The 27-mile Eagle Rock Loop (ERL) in the Ouachita National Forest in southwest Arkansas has been on my “list” for several years. At nearly 400 miles from Houston, it is our closest multi-day trail in hills. I was thrilled in early November when I suggested to Samuel that we do it over the Thanksgiving breakContinue reading “The Eagle Rock Loop in November 2022”
Tag Archives: Backpacking
Exploring the Auyan Tepui in February 1991
Close to Venezuela’s border with Guyana and Brazil lie many table mountains called “tepuis” in the local indigenous language. They are remote, largely unexplored, and inspired Conan Doyle’s “The Lost World.” One of the largest is the Auyan Tepui, whose claim to fame is Angel Falls where water cascades 979m / 3212ft down a verticalContinue reading “Exploring the Auyan Tepui in February 1991”
Hiking the Sierra Nevada de Merida, Venezuela in 1991
After the completion of the Cambridge Columbus Botanical Survey expedition, Mark, James, and I headed to Merida in February 1991 for a backpacking trip in the Andes. Hilary Branch, who had written the No Frills Guide to Venezuela, recommended a hike from Merida to El Morro as it was quite straightforward, following the route ofContinue reading “Hiking the Sierra Nevada de Merida, Venezuela in 1991”
Cambridge Columbus Botanical Study Venezuela 1990
I participated in two amazing expeditions when I was a student. The first involved investigating the effects of oil pollution on the coral reefs in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt and is described by a separate post. This post describes the second expedition where a group of four traveled to Venezuela for a botanicalContinue reading “Cambridge Columbus Botanical Study Venezuela 1990”
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 doing to walk across England, which starts here in St. Bees. We left Houston on Friday evening, leaving our houses, pets, and plants under the watchfulContinue reading “Coast to Coast Day 0: Ready to Start after a fine visit to Ulverston.”
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 blog. That’s an issue for England where I want to post daily about each of our 10-15-mile days. In addition, I hope to get some greatContinue reading “Barker Dam: Checking out my drone for our Coast to Coast trip”
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 Gulch is truly the classic slot canyon. I’ve had my eye on it for over a decade. It was extremely exciting to finally do it, andContinue reading “Grand Canyon Day 5 – The Epic Buckskin Gulch”
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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”
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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”
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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”
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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”
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”
Reflections on an LSHT Thru-Hike
(Originally published on the Lone Star Hiking Trail Facebook page.) WHAT I DID. I hiked the LSHT westbound in six days, from Tuesday 11th May to Monday 17th May. I hiked solo. I did not get resupplied mid-route, and I did not pre-stash any water. Forums like this have helped me do this and haveContinue reading “Reflections on an LSHT Thru-Hike”
A Six-Day Tour of Lake District Peaks
This is a “catch-up” post, written in July 2022, of a fantastic loop trek that a 14-year-old Samuel and I completed in June 2019. When we had lived in Ulverston in 2010 and 2011, Samuel had been too young and I too inexperienced for extended wildcamping trips. Our 2018 trek in Colorado had given usContinue reading “A Six-Day Tour of Lake District Peaks”
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 