and a nature lover, by giving the chance of experiencing a whole new level of peace and tranquility.…
I’ve always wanted to be good at something. Writing isn’t one of them. Hiking however, let’s say I’m confident that I hover somewhere above the line of Intermediate. Good enough to survive high elevation glacier treks and overnighters at least. As a hobby or extracurricular activity, it’s probably my biggest passion. So much that I found that writing of them is like having the opportunity to do each one over again. Once upon a time I set forth a book project, a story telling, you might say, of all my treks including the ascent of five mountains. However, I lacked the confidence of presenting a way to share my stories of me being the key subject. Eventually the project lost steam and fell to the wayside. Even so, I enjoyed reliving each one while writing of them, and, I continued to set goals and hike. Putting myself out there in high open meadows or deep forest of the Cascades has given me a fresh perspective of my everyday world. Forget about football, baseball or sports in general. Forget about housework, yard work or for that matter work itself. Actually, my accommodating career generously facilitated this hobby that at times takes ample time and expense. Therefore, we can’t forget about work. Nonetheless, the introduction to hiking has gotten me off the couch and into the…
We went to my Uncle Brian’s house to see them for a family get together. I asked my cousin, Derek, if he could take me hunting soon. He said that when hunting season comes and when It’s youth hunting that he will take me. I said ok and a month later I called him when hunting season started. I said are you still taking me hunting and he said yeah. He said he would pick me up halfway to his house in a week. My mom and I woke up at 4:30am to leave, and my cousin left at 4am so he beat us to the halfway point. I was really excited to spend the next several days with Derek on this hunting trip and I hoped we would get a deer.…
Sometimes you only have to visit a place once, to know whether or not, you will ever revisit that location. As for me that would be Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky when I was thirteen. That park remain to be one of the best places I have ever visited, the trip to it was a long one, due to the fact that we drove all the way their while making various stops at other locations.…