Rocky Mountain National Park July 2019

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This hiking trip got postponed due to weather and back problems. I wasn’t sure it was even going to happen. But now that this trip has come and gone, it went smooth beyond description. Nobody gets 7 days of perfect weather in the Colorado Rockies. Sunny and 70 degrees, cooler at elevation. It didn’t rain while we were doing things, it rained when we didn’t give a shit, and we got hailed on at the peak of Mt Ida, which only added to the experience. Several firsts for me. I was finally able to get OK shots of the Milky Way in the middle of the night. The moon was out, but hidden behind a mountain peak. I also took my first pictures of lightning strikes. There was a storm in the opposite direction of the sunset, over Denver. There were a few guys shooting pics of the lightening strikes. One of them was nice enough to give me a few tips and send me down the path. It was a lot of fun. The only real hiccup was getting home. Apparently there were no flights getting from Denver to Philadelphia for several days. We sat through several delays, got on the plane, drove away and back twice, and then finally decided to rent a car and drive home. While doing that we instead found a flight into BWI. Almost 24 hours at an airport to get home. Truly a very small penance to pay for the week we had. All in all it was a very romantic week with my friendly neighborhood Juggalo watching sunrises, sunsets, star gazing, fighting off nocturnal advances, and shivering in each other’s arms during thunder and lightning storms. There is a gallery of photos HERE.

I walked through Maryland on the Appalachian Trail

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I saw enough of these white blazes for 1 weekend

I don’t have much to say, or a bunch of pictures to share. HERE are some pictures. When asked how it went 1 word springs out of my mouth every time, “miserable”. Me, Josh, and Freaky set out on my birfday weekend to spend 3 days, 2 nights, and 47 miles of walking through the woods. It was a perfect time of the year for this adventure. The leaves were at an almost perfect state of changing, the weather was cool, cold at night, and we even saw a little snowfall on our final day. We survived with no problems. We had plenty of water and food at all times, too much actually. We got dropped off in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia on Friday at sunrise and picked up Sunday late afternoon in Pen Mar Park, Maryland, which is right at the Pennsylvania state line. I am overly joyed that I completed this trek. I had apprehensions but Wifey was encouraging and insistent that I could make the walk. Even through all the pain we found some time for a little Geocaching and signing pieces of paper hidden in the woods, yay for us. It has created a memory that will not soon be forgotten. Most of the weekend was spent simply putting 1 foot in front of the other. In between those steps we saw several gorgeous overlooks, bumped into interesting people and scenes, and did not murder each other. As miserable as the walk was we had a lot of fun and laughs, which happens organically in a group of complete assholes. This was definitely a horrible experience that I hope to relive again one day. That is a lot of what makes a good memory. Remembering something that frightened, sickened, or made me nervous and knowing I did it anyway. Due to weight limitations I didn’t take my good camera, but I did take a small camera that I apparently do not like too much. HERE are some pictures if you are interested.

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Prelude to an adventure

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Last weekend Charlie the Dog and I went to Frostburg, Maryland for an overnight. We camped in a park and hiked both days. In the morning we woke up to completely frost covered ground, in Frostburg, how ironic (yuk). It was mostly a successful adventure. We had a great time with some fun people. I dropped my fancy camera and pack into moving water on Sunday. I panicked, but quickly realized I can’t travel in time, so there is nothing I can do. Thankfully I think only 1 thing is ruined, and it is one of the less expensive things. This weekend a few of us are going to adventure along the Appalachian Trail through the state of Maryland. I doubt I will make it alive. Wish me luck. How about these few great pictures from last weekend?!?

What a handsome fella

What a handsome fella

You don't see this in the part of Maryland I live

You don’t see this in the part of Maryland I live

Enjoying the view

Enjoying the view

It’s always good to go for a walk with friends

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Recently we took a day and went to Harpers Ferry, WV for a day of rafting. It was a beautiful day outside and we were done early in the afternoon. The Appalachian Trail runs right near the area we were, so we decided to take a short walk up to Weverton Cliffs. An amazing view out over the river and land. There is not much better than being outside with people that you can laugh at nonstop. Thankfully my muse was along to bring out my picture taking abilities. A few pictures HERE.

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Final installment of the Alaska 2015 adventure

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We left the Denali Backcountry Lodge in the morning at 6am. We saw a bunch of wildlife on the drive out of the park. The highlight was a grizzly bear eating a moose just 50 yards off the side of the road at a bridge crossing. A couple great pictures HERE. It was pretty intense to see. Vehicles are not allowed on this road until 6am so our bus had a head start. Leaving from inside the park and driving out, we were first to disturb any of the early morning animals that got comfortable with the empty driving road. Alaska-2015-07-2844On to the Denali visitors center to wait for our train to leave. We had about 2 hours to kill. It sucked being back in the real world. The visitor center is full of rubes, and here we are back in the mix. We saw more people in a minute than we had in the past 2 weeks. Mainly frumpy tourists (like us), Ornamentals with cameras, and Midwesterners wearing too much makeup hurrying to get their tee shirts. There is a lot to be said for seclusion and isolation. The train left at 12:30pm. A long 8 hour ride to Anchorage and the end of our trip. Those pictures of the bus ride with the grizzlies are HERE.