Lazarow World-Hike-About: 48.12 Arizona: Tonto National Forest: Pairs in color and a pair in a heavenly environment.

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.

Friday, February 12, 2021

48.12 Arizona: Tonto National Forest: Pairs in color and a pair in a heavenly environment.

Tonto Basin and the immediate region surrounding it is not for people who enjoy the wilderness. Tough hikes amongst pristine beauty is of course, overrated. Definitely not for those who don't welcome people greeting and waving from their cars or while walking along the road. Stopping to ask how one is and striking up a conversation and whether they can assist one might impinge on privacy. The blue waters, the shapes, coves, and glass-like stillness of Roosevelt Lake can be awfully boring.

Apache Lake and the flowing Salt River might be fascinating but then again, it's just water and there's a lot of that about, surprisingly in the desert, too. The saguaros dot the landscape but when you've seen one tall one with multiple arms, you've seen them all. Yep! This is not a place to visit for in a way, it's stepping back into the Wild West without lawlessness. It allows a person to escape from the prison of the proverbial jungle which of course, makes this land far too tranquil and frankly, boring.

Why we extended our stay, puzzles us. Then again, we like to keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the peaks.

Walking along the Apache Trail, a delightful find. (From lake level)