Please note I am talking about the American black bear and definitely not the even more dangerous grizzly or brown bear. Thankfully, I have no experience with those species. The black bear can be an assortment of different colors, from black to dark brown, cinnamon, grayish brown, blond, and even black with a blueish tint, […]
A Birthday Hike Only a Mountain Nut Would Love
I live in Aspen, Colorado, and I am always looking for an excuse to go hiking or climbing, even at my ripe old age in my mid-70’s. July 20 is my birthday, and I wanted to celebrate with a hike. The only questions were where to hike and with whom should I hike? The problem […]
A Hike into Lake Christine Wildfire Area on Basalt Mountain: One Year Later
The Lake Christine wildfire started on July 3, 2018 and burned over 12,500 acres, much of which was contained on mostly uninhabited Basalt Mountain. Three homes were destroyed, and 500 homes were under mandatory evacuation several times when the fire rekindled. The fire burned within sight of our home looking west towards the locus of […]
What to do in a Thunderstorm
The word “thunderstorm” focuses on the wrong threat: it is the lightning that injures or kills. From first-hand experience, the most frightening aspect of hiking or climbing is the prospect of being caught way out in an open field or way above the tree line in an electrical storm with nowhere to hide. The experience […]