Blog Posts

Here are all of my blog posts.

Coast to Coast Day 17: Blakey Ridge to Grosmont

The day started similarly to yesterday with some fine easy moorland walking, and we covered the first 9 miles in 3 hours. Once again, the moorland cotton was special.…
Coast to Coast Day 16+: Sunset Drone at the Lion Inn

I’d looked forward to capturing the sunset from the Lion Inn since before the trip started. I had done a recce flight with my DJI Mini 2 earlier which…
Coast to Coast Day 16: Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge

While this has been the easiest day of the trip at 8.7 miles at just over 3 hours, it was not short of views and the weather was perfect.…
Coast to Coast Day 15: Osmotherley to Clay Bank Top

We were back in the hills! While the hot temperatures made it uncomfortable and challenging, the clear skies opened up amazing views for all of our 11.3 miles which…
Coast to Coast Day 14: Danby Wiske to Osmotherley

I was hopeful that today would bring us out of our funk, and it did in several ways! We hiked the 13 miles in under 6 hours. It was…
Coast to Coast Day 13: Richmond to Danby Wiske

Everyone seemed well refreshed at breakfast, which The Fleece had graciously arranged early for us. We grabbed our lunch from Gregg’s on the way through town and were soon…
Coast to Coast Day 12: Rest day in Richmond

My Dad grew up in Richmond, but his one was on the outskirts of London, rather than this one in North Yorkshire. As my Mum was from Lancashire, the…
Coast to Coast Day 11: Reeth to Richmond

We all slept well and were ready to get to Richmond and our rest day. This day was pleasantly uneventful, with perhaps a few more hills than the team…
Coast to Coast Day 10: Keld to Reeth

Team Sloth was at full strength again today. The young ‘uns were ready for the high route, with us oldies opting for the low one, which was a bit…
Coast to Coast Day 9: Kirkby Stephen to Keld

It was great that Dean rejoined us today. Even though his toe joint was still very painful, he really wanted to see the hills, and certainly wanted to avoid…
Coast to Coast Day 8: Orton to Kirkby Stephen

The weather forecast was great for this 12-mile day, so it was really disappointing when Dean reluctantly decided he needed a rest day as he had severe toe pain.…
Coast to Coast Day 7: Shap to Orton

Today was a refreshing change and a relatively short one at 7.8 miles in just less than 4 hours. Most importantly, the whole team was hiking together again! The…
Coast to Coast Day 6: Patterdale to Shap (Low Raise alternate)

Today we completed just over 15 miles in just under 8.5 hours of walking. This was our final day in the Lake District and this blog will be a…
Coast to Coast Day 5: Grasmere to Patterdale

Today we completed 9 miles in about 6 hours, and the consensus was that it was the easiest day so far. Bailey’s Achilles was uncomfortable but she was able…
Coast to Coast Day 4: Rest day in Grasmere

Today we completed 0 miles in 12 hours😎. It was a perfect day of relaxation with no alarm, breakfast at a leisurely 9:30, and a bit of gentle strolling.…
Coast to Coast Day 3: Stonethwaite to Grasmere

The 8-mile distance of this leg disguises its challenges, illustrated by our taking 7.5 hours to complete it. It started with rain but fortunately that soon cleared up and…
Coast to Coast Day 2: Ennerdale Bridge to Stonethwaite

Most of us described this as the toughest day of our lives. The word to describe the photos was “real.” It took us 9.5 hours to hike the 15.5…
Coast to Coast Day 1: St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

It took us just over 7 hours to walk these 14.5 miles. The weather was kind, providing some beautiful views while also giving us a taste of how English…
Coast to Coast Day 0: Ready to Start after a fine visit to Ulverston.

We have made it to St. Bees! If you want to know why we are here, scroll down to where I explain this “Coast to Coast” adventure we are…
Barker Dam: Checking out my drone for our Coast to Coast trip

After our Grand Canyon trip of 5 days, it took me another 5 days to sort through the footage on my computer and post on Instagram, Relive, and this…
Counting Down the Days to Start the Coast to Coast

Our adventure is getting so close that I can smell the sea air and feel the wind in my face at the top of the Lake District fells. We…
Grand Canyon Day 6 – The Hoover Dam

Samuel’s interest in the Glen Canyon Dam made me think of visiting Hoover. It looked like they had a cool tour inside the dam, with tickets only available in-person,…
Grand Canyon Day 5 – The Epic Buckskin Gulch

It is wrong to group such a standalone classic with the Grand Canyon, but that was the name of our trip, so I’ll have to live with it. Buckskin…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Moonrise and a Bonus Storm!
Sunset and Moonrise

Tomorrow night is a full moon, so tonight was a warm up with Drone and Lightroom. We will see what tomorrow brings!
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Collegiate Loop Day 5 – Yale Saddle to Harvard Lakes

After the side trip up Yale, the rest of the day was just about getting to a campsite. The constraint now was arriving at the Interlaken trailhead at about…
Collegiate Loop Day 5 – Yale Side Trip

While not part of the loop, this side trip was a highlight. Yale was our first 14er, at 14,199ft, and the conditions were perfect, and emphasized by the previous…
Collegiate Loop Day 4 – Cottonwood Creek to Yale Saddle

We had agreed that the plan was Yale for day 5, so day 4 was short, but with a long climb with as much water as we could carry…
Collegiate Loop Day 3 – Browns Creek to Cottonwood Creek

Day 3 ended up being a key decision day for the Yale side trip on day 5. During the planning, I had gone back and forth. It had looked…
Collegiate Loop Day 2 – Fooses Creek to Browns Creek

Day 2 felt good. We’d approached the first day carefully, wanting to ensure we did not overdo it, and succeeded. Wanted to remain cautious for day 2. An early…
Collegiate Loop Day 1 – Monarch Crest to Fooses Creek

This is the first of the daily journals from the Collegiate Loop which were written on the trail. I dictated to Samuel each night, who wrote it up on…
The Chisos Mountains in June 2021

Samuel very much wanted to share his backpacking adventures with a couple of his buddies. Trying to squeeze a trip in after school and COVID and with summer coming…
Diving Mexican Cenotes in May 2021

During a family trip to Cancun, Samuel and I very much wanted to dive cenotes. Cenotes are a form of cave in which you are always able to see…
Reflections on an LSHT Thru-Hike

(Originally published on the Lone Star Hiking Trail Facebook page.) (Daily blogs from this hike at https://cajunlimeys.com/lone-star-hiking-trail/) WHAT I DID. I hiked the LSHT westbound in six days, from…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 7 – Pond at MM2.5 to MM0!

I tried my breakfast with cold water rather than hot (TJ coffee, Hot Choc mix, instant oatmeal), and it was all pretty good so something to consider in the…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 6 – MM16.5 Lake Conroe to MM2.5 pond

Had to take the obligatory morning photo over the lake, but this campsite wasn’t the best for it. The forecast was for major storms to start at 1pm (they…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 5 – MM33 Pipeline ROW to Lake Conroe MM16.5

I realized I was using up way too much battery, so left the phone (and hence camera) off today, so very few photos which is a shame. After a…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 4 – East 4 Notch Campsite MM51.5 to MM33 Pipeline ROW

Got an earlier start so was hiking by 7am. My main memory of four notch when I did it a couple of years ago was the spiderwebs… That time,…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 3 – Magnolia Campsite MM68.5 to East 4 Notch Campsite MM51.5

One mile hike to get out of the woods then the 2.4 mile hike on blacktop to Evergreen Baptist Church and their awesome water faucet! Still early so cool…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 2 – Tarkington Campsite MM83.55 to Magnolia Campsite MM68.5

The previous evening’s storms passed. After a fine night at the primitive campsite at MM83.5, the trails had generally drained very well and I managed to keep my feet…
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 1 – TH15 to Tarkington Campsite MM83.55

This post and the associated series were first shared on the Lone Star Hiking Club Facebook Group page, directly from the trail. I had gained much useful information from…
Thirty Years with Schlumberger

Why do I describe my career on an adventure blog. First, the job itself was quite the adventure, and it inspired many other adventures through the travel it led…

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