Lazarow World-Hike-About

Every now and again and even more seldom than that, we find a position that provides sights so gorgeous that one can almost cry—sometimes tears do form but that usually happens upon arriving at the summit after a tough climb or more frequently, when taking a backhander from the editor. The photographs below (excluding the first one), and there were obviously many more, are taken from a perch along the River Mountain hike and a couple of other positions in the vicinity of Boulder City, Nevada. A number of earlier hikes, particular the latest couple from Nevada, were superb but our enthusiasm for this hike's visuals made us jump the queue. Previous day hike used for 'spacing purposes' (The Frenchman Mountain...a short-way up.) Late afternoon in Boulder City, above Lake Mead. A cloudy day in general and then the sun almost disappeared for a few minutes. Part of the shoreline at Lake Mead. Trying a different camera setting. Sun fin...

It's special to begin a Monday morning on this peak...any peak. On a brisk winter morning, the sun was prominent on the mountain walls. Jenni returned to the trails after an illness, making one boy very happy and a girl quite tired. We had a quick three hikes following the tough Finger Canyon Trail. Tucson is a rugged hiking town when one follows the trails to their termination points. There are sections of the city which are also very rough…people-wise. We completed Romero Pools which was moderate of 7 miles with a cumulative gain of 1,200 feet; Ventana Canyon of over 9 miles and 3,000 feet upwards had testing aspects. The difficulty of the latter hike was that for part of it we climbed and crawled up a goat path, thirty or so minutes of testing situations—‘our guide’ seemed to lose his way…what’s new? Suppose it takes a bit of an effort to reach special places. Out in the beautiful deserts, slightly haunting sunset. For a little perspective, a p...

It had to happen sometime and so it did. The editor took ill and declared herself unavailable for hiking until further notice. It’s a good thing she does not work for a corporation; otherwise, she might find herself hauled up a mountain after three days. This left me searching for a replacement partner. Before I commenced looking, the editor reminded me rather subtly that she was in fact irreplaceable. Fortunately, it was an idea I share wholeheartedly. We’re back in Tucson for a week as we returned to work from a six-week ‘vacation’ in San Diego. The idea is to follow the sun. More specifically, to find warm weather and undertake many of the hikes we missed the first time around. Thereafter, we’ll continue our quest looking for warm weather and manageable snow—whatever that means. Reach out and touch something...someone, at the peak. Funnily enough, this is not the Finger Trail. I want to go higher...moving up on the Finger Trail. A full-blooded suns...

We went for another hike up Mount Woodson, this time from Lake Poway entrance. By the way, the park that houses the lake and mountain is a delightful place. We would recommend it as a wonderful area to hike, fish, take a picnic and/or relax and absorb the sights. One can also hire a rowing boat and enjoy the lake surface. "If I was a fisherman..."...I think this is the spot I'd choose. This was a scene that was visible for only a couple of minutes before the sun disappeared. The clouds seemed to spillover the mountaintops. A few months ago, while running down the mountain, Jen had a 'spill' and landed at the feet of a man walking up the mountain. She mentioned how embarrassed she felt sprawled in the dirt, lying at the feet of this hiker. I was a little ahead of her so did not see her fall or the result. Today, it was my turn. These falls happen from time-to-time. Often, once I've tripped, I'm able to keep running with my bo...

It seems to be a tradition to launch a video on completion of each Hike-about segment. This time, however, we have six unpublished hikes remaining but decided to go ahead and do the video. There are so many pictures that the selection becomes a hit-or-miss affair. Invariably, we leave off some of the best shots and display the lesser ones. However, we are fortunate that the beauty of the Western United States allows one to point a camera in the general direction of the action and record it for posterity, or until we clean out our files and delete them. The rest of the world is also remarkable in its visuals but as Jenni points out from time-to-time, I'm affected by the last region visited. Apparently, unlike modern computers, the storage capacity of my brain cannot be upgraded or enlarged. Following a few highlight photographs below, we present a video that captures only a small aspect of what amounted to an incredible period within six western states. (Video follows the...

Spain and Andorra had quite an effect upon us. We interrupt the recent beautiful Western United States hiking trip to remember a few scenes from Europe: From a peak in Andorra, looking into France. Lake Tristiana, Andorra. Tozal de Mallo, along the Pyrenees Mountains, Spain. Casamanya Peak, Andorra. Cares Gorge, Spain: The trail is cut into the mountain walls. Faja de Racon, Spain. A view from Casamanya Peak into Ordino, Andorra La Serrara Peak, Andorra. Blau Estasy, France/Andorra Crossing the Pyrenees from Spain into France. Heading toward Blau Estasy, Andorra Tozal de Mallo Trail. Asin de Broto, Spain A view into France, such beauty. Covedonga Lakes, Spain. Andorra. The peak: Pico Veleta, Southern Spain. Cheers, Jenni and Jeffrey