Lazarow World-Hike-About: 29.03 Mojave National Preserve: Kelso Dunes, an outing for the kids and everyone else.

LAZAROW WORLD HIKE-ABOUT

San Ramon: At first, I thought it needed explanation. Not true. Top Left: "You're kidding me. After hiking 4 miles from the base below, you still want to climb up there...and snakes...?" The stance revealed it all. The rest is self-explanatory, too. (Not part of the formal trail either).

'LAZAROW WORLD HIKE-ABOUT: WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HIKE-ABOUT?'

Hike-about is an adventure that commenced June 2010. After storing our household movables, ridding ourselves of a house but retaining our 'home' together, we set off with the purpose of hiking in different parts of the world, not forgetting the home country, the USA.

Our primary focus is hiking to mountain peaks but any challenging hike will do just fine. Extended stays enable us to enjoy and experience living in various places amongst differing cultures. Hike-about has evolved into a way of life. It's also a process of discovery, both the world and ourselves.

We work and live 'on the road' but return to the city in which our grandchildren reside, every couple of months. This provides us the wonderful opportunity to be with them as well as a child or two, even three and of course, friends.

By the end of 2023, the blog contained over 1,560 hikes (less than that actually undertaken), each a set of pictures with stories and anecdotes from the trails. An index to the right allows the viewer to identify earlier experiences.

Finally, we are often asked about the journey's end. Our reply, as accurate as we can state, is: "When we are either forced to cease through health issues or the enjoyment level no longer reaches our aspirations, we will hang up the boots."

"A Life Experience As No Other: Dare to Seize the Day Together", published by Fulton Books, depicts our life on the road and mountains until the beginning of 2017. It has developed 'exponentially' since then.

Jenni and Jeffrey Lazarow

Whereas we continue to update the blog regularly, we circulate email notifications infrequently.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

29.03 Mojave National Preserve: Kelso Dunes, an outing for the kids and everyone else.

It may seem an outrageous statement, we seem to make a few, but one has not lived until one has run down a steep dune. This might not count as wisdom but some may understand what we mean. One of the axioms of life, certainly the way we see it, is that without the struggle or at least some effort, the reward is less beneficial, many times meaningless. Applying it practically, the climb up to the summit of these dunes on soft sand is a struggle. Literally, it is a step up followed by, at times, more than an equivalent slide down. Logically, to reach the top one has to make progress but often it feels there is no reaching of the goal.

We have been on many dunes but perhaps the Kelso is the most trying and therefore, rewarding. Nevertheless, each set we have visited has provided its own joy and beauty. We've enjoyed them all.

An all time favorite movie of mine (Jeffrey) is Chariots of Fire. There are aspects of it, especially the determination and class of Eric Liddel, the Scottish hero, that are remarkable. Once I began the descent down the main dune, without any prompting, I began to hum the theme tune from the movie. It was another inspiring moment as I felt myself gliding in Mr. Lidell's shadow (far behind). There may not be many left, but from our understanding, he was a true role model, indeed.

Slope is steep, sand is soft, one more to go.