Hiking
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Chattahoochee River Hikes: Island Ford
More Details: Chattahoochee River Hikes: Island FordAtlanta is well known for traffic, a massive airport, CNN, Coca-Cola, conventions, and Gone with the Wind. It seems almost cliche-ish when defined in these terms and I can certainly understand that these form or inform people’s image of the South’s “Gate City,” as it was known in the mid 19th century. What local residents…
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A Great Hike Right Near Atlanta: Sweetwater Creek State Park
More Details: A Great Hike Right Near Atlanta: Sweetwater Creek State ParkAtlanta may not be what comes to mind when thinking for a place to go to enjoy the great outdoors. But our little known secret is how close we are to any number of incredible spots to be “with” nature and enjoy the great outdoors. I recently got to explore Sweetwater Creek State Park, a…
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Photo of the Week – The Alps of Transylvania
More Details: Photo of the Week – The Alps of TransylvaniaThis scene was what we were rewarded with after arriving at the Cabana Curmatura in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania and hiking on for another hour. I dream of returning to amazing Transylvania. Too bad people’s only notion of it is the legend of Dracula: there is SO much to enjoy and explore there!
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My First Real Hike: to Pawnee Pass in the Rockies
More Details: My First Real Hike: to Pawnee Pass in the RockiesWhen I went to Boulder, Colorado for my first summer internship, my college roommate drove with me the 24 hrs. it took us to get there almost non-stop (except for the St. Louis Arch from where we got a great view at night time). It was a wild drive in a way but we made…
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Photo of the Week – Approaching Stella Point in Kilimanjaro
More Details: Photo of the Week – Approaching Stella Point in KilimanjaroYou may have already tracked my hike of Mt. Kilimanjaro via the Machame Route through my prior posts (if not, you may want to check them out starting with Day 1!). One of the most spectacular moments in the climb of the roof of Africa is the approach to Stella Point. See, Stella Point is…
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The Real Heroes of Kilimanjaro
More Details: The Real Heroes of KilimanjaroKilimanjaro, while not a technical hike, is still a very challenging climb. Anyone who has climbed it should be quite proud of the accomplishment. I am privileged to have had the chance to attempt it and lucky to have succeeded! And so for the other 15 trekkers in our group who also climbed it. The…
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Descending from Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6 and 7
More Details: Descending from Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6 and 7Descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit, Uhuru Peak – the roof of Africa, began around 20-30 minutes after we had arrived at the summit. Such is the story of ascending Kilimanjaro for many. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could picnic up there or, at least, at Stella Point and soak in the achievement taking it all…
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Reaching Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6
More Details: Reaching Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6Here we go, the BIG day. Day 6 of the Mount Kilimanjaro climb! The day we hope to reach and pass Stella Point on the rim of Mount Kilimanjaro to get to Uhuru Peak, the highest point of the mountain – the highest point in Africa!!! Or, I should say, the day we attempt to reach and…
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Hike to Kilimanjaro Summit Base Camp | Kilimanjaro Day 5
More Details: Hike to Kilimanjaro Summit Base Camp | Kilimanjaro Day 5Ah, the final day before summit, day 5. Very important, the day that would take us to the promised land: Kilimanjaro summit base camp on the Machame Route. And, not a day too soon. Sure, one more day of acclimatization would have only helped. But, after four spectacular days, now I was beginning to crave reaching…
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Reaching the Lava Tower | Kilimanjaro Day 3
More Details: Reaching the Lava Tower | Kilimanjaro Day 3Day 3 would take us pretty high, to the Lava Tower of Kilimanjaro, and leave us at the base of the infamous Barranco Wall. We were greeted by the day at Shira Camp where we had arrived on day 2 of our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. The day’s hike began around 8:45 AM to the famous. …
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The Moorlands and Shira Camp | Kilimanjaro Day 2
More Details: The Moorlands and Shira Camp | Kilimanjaro Day 2While the excitement of getting going on the climb of Mount Kilimanjaro made day 1 a great day, day 2 was no less exciting thanks to the moorlands and Shira Camp. For many of us in the Trekking for Kids group, that was mainly due to the change in the landscape we were to experience…
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On the Machame Route | Kilimanjaro Day 1
More Details: On the Machame Route | Kilimanjaro Day 1Writing about my hike to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro along the Machame Route is no easy task. What to share? Clearly the “facts” of the route, camps, durations, altitude, acclimatization, weather, gear, the day-to-day routine, etc. are all important elements of the story. But the more I thought about how to write about this experience,…