Lazarow World-Hike-About

Putting blues behind one Hello One More Time, This set was omitted previously. It has the distinction of being the last one. Wednesday 20th We left Mount Shasta and slept south of Redding, in the town of Williams. We have experienced many small towns and motels, enjoying them all without exception. Our editor has an eye for the soft, warm bed and a sense of the right room atmosphere. Our days, filled with activity, leave little time or energy for sightseeing at night. Our ‘nightclubbing times’ are also very slow, B’H. Anyway, should we need an interesting sight to view; there is always the bathroom mirror at 6 am each day. Surrounding walls and slopes Wednesday was a big travel day in the ‘long state’ of California. After eight hours in the car, we finally made a dent in the journey back to San Diego. However, the weather turned wet. It is a sad day when one has to consider leaving Southern and Central California for Oregon because of a need for sunshine. What do they say: “...

Commencing Bouldering, after climb Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd We set out on a seemingly innocuous hike this afternoon in cloudy weather. The morning, spent working and doing washing, was slow while we waited for the weather to clear. Our expectations were low and our spirits, only slightly higher about the hike. However, we discovered a path that lead via a dry mountain wash to the peak of what is termed, a morro. Not coincidentally, we are in Morro Bay, which has seven of these formations—the most famous of them, positioned on the beach. The hike through the state forest, followed by a climb up the steep mountain of about 1,000 feet, got the ‘juices’ flowing. It was one of the most sheer we have encountered. Close to the peak, we ended up ‘bouldering’ upwards, a favorite pastime of ours. It was exhilarating climbing these large boulders and rocks, planning each step, until reaching the top. On top of the World & loving it Hawk eyeing kosher lunch on mountain top ...

California's Mt. Shasta 14 150' Tuesday 19th After Crater Lake, we stopped for the night in Klammath Falls. We were in no hurry to cross back into California—Oregon is very much alive within us. We wanted to hold on a little longer. Okay, enough with the nonsense. By the way, the lake in this part of the world is immense. One could be mistaken in thinking of it as a sea. After a slow start struggling with the stock market forces and other business activities, we tied our boots firmly for our assault on Mount Shasta. Could you envision Shasta shaking in ‘its boots’? Neither could we. We have read about the dangers encountered on this magnificent mountain, so we were cautious. Actually a lot of fun! We also realized that we were unprepared for a full climb in both equipment and time, not to mention mindset. Nevertheless, it was extremely disappointing for the editor’s spouse to turn back at 2:30pm, our agreed cut-off time. By the deadline, we had hiked/climbed 3.5 miles and 2,...

The magnificence of Crater Lake, Oregon Hello Friends, Monday 18th - Morning Hike Up early, ostensibly to do some business. However, the real reason was to see whether the sun was shining. It wasn’t. It was still below the horizon—it’s a little lazy this time of the year, further exacerbated by pushing the clock back and forth each season. How does a person build some stability into life? We ask you? Nu… For the eighth day in a row, the sun shone over the great state of Oregon, although the mornings begin with a chill—reminds one that snow is not far off. We will be long gone before then, although it could easily have happened by now, the experts say. We have been most fortunate thus far. Today particularly, we were hoping for sunshine so that we could see the best of Crater Lake, arguably one of the most beautiful spots we have visited. From our perspective, it could be a wonder of the world—who cares about ratings anyway, we think it is. We would suggest to anyone wishing to wi...

Hello again, Sunday 17th Oct. We had a restful Shabbos while continuing to learn much from Rav Samson Hirsch, an amazing scholar and sage. His commentaries are timeless; he could have lived in the current era and would not have needed to adapt a word. Such is the power of Torah. We met an elderly gentleman at Flathead Lake in August who suggested that we visit Newberry Crater. A hiker we spoke with the other day, endorsed the idea and so, here we are. Something about Oregon gets into one’s soul. Not, of course, the militia outlook but rather, the magnificence of the natural wonders that Hashem provided in this state. On the Edge! We left Bend and arrived soon thereafter at the Newberry National Monument. The hike was incredible although on the short side. It was an embarrassing four miles but we gained 1,700 feet in the two miles climb. We also had the opportunity to scramble on the jagged rocks. We certainly prefer the slicks ones but we are not fussy—a rock is a rock. The views we...

Like a picture...oops, it is a picture Overlooking Crater Dear Friends, (those remaining) Thursday 14th We have enjoyed the town of Sisters and loved the wilderness surrounding it. We extended our stay by a day and then decided: Why not stay for the two days over Shabbos. During three days at the motel, we noticed never more than a handful of cars on the property. We were thus surprised to hear that the establishment was booked for the weekend, excluding us from this Western town. Therefore, it’s off to Bend tomorrow for Shabbos, unless we head closer to Crater Lake, our next destination. Our editor says it will be weather dependent. As we don’t have a convertible, we’re not sure what she means but we’re not about to ‘rock the boat’. So that’s what we’ll do. It transpires that the weekend is devoted to Oktoberfest activities in the town—we’ll have to miss the beer—tough break. Here she comes again... Our hike to Black Crater was an 8-miler roundtrip. It was a climb of 2,500 f...

Hello All, Wednesday 13th On the American trails, there is no doubt that the people are friendly, unlike in a certain neutral, unnamed country. Over the last two days, we have come across fellow hikers on the mountains, for a change. Of late, we have sometimes felt that we were the only two people in the state. Where is everyone? It is, at times, somewhat eerie but always enjoyable. The puzzling thing is, after living in San Diego for twenty years, people just cannot place our accents when we stop to chat. It puzzles us. Perhaps we should carry a surfboard with us and say ‘Hey, Dude’. Will more time in the city help? That may be problem; we would like to live in Oregon, Northern Arizona, Utah, Montana and Colorado—and that’s just for starters. Hazy Blue Ranges Our hike today brought forth strong emotions. Firstly, it was another outstanding experience. We viewed the Three Sisters Mountains from our peak as we reached ‘Broken Hand’. Man on the (snow) moon! In 9 miles, we witnessed l...