When I
retired from the business world in June, 2002, I compiled a list of places
I wanted to visit and things I wanted to do that I’d rarely had time for
when I was working. Until this time, my most memorable trips had been
hiking in remote areas of Patagonia, Costa Rica, Nepal and Easter
Island. I had joined an expedition to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1998, but the
trip was cancelled when not enough people signed-up, so getting to Africa to climb Kili was first on my list.
I had
spent a year training for this climb and had lost a hundred pounds. Many
mountains have a ‘climbing season’ and Kili’s was winter when it did not
rain much. As I researched other activities to fill in the seven months
until I would go to Africa, I discovered the climbing season for
Denali in Alaska
and Elbrus in Russia was summer. I quickly joined expeditions to climb
both peaks.
Other
than two day trips up Mt. Washington, one of which terminated early when I
lost a crampon; I had no winter mountaineering experience. Attempting to
climb Denali first was akin to running a marathon before walking to the
end of your driveway to get the mail. I like to think that my training,
confidence and tenacity got me to the summit, but it was more a result of
great guides and favorable weather.
Denali
really got me hooked on this type of climbing and I’ve gone on to seek
other challenges of this nature.
Aside
from climbing, I have visited and hiked in a couple dozen countries on
five continents (the other two are still on my list).
I’ve
met fascinating people – many of whom will be life-long friends.
Traveling has become like most forms of learning…the more I experience,
the more I realize there is to experience.
This
site includes the itineraries, journals and selected photographs of my
adventures. A lot of it is mundane, but the Highlights Section will take
you to portions of the journals, which I found most exciting. There are
also links to other websites, containing additional information about some
of the places I’ve been. I hope you enjoy these places as much as I have.
