Tag Archives: hiking
The Hills Are Alive (and Kicking): A Three-Day Hut-to-Hut Hike in Austria’s High Alps / Aug, 29
Often, when we think of European vacations, we think of cities. Sipping espresso in gilt Baroque cafes. Ogling masterworks in gargantuan museums. Dutifully following Rick Steves audio tours through the old towns of Prague, Rome, Paris. What we tend to forget, amid all this civilization, is that Europe also has some of the most stunning wilderness in the world. Exploring […]
Mojave National Preserve, the ‘secret sibling’ to Death Valley / Apr, 25
Considering its size, Mojave National Preserve, in far-eastern California, doesn’t get much attention. At 1.6 million acres, it’s the third-largest unit of the National Park Service in the continguous United States — but only gets about half a million visitors a year. Compare that to nearby Grand Canyon National Park, which at “only” 1.2 million […]
Coasting through Cornwall / Sep, 29
Cornwall’s spectacular coast path remains unknown to many Americans On about the 100th granite step above Port William, on Cornwall’s north coast, my boyfriend managed a few strangled words. “These people,” he panted, “are crazy.” I’m not sure whether he was referring to the builders of the trail we were hiking — the South West […]
Day 26: Inca Trail Day 2 / Jul, 16
This is known as the hardest day of the classic four-day trek, because you navigate two high-altitude mountain passes and hike for a total of about 10 hours. But we woke at a relatively leisurely 5:30 a.m. After breakfast, the sun was just starting to rise. As we ascended to Dead Woman’s Pass, the highest […]
Day 25: Inca Trail Day 1 / Jul, 15
It still felt miles from sunrise as we arrived on Plaza Recocijo to meet the Llama Path guides and porters. And it was: Only 4:15 a.m., with sunrise expected around 6:30 or 7. Seth and I were among the first present, along with an Irish couple, Suzanne and Rory. The porters handed us steaming cups […]