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- The High Passes of Everest Trek: Namche to Chhukung Days 4 – 7 2022-03-14
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- Bushwhacking the Ogoki Headwaters: Days 3, 4, and 5 2021-11-09
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A view of the Cordillera Real from Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.The gps track of a 200-km trek down the length of Bolivia’s Cordillera Real (Royal Range). We came down the west side; the classic route on the east side of the range has seen a big increase in mining activity. https://wp.me/p25mXk-7MHLate evening at Yangon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda- the crowds are gone and it is cool and quiet on a full- moon evening. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYRevered monk with nuns and lay followers at Yangon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda on an auspicious full moon evening - it was magical! https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYMonk meditating below statue of Siddhartha Gautama in the “touching the earth” mudra - the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Myanmar. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYMonk in front of candle table at the Shwe Dagon in Rangoon, Burma - that is, Yangon. Myanmar. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYBurmese Nuns arriving on the terrace of Yangon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda for dusk service. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYMonk studying the Buddha’s teachings at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda - https://wp.me/p25mXk-6puBurmese monk outside of Rangoon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda. See here for more- https://wp.me/p25mXk-6pu“Everybody is looking for something!” Photographer and monk at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon ... https://wp.me/p25mXk-6puThe floor plan of Myanmar’s most sacred space, the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon (formerly Rangoon). See here for more pix - https://wp.me/p25mXk-6puApproaching our Rodolphu campsite after a tough day on the Snowman trek in the Bhutanese Himalayas.Yaks coming our way. We were going to Lunana; they were heading to Garza...Bhutanese Himalayas October 2019A lake view from the trail to Rerethang after we crossed Tempe La, our last high pass.Donkeys from Thanza approaching Chozo to carry our gear down to Sephu on the Snowman Trek.A view of the Bhutanese-Tibet border on the way down to Tarina campsite in the Bhutanese Himalayas.A load-free yak caravan crossing the 5100-meter high Rinchen Zoe La ...heading from Thanza down to Sephu. See here for more pics - https://wp.me/p25mXk-8KTThe resident monk at the Dzong in Chozo in the Bhutanese Himalayas.The remnants of an old bridge used by loggers years ago. We dragged our canoe across and continued down the headwaters of the Lady Evelyn River in Ontario’s Temagami region - day 2 of our 11-day canoe trip in September of 2020. The ultimate in physical distancing! See here for more - https://wp.me/p25mXk-9JxLooking west across Sucker Gut Lake at Maple Mountain ridge and a just discernible fire tower. We were on our way to Mowat Landing. See this site for more info and maps - https://wp.me/p25mXk-9XVramblinboy
Kathmandu street scene - walking back to Thamel from Durbar Squarethe action on Toronto's premier sliding hill off Broadview Avenue. A Leonberger chillin' while his owner chats and keeps an eye on his kids trudging back up the hill after another awesome ride.Our campsite on the upper French River. Over the five days we paddled down to Georgian Bay, following the 100-km. section of water highway used by the Canadien voyageurs. https://wp.me/p25mXk-8BqThe Broadview Hill on a summer's evening - a popular spot to catch a cooling breeze and to take in views of downtown at sunset. Down on the flats, games of soccer, frisbee, cricket, baseball, and quidditch are being played.downtown T.O. from the Leslie Street Spit. For great views of the city, the Spit's perspective ranks right up there with the view from above the Brickworks, Broadview Avenue by the Rooster Coffee House, and the Toronto Islands.one of the final bends in Toronto's Don River on a winter morning- and a beautiful spot I've returned to with my dog Viggo 100's of times. It is just off the bike trail south of the Bloor viaduct; downriver all the way to Lake Ontario, major human intervention has turned the river into what looks like a canal!our Icelandic Sheepdog Viggo on a winter's day ... ready for the morning's outing!Moshi's Parkview Inn - after seven nights in a tent a very luxurious place to chill after our Kilimanjaro climb. The next day I would head to Arusha and arrange a last-minute two-day safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. Just like the hike up Kili, that too would prove to be an awesome experience!The end of the Kilimanjaro trek at Mweka Gate. Our Popote bus was waiting for us and it was a one hour ride back to Moshi and the hotel used by Popote for its guests. It is known as the Parkview Inn, a decent place in the $75. range. with a restaurant, a swimming pool, and a stored luggage room and 24-hour security and watchman at the entry gates of the inn. There are cheaper - and much more expensive - options available but I found the Parkview to be a great spot before and after our climb.It takes a village to move five mzungu (Swahili for white people) up the mountain. We took a group shot a High camp after our mid-afternoon arrival from Barafu. Three guides, 15 porters, and two cooks made sure we were taken care of and in shape to fulfil the mission! I booked my trip with a company in Moshi, the base camp town for Kilimanjaro. I did it all over the internet and by email - and I must say I found one great small and not really expensive company. See TripAdvisor for other trekkers' opinions. Maybe in 20222 when we are travelling again, you'll be able to check off Kilimanjaro from your "to do" list!We've begun our descent. I turn around and look back to Stella Point up on top of the ridge. Other members of our crew are coming down. The dust that we kick up as we descent is bad. I decide that I am going to make sure I am at the front of the one and not at the end so that I have cleaner air to breathe! In any case, the walking is very easy. 5 1/2 hrs. to get up and maybe 2 1/2 to get down!Our lead guide Dixon, a veteran of more than 150 ascents, and our crew coming down from Uhuru Peak in the background. It is about 6:45 a.m. By 9:30 I will be crawling into my tent for a brief siesta before we head down the mountain to our Day 7 campsite at High (Millenium) Camp at 3827 meters. That is a drop of over 2000 meters after having climbed about 1300 in the pre-dawn hours. Definitely the biggest energy expenditure day of the trek!The Snows of Kilimanjaro is now just the name of a book. Up on top, the glacier that once covered the entire summit and then some is all but gone. Instead of the streams I imagined would be pouring down the slopes as the ice melts, the ice just vaporizes. Poof - and it's gone!Trekkers approaching Uhuru Peak from Stella Point at dawn. We were the second group to get to the top and got to watch as other groups made their way toward us. Even as we were going down below the crater rim there were still a few trekkers and guides heading up!Our five=person crew at Uhuru Peak at about 6:30 a.m. Three of us from Canada and two from the U.S. We established very early on that US politics would not be discussed in the dining tent! The two old guys in the front - a guy from Cali and I - were both 68, with me being the older by 3 months. The two other Canadians were in their mid-40s and the other American was in her 20s. It was our local trekking agency in Moshi - highly recommended Popote - that put us all together for the climb.the only photo I took from our midnight departure from Barafu to our dawn celebration on Uhuru Peak. It was about 3:30 a.m. and we still had about two hours to go. The wind was blowing hard and it was maybe -10ºC. For 3 1/2 hours we had been walking in the dark with only our headlights making visible the person ahead of us.Kilimanjaro is actually a massive mountain with three extinct volcanoes on the top plateau. We had walked across the crater of the lowest one - Shira - on Days 2 and 3. This satellite image shows the other two - Mawenza, a less high but more technical climb done by very few and Uhuru Peak, at 5895 meters the highest single point on the Kili massif and in all of Africa. Uhuru Peak is on the rim of the ancient crater and is approached via Stella Point, the spot where the trail from Barafu meets the crater rim.Barafu Camp on the slopes of Kilimanjaro is the last stop before the climb to the top. Behind the sign are the ranger's cabin and the sign-in book. I did a quick scan of the names, countries of origin, and age of this day's Barafu campers. I had to smile when I noticed that at 68 I was the oldest guy in camp - and would, for a day - be the oldest guy up on Uhuru Peak. However, still to come was a six-hour ascent starting at midnight up the final section to the trail to the top.Day 6 and we are approaching our final campsite before the summit - Barafu Camp. It is up there on the ridge. We'd set up camp on the left side of the image and get ready for our midnight departure for the final ascent to the rim of the ancient crater. Barafu is at 4662, about the same altitude as Lava Tower, where we stopped for lunch a couple of days before. It is 1300 meters of altitude gain from Barafu to Uhuru Peak.Our Day 5 campsite on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. In the background is Mount Meru. I had climbed it the week before as an acclimatization exercise. While it is only 4600 meters it turned out to be more difficult than Kilimanjaro! Whenever I looked back at Meru as we made our way up the slopes of Kili, I felt like I was looking at an old friend!
Category Archives: bicycle touring
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Most Recent Posts: The High Passes of Everest Trek: Namche to Chhukung Days 4 – 7 2022-03-14 A Winter’s Day Walk Along The Banks of Toronto’s Lower Don River 2022-02-21 About … Continue reading
Cycling Around Tasmania – Cradle Mountain to Zeehan
Previous Post: From Gowrie Park To Cradle Mountain It had rained off and on during the night and the tent was wet as I tucked the fly and the inner tent into their separate bags. With all my gear loaded, I cycled over to … Continue reading
Cycling Around Tasmania – Rest Day at Dove Lake & Cradle Mountain
Previous Post: Cycling From Gowrie Park To Cradle Mountain A day off the saddle – a day to make use of the hiking boots that made up 1.2 of the 20 kg. load of “essential” stuff I decided to bring … Continue reading
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Cycling Around Tasmania – Gowrie Park To Cradle Mountain
Previous Post: From Deloraine To Gowrie Park Via Sheffield Click on the More Options prompt to get the full screen view. I got up to blue skies at Gowrie Park’s Wilderness Village and headed for the kitchen area for breakfast. The … Continue reading
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Cycling Around Tasmania – From Deloraine To Gowrie Park via Sheffield
Previous Post: Launceston To Deloraine – An Easy 50 km Sunday Morning Ride Click on the More options prompt on the top left corner for a full screen view. I left my Meander riverside campsite by 8:30 on Monday morning … Continue reading
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Cycling Around Tasmania – Launceston To Deloraine
Sunday morning is my favourite time to be on the road; the absence of traffic makes for a stress-free ride. The week before I had left Tasmania’s largest city – Hobart – on a Sunday morning; now I was doing … Continue reading
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Cycling Around Tasmania: Day 5 – From Bicheno To St. Helens
Previous Post: Day 4 – From Swansea To Bicheno Click on the More options prompt in the top left hand box to access the full screen view. Day 5 on the road from Hobart – and I had covered less than … Continue reading
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Cycling Around Tasmania: Day 4 – Swansea To Bicheno
Previous Post: Day 3 – From Triabunna To Swansea Overnight clouds and rain moved through the area and the next morning the sun was back out. I would have a pretty easy day of it. Well, perhaps make that “morning” since I … Continue reading
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Cycling Around Tasmania: Day 3 – From Triabunna To Swansea
Previous Post: Day 2 – From Richmond To Triabunna For a full-screen map view, click on the More options prompt in the box on the top left. A sunny morning in Triabunna – my fortified oatmeal breakfast and two cups of coffee … Continue reading
Cycling Around Tasmania: Day 2 – From Richmond to Triabunna
Previous Post: Day 1 – From Hobart To Richmond Click here to zoom in or out of the Google interactive map. Leaving the Caravan Park around 8, I rolled down Richmond’s main street and stopped at the one open gas station and bought … Continue reading
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Ramblin' Boy 