Outdoor Adventure
Four Pass Loop: Backpacking in the Maroon Bells Wilderness
Four Pass Loop is a 27-mile path encircling the Maroon Bells as it snakes over four mountain passes. It is an exploration of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area – filled with wildflowers, beautiful views, and the occasional mountain goat. We backpacked the loop over three challenging, but rewarding, days. Why Four Pass Loop? Colorado is something of a wilderness wonderland, isn’t it? There are 58 different “14ers” and more than 40 national wilderness areas! Some are more popular and/or accessible from cities. There are varying levels of seclusion and trail difficulty. If you’re going to plan an outdoor adventure in Colorado, the options can be overwhelming. We were going to…
Rim to River Day Hike: A Grand Canyon Challenge
Back in 2011, I made a new “bucket list” for the adult, “life is short, actually” version of me. And, for reasons I can’t begin to explain or even understand myself, I identified “Hike the Grand Canyon” as one of my many new life goals. Specifically, I wanted to do the Rim to River day hike. Again, years later, I can’t actually explain what exactly was going through my mind. Other than insanity, I mean. I was living in New Mexico, so it didn’t seem like an outlandish destination at the time. But I didn’t define any timeline or specific goals. It was merely a dream – and a dream…
How to Prepare for Mountain Gorilla Treks
If you’re here, maybe you’re considering a gorilla trek. Is it something you want to do? Probably, yes! But to prepare for gorilla treks, you’ll want to know your options. And once a destination is determined, many questions pop up. How should I dress? What do I need to take with me? Is it safe? I’ll tell you here, but first let’s provide a little context about our target species. An Introduction to Gorillas The short story is that there are two species of gorilla: eastern and western. That’s pretty simple, right? Populations of the lowland subspecies of western gorillas are more significant, but the Cross River subspecies numbers are…
The Ultimate Mountain Gorilla Experience in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Day 8 of the Uganda Highlights tour was a special day on the tour. This was the day for a mountain gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park! On this particular day, our birding tour group became split into three parts. And although four of us had expressed interest in a trek, mine was the only permit reserved in the Ruhija sector. The Ruhija sector was a two-hour drive from our lodging, so my day started dark and early to get to the orientation by 8am! Our drive took us out of the Buhoma sector of the park, along bumpy rural roads until we re-entered the park in the Ruhija…
It’s a Dog’s Life at Shenandoah National Park
In March of this year, everyone’s lives changed due to the impacts of the novel coronavirus. At my house, that meant remote work for us both and rarely leaving the house (except for runs/walks in our own neighborhood). Our groceries were suddenly being delivered, we became comfortable with Microsoft Teams for every facet of professional communication, and every bit of work and personal travel was cancelled for the foreseeable future. I will say that my dog certainly finds this to be an entirely positive situation, and her status as the center of our universe is very clear. To her, anyway. Me, though? I was totally and undeniably LOSING. MY. MIND. …
