Sugarloaf Mountain Hike

It was a chilly and wet (but not soggy) day today. We met up at Sugarloaf Mountain near Comus, MD at 8:30am and set off on a hike up and down and around the mountain. Well, that's what it would have been had we not taken the wrong trail... We inadvertantly took a shortcut, so we doubled back and took another longer way around so that we could get in some decent mileage. As you can see from the photo, the trail was pretty foggy.

We had a fun crew, though, so it was a good time. My friend, Allie, joined us and got to meet some of my hike buddies. We eventually ran into another training group that had taken the correct trail (for the most part).

All in all, it was a pretty good day to be out hiking.

Hiking in the Galapagos Islands

In mid-April I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a 10-day trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The trip began in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. Our tour group of 11 people did a half-day tour of the city. The following day, we flew to Baltra in the Galapagos (about 600 miles of the coast of Ecuador). There we were met by our wonderful Naturalist Guide who took us to the Nemo I, a catamaran that was to be our home-away-from-home for the next week.

Over the course of 7 days, we visited 11 or so different islands, seeing all kinds of wildlife from blue-footed boobies and albatrosses to sea lions, penguins, and tortoises. I didn't do any long training hikes with my backpack and gear, however, we usually went on a couple of 2-hour hikes each day, plus snorkeling or swimming at least once. There was so much to do, I never had time to write in my trip journal. Hopefully this entry plus the photos will suffice.

If you have never thought about going to the Galapagos, think about it. If you've always wanted to go, DO IT. You will be amazed at everything you see and learn. Here a few photos from my "training" hikes south of the equator.

A blue-footed booby:

View from the top of Bartolome Island (where scenes from the movie "Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe were filmed). We had to hike up a flight of wooden steps for nearly an hour to get all the way up here:

Hiking on a trail of crushed coral on Sombrero Chino Island:

To see more of my trip photos, please visit my Flickr.com site.

Training Hike #4 - Buck Ridge/Buck Hollow Loop

We were originally supposed to hike Little Devils Stairs in Shenandoah National Park, but unfortunately, the road to the trail was closed. The park authorities were conducting a search and rescure operation for a local man who was reported missing and whose car was found abandoned in the park, so they shut down access. Our hike leaders chose another trail in Shenandoah instead -- Buck Ridge/Buck Hollow Loop, a 5.8-mile loop starting on Skyline Drive.

The weather called for steady rain, but we lucked out yet again. It was overcast and breezy at the trailhead, but got warmer as we descended the steep trail. The first half of the trail led us down and down for almost 3 miles. It was so steep that in some parts, log stairs were added.

We reached the bottom and turned to go up the second half of the trail, which was just as steep as the one on the way down. This trail, however, criss-crossed over Buck Hollow, a peaceful stream, several times so we could heard the water rippling for most of the ascent. I had missed the last two training hikes because I had injured my lower back, so I was pretty out of shape. Fortunately, my 3 teammates were extremely patient and waited with me as I stopped periodically to catch my breath (and snap some photos). Here's a picture of them (Kathy, Amy and Darcie):

Click here to view the rest of my hike training photo album.