Lazarow World-Hike-About

A big sky (clouds) over Mount Woodson. A hazy evening: Balloonists at dusk, in the distance. Clouds cover the ocean. Life is filled with tradeoffs. Expressed differently, we face decision making situations continuously. Once a person decides to follow a course of action, it usually precludes taking an alternative. Sounds heavy and mysterious. Hardly. However, to bring some relevance to the topic or as our editor might state, get practical, Jeffrey, we offer the following simple analogy—a hike to explain a facet of life. Simply put, if you want to see a sunrise or sunset from a mountaintop, a person has to either walk up in the dark and down in the light or the reciprocal for a sunset, up in the light, down in the dark. There are no other options unless we have missed it—always a possibility. Sunrise on Iron Mountain. Sunset from Iron Mountain, looking towards the Pacific Ocean. What a long day! 'Looking at clouds from both sides now'...with sun i...

Approaching Mount Kristinartindar, beyond the mountains ahead. Looks like it's smoking or at least steamin' Occasionally , someone might ask which has been your best hiking experience. In fact, it happens so seldom that the subject should be declared null and avoid. However, because I qualify as a somebody or at least, a person and I ask the question of myself frequently, it’s valid. How do you like that bit of rationalization? Should you empathize with it, continue reading as there's more coming down the pike. I also have a few things to do in life so I decided not to write this piece to fill space or perhaps more accurately, not just to fill a screen. Rather, I was intrigued about a particular hike we underwent in Iceland that began slowly, picked up the pace and then went onto a chilling climax followed by a long conclusion in near-whiteout conditions with a steady rain to keep things cool. Actually, in Iceland, conditions are mostly cool during summer so the ...

Jenni next to the peak of Mount Liberty. The weather looks ominous but no time for shortcuts. The previous three hikes resulted in an elevation gain of a little under 13,000 feet. We don't mention this to boast...well, maybe a little. Actually, to many strong hikers this might seem pathetic but to the old editor, it is worthy. She has been strong and well since her knee made a miraculous healing. Unfortunately, with nothing to whine about, she kicked a rock and now has an awful gash on her shin. She does not understand that she cannot push the earth around like she does her husband. Of course, we thought we were doing extremely well until we lost our footing and went for a spill that could have been ugly. These things occur in a split second. Just to show it wasn't a fluke, we enjoyed another fall on the following hike. We often think that in a typical day, we take well over twenty-thousand strides each. The chances of not missing a step seems impossible—sob...

Viewing Mount Lafayette from Mount Lincoln, some 4,000 feet elevation gain. The mist and clouds hid some mountains but compensated with wonderful scenes. That's it. I refuse to carry a battery with us from now on. Should the editor need a charge, she should kiss me—rumor has it that it's electrifying. We wondered how Lafayette made it into the presidential range but we believe names of prominent men of the 18th and 19th centuries have been included in the prestigious White Mountains. We have been overwhelmed by the range and region. It is calm in the towns and valleys below but exciting, volatile and most attractive on the summits. The tough parts are getting to the ridges via the trails through thickly wooded forests on paths and trails over rocks, boulders, stones and tree roots, usually with flowing water to keep the boots and feet ‘nice and cool’. There is an intricate system of paths linking the peaks to each other including huts. Another outstanding aspe...