Hiking Season 2009!

@dyslexia,

Dammit! Now you're playing the tear card. I shall never, repeat, never , encourage such emotional blackmail by coming to New Mexico. How does the week of March 29th sound to you?

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@CalamityJane,

Quote:

Thomas, upstate NY, especially around West Point is so quaint, it will become a favorite spot of yours.

You're preaching to the choir, to the extent that one voice can be called a choir. I have already fallen in love with the Hudson Valley. Three little events were enough.

1) driving across it over George Washington Bridge, where both the look South and the look North is amazing. To the South, you're looking at Manhattan's skyscrapers; to the North, you're looking into a rural landscape. The contrast between those two looks from the same point couldn't be greater.

2) driving across the Hudson on interstate 287 over the Tapan Zee bridge. (Yes, I do a lot of driving lately.) At this latitude, the valley widens to about a mile, maybe even a little more, and looks more like an ocean bay than a river. This view is equally amazing.

3) watching a PBS documentary about Pete Seeger, who in the 70s and 80s invested a lot of activist work into cleaning the river up. The footage suggests that the Hudson Valley is equally stunning between George Washington Bridge and Tapan Zee bridge.

So yes, I'll definitely check out the Hudson Valley. I'll also pay a visit to New Hope, PA.

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One thing I'm noticing on my walks and hikes is that I'm not recognizing most of the bird species I come across. For example ...

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll88/guthobla/three_birds.jpg

... can you tell me who these fellas are? They're sure cute.

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@Thomas,

I think those are robins, but I'm not a bird expert, so don't absolutely count on that.

I ran into a blind woman who was collecting money to train guide dogs for the blind outside of the grocery store. Her name is Helen. Last year, she walked two hundred miles with her dog along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela and raised five thousand pounds for her cause.

She inspired me to do this walk (sometime in autumn 2009).
And then next summer, I'd like to do the walk in Scotland that's mentioned at the bottom of the page

Quote:

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The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known in English as The Way of St James, is a collection of old pilgrimage routes which cover all Europe. They all have Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain as their final destination. For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along the Camino de Santiago.

The main route, featured here, is more commonly known as the Camino Frances,. This part of the Camino de Santiago traditionally starts in St Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago de Compostela about 780km later, after traveling the breadth of Northern Spain.(In Santiago you can collect your Compostela) However you can start anywhere and even continue past Santiago to the sea at Finisterre. Finisterre was thought to be the end of the world in medieval times.

In 1985 2,491 pilgrims completed the Camino. In 1995 there was 19,821, then in 2005 there was 93,921. These are only the pilgrims that asked for and received a Compostela, therefore many more completed the routes. Figures complements of the Office de Acogida al Peregrino.

If you have an interest in long distance walking another site that may be of interest is the West Highland Way - this is a 7/8 day walking route from Glasgow into the Highlands of Scotland.

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There are 46 mountains in the Adirondacks. You can become a 46er if you climb all 46.

http://www.adk46r.org/

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@McGentrix,

I know someone who has climbed all the fourteeners in Colorado.

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I'm sorry, Aidan, McGentrix, and Roger, but I somehow managed to miss your posts when you wrote them. Aidan, Scotland looks tempting to hike, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be there anytime soon. Thanks for the suggestion though.

McGentrix, the Adirondacks are closer -- there's definitely a chance I might be hiking some of 46 mountains.

Roger -- I probably won't be in good enough shape for those fourteeners. Maybe next year!

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@Thomas,

Here's another suggestion if you get over to the UK - http://www.wyevalleywalk.org/

I just spent three days (and it wasn't enough) taking in some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. We started out in Chepstow - and then traveled up to Ross-on-Wye which is where we based ourselves, as we found several delightful pubs along the river and wanted to visit a different one each night of our stay.

Anyway - as you travel into Wales- the hills get hillier until you nearly feel you're in Tennessee or Kentucky - big pine trees climbing the hills and wildflowers along the road side and the meandering river glinting silver against the green and gold. It's name, 'The Golden Valley' is not a misnomer.
Beauty surrounds you here.
As do seriously old and beautiful pubs - we went to one called the Pandy that was 12th century.

I didn't get all the way to the source of the Wye though, so I have to go back in two weeks when I have another long weekend. Coincidentally enough, my new favorite band, New Jersey, (two Englishmen) are playing in Hereford on that Saturday night. So I'll get to see them again too. This time I'm starting out in Ross-on-Wye and going from there.

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@aidan,

It looks beautiful!

Alas, I won't get to Wales any time soon. But if and when I do, I'll be sure to check out Wye Valley.

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@Thomas,

Thomas wrote:

McGentrix, the Adirondacks are closer -- there's definitely a chance I might be hiking some of 46 mountains.

coulda been an option on your way home this week

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@ehBeth,

In principle, but not this week I'm afraid. My body finally decided that it would come down with a fever after all. All I could have done in the Adirondacks is sleep some more.

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Hiking Season 2009!

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