Author Archives: Peter Ireland

Grand Canyon Day 4 – Rest Day at Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend

After 3 days in the Grand Canyon, we knew a day off would be a good idea. Once we’d arrived in the area, we realized there was lots of easy stuff to do! Peek-a-boo canyon looked exciting, but one review indicated how easy it was to get stuck in the sand, even with an AWD.Continue reading “Grand Canyon Day 4 – Rest Day at Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend”

Grand Canyon Day 3 – From the Esplanade to the North Rim

The overnight wind had amplified the chilliness of the ~50 degF overnight temps. We’d chosen down blankets over sleeping bags to save weight, and I’d got a bit chilled a couple of times, but Samuel had been fine. The “5.4 degF per 1000 ft” rule seemed to be applying well. The day was bringing aContinue reading “Grand Canyon Day 3 – From the Esplanade to the North Rim”

Grand Canyon Day 2 – Deer Creek and Night Hiking

The night had been filled with thousands of stars. The temperature had dropped from 80 degF when we felt asleep to a refreshing 60 degF when we woke, but the ground was still warm! We had both slept well and felt surprisingly refreshed. Our plan was just a 4.5-mile hike along the Colorado to DeerContinue reading “Grand Canyon Day 2 – Deer Creek and Night Hiking”

Grand Canyon Day 1 – Bill Hall to the Colorado

Hiking from the North Rim to the river in a remote corner of the Grand Canyon National Park was a daunting prospect. We were packed with the lightest and least equipment that we could, and a new approach to food that I hoped would work. I found the best overview of the route at AllTrails.com,Continue reading “Grand Canyon Day 1 – Bill Hall to the Colorado”

Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail: Terry Hershey Park to Woodway Memorial Park

After I had completed the lower “half” of the trail, I was eager to do the top half. I found few accounts of other’s adventures, but one suggested some obstacles, which made me a bit concerned. I was reluctant to do this by myself the first time, so I waited for the right opportunity. AfterContinue reading “Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail: Terry Hershey Park to Woodway Memorial Park”

Hiking Through a Forest Fire on The LSHT Grand Loop

How did we get here? I’d wanted to hike the Eagle Rock Loop in early January with buddies Vance and Max, but it didn’t happen. Vance and I managed to arrange the Grand Loop starting February 10th, a 3-day, 2-night, 30-mile loop following 18 miles of the Little Lake Creek Loop (LLCL) from LSHT TrailheadContinue reading “Hiking Through a Forest Fire on The LSHT Grand Loop”

Scanning Scrapbooks (and more)

Before everything went digital, Janet used to create inspiring scrapbooks of our adventures. They sit on the shelf, occasionally brought out for some fantastic memories, but there remains the nagging concern that they are not “backed up.” While a digital copy cannot do them justice, I’ve just finished scanning the scrapbooks so this post isContinue reading “Scanning Scrapbooks (and more)”

How I Shot the Sunrise With My Drone

This is a quick description of how I shot the sunrise photos I posted separately. Most of the work is done by a DJI Mini 2 drone and in Adobe’s Lightroom software, both of which I am quite new to. This was my second attempt to take sunrise photos from our house. I’d had aContinue reading “How I Shot the Sunrise With My Drone”

Sunrise Over Downtown Houston

Waking up this morning before dawn to catch the sunrise, my first thought went to Louisiana as Hurricane Ida bears down on them. My photo feed yesterday brought back memories of Harvey, and there are many comparisons between Ida and Katrina which made landfall 16 years ago in the same week. I prayed for safetyContinue reading “Sunrise Over Downtown Houston”

Samuel’s Scouting Journey

This post is about Samuel’s 3-4 years spent in scouts. Hopefully you will like the photos and stories, and get an appreciation of what scouts is about and what it takes to advance. It all started in January 2016 with our first campout at Alligator Creek with Troop 13 which was affiliated with Samuel’s school.Continue reading “Samuel’s Scouting Journey”

Reflections on the Collegiate Loop

My 16-year-old son Samuel and I completed this loop over 11 nights/12 days in the summer of 2021. The daily adventures are captured in other blog posts on this site. This post aims to provide background in the hope that it might guide or even inspire others. It is a fantastic hike but is bestContinue reading “Reflections on the Collegiate Loop”

Collegiate Loop Day 12 – Hunt Lake to Monarch Crest

Our last day of the loop. The weather was kind, but an unexpected detour briefly dampened spirits. We were not going to let is get us down: Up at 5. There had been beautiful stars and moon earlier. Tent was very wet but we packed everything up with a new energy knowing today was theContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 12 – Hunt Lake to Monarch Crest”

Collegiate Loop Day 11 – North Fork Chalk Creek to Hunt Lake

With CW03 behind us, the biggest challenge had been accomplished. This day brought peaceful beauty and great variety: Difficult to get up at 5. Samuel has slept well while Peter had had a restless night. Fixed breakfast but the oatmeal is getting old. We’re all tired and slow but at least everything was dry thisContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 11 – North Fork Chalk Creek to Hunt Lake”

Collegiate Loop Day 10 – Cottonwood Pass to North Fork Chalk Creek

The night wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It stayed above freezing and the wind did not pick up. It felt like it would be quite exposed in high winds. So, the day had come when we spent the whole day above tree line. Woo hoo: Up at 5. P got up atContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 10 – Cottonwood Pass to North Fork Chalk Creek”

Collegiate Loop Day 9 – Apostle Trail Junction to Cottonwood Pass

Today was about Lake Ann pass and getting ourselves staged for the 15 miles above tree line in CW03. It was always going to be a long, ambitious hike to get to Cottonwood Pass, but there isn’t much flexibility when doing CW. Here is how it went: Up at 4:30 but with everything so wetContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 9 – Apostle Trail Junction to Cottonwood Pass”

Collegiate Loop Day 8 -Willis Gulch to Apostle Trail Junction

It had been great spending some time with Paul (and enjoying the use of his truck for trips to stores and a hotel in Salida!), which was a good indicator for the trip. We struggled to “land” on the right plan, working around the constraints of Hope Pass, Lake Ann Pass, the 15 miles ofContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 8 -Willis Gulch to Apostle Trail Junction”

Collegiate Loop Day 7 – Cache Creek to Interlaken Trailhead

It had been a rainy evening. While we were dry inside the tent, the tent and tarp were soaking. This was when we started to realize how good Paul’s suggestion would be to have a night in a hotel to dry out and cleanup. But we still had to get to the trailhead: Up atContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 7 – Cache Creek to Interlaken Trailhead”

Collegiate Loop Day 6 – Harvard Lakes to Cache Creek

We knew we had to hike over 24 miles in the next ~24 hours to meet Paul. Our plan had been to stay night 6 on the shores of Twin Lakes, close to the CT/CDT trail split, but I was unsure we’d get that far. It was an option, but in the end we choseContinue reading “Collegiate Loop Day 6 – Harvard Lakes to Cache Creek”