Climbing a mountain is one of the most often-used metaphors in literature, but for good reason — it’s a good metaphor for life. There’s a goal, challenge, and (hopefully) victory — and of course, the view from the top.
My friend Sarah was visiting from Berkeley, CA for the weekend. As she is a hiking enthusiast, the first thing we did was go up to Horsetooth Rock, which — despite being an icon of Fort Collins and one I can see from my front windows — is a landmark I have never been up to. Continue reading »
It’s hard to believe but just a month ago — and just over a week before going on vacation in Panama — I was skiing in Lory State Park. Then, a week after returning from Panama, I was stunned to find out that the weather and temperatures in Fort Collins had been remarkably warm and Boquete-like all March, with grasses turning greener by the day and not a trace a snow to be seen anywhere. Continue reading »
.&title=Volcán Barú, Panamá "At <i>la encima</i> of the country of Panama (11,408 feet).")
It’s kind of hard to believe, but I almost had dismissed the opportunity for this super Panamanian adventure completely out of hand.
“It’s just a hike,” I rationalized to Tori en route from David to Boquete, “and I can go hiking at any time. So why pay money to go hiking?”
Thankfully, she set me straight right away. “I’m really surprised you don’t want to do it,” she protested. “I thought for sure you would want to hike the highest summit in the country?” Continue reading »
With Bay Area temperatures still being pleasant even for hobos roaming the streets, “let’s go hiking!” seemed like a good idea. So Adrian, Evelyn, Sarah, Sheila, and I congregated in Portola Valley for a leisurely 5.6-mile jaunt up and down aptly named Windy Hill. The best part of the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is that it is dog friendly! So in addition to our friends, Adrian and Evelyn’s Labrador retriever/pit bull (and three other breeds I can’t remember) mix joined us in the fun. Bue was the star of the hike, posing for the camera nice and often with grace and dignity. More photos are here.
One should not visit Fort Collins, Colorado for the first time without visiting those jewels to the west, the Horsetooth Mountain Park and its adjacent Horsetooth Reservoir. So when Kathrin and Guy came over during the weekend from Chicago, we did an afternoon hike on the Soderberg trail through lush forests packed with Douglas Fir and evergreen pine, stunning vistas of the reservoir and the red rock outcropping above, and green hills with homes embedded in their sides that inspired Kat to proclaim, “it looks just like Switzerland!”
Never mind that the Horsetooth Falls off of the Soderberg trail turned out to be more like a “water drip” than a waterfall; this was a wonderful hike. More photos are here.
