Lazarow World-Hike-About

Every now and again one waits for a scene that's very special. This was one of them, for the sun only lights the peaks for a short time and not each day or not often, when we are around. That it's of Lake Mead and its surroundings adds to personal satisfaction, for this region is one of our favorites. Truth be told, it's difficult to keep up with the number of favorites one of us has. What a wonderful dilemma to enjoy!   A new addition, another day, an earlier time.

We would sum up the day of walking on soft sand, descending and ascending through, around  and over boulders and mostly dry waterfalls as follows: Our bodies were not impressed, our minds found it exhilarating. Three days later, we learned that it does not augur well for a person when the mind and body are not on speaking terms or at least, in sync. In fact, we've never had to face an internal rebellion previously. It's quite stressful. To be fair, over the previous few days, we had endured some tough hikes which included 'Corkscrew' in Death Valley.  It brought forward another thought: Have I reached the time at which the physical is now older than the mental state? Should that be the case, it is indeed sad. And then here's the kicker: Jenni has a birthday and I feel older.   Reaching the endpoint of the bouldering, hiking and sliding: the Colorado River again. This is a class 4 and 5 climbing rating--the woman is a class act on the boulders. We could not...

On our way to Beatty (gateway to Death Valley), we stopped at Big Dunes, Nevada for a short interlude. We're fond of dunes, their formations, coloring and our activity on them. Who said we're supposed to be adults?  On a clear day, one can see forever. All's well on the dunes. Jen even decides on a run. On our trip from Boulder City, the winds gusted at a furious pace. The car rocked from side to side. We arrived at the dunes and the winds stopped; we had near perfect weather. Lucky us. On our way back to the car, we met the only other person in the area. He had parked beyond the informal parking lot and was struggling to drive his vehicle from the sand surface. It would not budge. When we drove into the Big Dunes lot, Jen indicated we should park next to that vehicle, saving some walking time. I declined the suggestion. It appeared he had been in his car a while because our paths had crossed on our way to the dunes. Fortunately, we were able to assist ...

  Let's get going.       It's almost a principle that we established some time ago that a person has to get a taste of the Grand Canyon, at least annually. It seems odd that we are unable to do without so many things, many meaningless, and yet a premier world wonder is not on the wish list of many. We wonder why that is the case. We'll go a step further and urge those who visit this spectacle to venture down into the canyon, at least for a mile or less. It would be a real tragedy to pass through this world and not have experienced a little of this massive fissure that contains a glorious river, mountains, hills, plant life, animals and myriad of other features, not forgetting a number of memorable trails. The coloring, whether during the dull periods of the day or stunningly beautiful at the day's extremes, will awaken something inside of a person. We joked the other day that while we struggled up some 3,500 feet from Tip Off Point, while our bodies burned ...

Jen enters the canyon...the fun begins. Are you looking to make your own way, within limits, to the river? Which one? We thought there was only one in the west...the Colorado, of course. A person makes his/her own way through the slot canyon, heading in one direction between the walls. Obstacles present themselves, usually in the form of dry-waterfalls, for want of a better term, and getting past, below or over them is the challenge. In addition, narrow edges keep one on one's toes or least, feet on the small cliff edges otherwise, the way to the canyon floor will be quick and mostly, painful. There's always a way down (or up) but sometimes it involves using a rope, ladder or the seat of the pants. Fortunately, during the hike, there was a reasonable route although often it required thinking of the options. We would say that on each occasion, a person is likely to vary the route for it's impossible to repeat an exact path. The challenge is terrific adding to the variety o...