***Update: Mt Evans was renamed Mount Blue Sky in 2023. Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/7743757451 This story starts with an Instagram #30daysupsidedown handstand challenge started by some mountain-climbing Coloradans that I follow. I was going through some things in life then and I figured that having something as random as practicing handstands…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/7633913868 South Sister Summit was a climb that almost didn’t happen. After my week in Bend for a work training I had Saturday through Tuesday to explore the Pacific Northwest and with so much to do and see out there I had considered skipping South Sister to build in…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/7233646594 The heavy rains ended at dawn. In the day’s first light, I crawled through my rental car to plop myself into the driver’s seat. I had folded the seats down and spent the second half of the night in the back of the car, encased in assorted…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/6726709431 Mount Teide is an active volcano on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and is the highest point on Spanish territory at 12,188′ above sea level. When I began researching a potential trip to the Canary Islands I discovered photos of Mount Teide and soon…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/6021241286 My friend Jessica scheduled this adventure and, along with her husband Juan and our mutual friend Tim, invited me to join the fun! It was a quick trip to Colorado for us. We flew Spirit Airlines out of Detroit on Friday night and our flight back to…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/5868855025 After seeing Aly’s pictures of Mount of the Holy Cross I knew this was a mountain I had to climb! We picked the last Saturday in August and lucked out with excellent conditions. The plan was to hike the standard route (North Ridge, Class 2) to the…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/5830677680 Having registered for the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Marquette Trail 50, both scheduled for August 21, 2021, I had to make a decision as that date approached. I went with the mountain race (and as it turns out avoided the brutality of running 50 miles in…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/4147489240 Against general advice, I climbed the second tallest peak in the Rocky Mountains less than 24 hours after flying in from Michigan. Did I suffer from altitude sickness as I approached that 14,421′ summit? Yes. Did I enjoy my first Colorado 14er experience? Absolutely. Did I do…
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/3937791216 I took a road trip to New England in August 2020 to visit family and friends, hike the White Mountains and Green Mountains, explore Acadia National Park, and pursue some new freshwater and saltwater fish species in the area. Hiking the Franconia Notch in New Hampshire’s White…