36.17: Slovakia: The Low Tatras and the big one, Chopok Peak. How low can you go? Dazzling coincidences, too.
'Triumph'. Accumulated elevation on the day, some 3,000 feet hike or a cable-car ride for the weary, with only 5-minutes of rain, for a change. Finding and taking the gap as we move upwards through the clouds. A view from the top. Coincidences on the trails. We are fascinated by coincidences in general and specifically, where we are participants. We remember mentioning a few over the years but before relating one from this week, we thought about rehashing a couple or more. We spent four days on the Kepler track in New Zealand a few years back. We met a young Swiss-German, Todd, who was studying in Auckland, at the time. The following year, we returned to New Zealand and after hiking to the peak of one our favorites, retired to a small park in Queenstown to enjoy a hot beverage and savor the afterglow of a big day on the mountain. A young man walked up to me and said, “Hello, Jeffrey.” I looked up, hesitated a moment and replied, “Hello, Todd.” It was exac...