Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
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Hiking
People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.
But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin
air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle
which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green
leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes.
All is a miracle. |
"You can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamn contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbrush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail, you'll see something, maybe.""Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you --- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls."
- Edward Abbey
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"Few people know how to take a walk.
The qualifications... are endurance,
plain clothes, old shoes,
an eye for nature, good humor,
vast curiosity, good speech,
good silence
and nothing too much."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
 Photo by Vic Bradford |
Despite all of the climbing, swimming, flying and diving I've done hiking probably remains the one activity that's been with me the longest throughout my life. From about ages 12 through 16 I hiked extensively through the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California - especially exploring Santa Anita Canyon, Mt. Wilson, and all the surrounding camps and trails (always stopping, of course, at Chantry Flats to load up on snacks and refreshments!). |
From about age 16 on I did most of my hiking all over Colorado's portion of the Rocky Mountains. This was mixed with travel and extensive hikes in Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Africa, Argentina, and China. I heartily endorse hiking because it's darn good for your health, has a relatively low impact on the environment, and puts your pretty darn close to nature without requiring too much expensive equipment or clothing.Except for maybe Jean George's book My Side of the Mountain (I read it in 1969 when I was 13), I didn't do much reading about the outdoors until 1974 when I read Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker. It isn't that I don't recommend you read and learn before getting involved outdoors it's just that I was too darn busy hiking, in my teens, to do much reading myself!
Trails!
 Grand Canyon |
 Trail to Mt. Shavano |
 Trail to Torreys |
 Tami on Morrison |
 Brian to Bierstadt |
I know it probably sounds goofy to read, on a hiking website, that the author loves trails - nevertheless that's how I feel! I mention my love for trails because I have so much additional experience without them. In addition to having done lots of scrambling or kicking steps and "post-holing" through snow, I've lost a trail or two and got really worried when I couldn't find 'em a day or two later!To me, trails are lovely little routes that have taken me through all kinds of wonderful terrain with relative confidence about my whereabouts and destination. Plus, even more importantly, they are relatively low-impact in that I'm not crushing flowers or scuffing lichens in my attempt to get from point A to B. Properly maintained trails really do help the landscape by keeping us two-leggeds in a narrow little corridor so the rest of nature can flourish around us unmolested. I recommend we avoid "cross-country" travel, whenever possible, and take full advantage of literally millions of trails throughout our country and around the globe....
- Roger J. Wendell
October 30, 2005
 Hiking Certificate |
Oh, and one other point about trails - be sure to stay on 'em even when they're muddy or a bit icy. Under some conditions hikers will step to the side of a trail in an effort to avoid getting mud on their boots - these kinds of actions only worsen our impact by unnecessarily widening trails. The cure is to wear good hiking shoes or boots that are resistant to mud and water. Also, gaiters are perfect in keeping snow and other stuff from falling into your boots... |
Cairns:
Cairn - Flat Top Mountain, COA cairn (pronounced as a single syllable!!!) is usually a pile of rocks that marks a trail or boundary. I've seen some cairns that have a stick or pole jutting out of the top to make them more visible - sometimes over 3 metres (10 feet) high. I've also seen cairns that were so small they'd fit in the palm of your hand. These tiny cairns are usually in desert areas, like Grand Canyon, where the trail or route follows a canyon contour or crosses up a series of ledges that are steep and narrow. I think there's an unwritten "rule" that cairns should be a minimum of three pebbles, stones or rocks piled vertically when possible. This is because it's very unusual, in nature, to find three rocks just sitting on top of each other. But, like I mentioned above, huge piles of rocks serve the purpose as well. In places where the trail is really hard to follow, or it gets covered with snow, the idea is to place the cairns close enough so that the next one can be seen from the previous.
Grand Canyon Cairn!Another unwritten "rule" is that you should never disturb a cairn - no matter how unimportant it may appear to you somebody's life may be dependent on it! However, it is acceptable to "repair" cairns that have obviously been weathered or knocked over for some reason or another. Again, the idea is to use common sense and not create something that's misleading or dangerous. In all, I've been saved many times by an "oh my god" cairn - that's a cairn thankfully appearing just when I thought I'd never find the route or trail again! My deepest thanks to all of you who have thoughtfully placed, cared-for and maintained cairns!!!
- Roger J. Wendell
Golden, CO - 2005
Peak One:
On June 26, 2005 CMC leader Terry Chontos
took all five of us to the top of this 12,805' peak located near
Frisco, Colorado. The steep climb took us three hours and twenty
minutes - a bit faster than most! We made the summit during a break
in the weather - enduring some light "corn snow" and rain along
certain portions of the mountain...
 Terry took this photo a week earlier on his "scouting" trip - that's Lake Dillon in the background... |
 Left to Right: George Kasynski, Chad, Terry Chontos, and "Babs" |
 Me and the remains of a remote weather station... |
 Left to Right: Me, Chad, Terry and Babs at the weather station remains - George took the photo and emailed me most of these pix! |
Although this particular flag is pretty beat up I went ahead and posted it
here, and on my 4th of July page anyway. I don't
know who the keeper of the flag is but I'm sure their intentions are good
despite the horrendous winds that frequent this peak daily!!
Miscellaneous Hikes:
 North Maine Woods - Amber, Tami and I drove there from Denver! |
 Me at Hanging Lake, Glenwood Canyon, 3 Weeks to-the-day after foot surgery. 2.5 Miles roundtrip, 1000+ feet gain. |
 Coworker Linda agreed to accompany me to Hanging Lake on that warm Spring day in 2002... |
 My Mount Kenya hiking certificate from a trip to Africa in 2003... |
Did You Know?
Links:
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| Warning! Climbing, mountaineering, and backcountry skiing are dangerous and can seriously injure or kill you. By further exploring this web site you acknowledge that the information presented here may be out of date or incorrect, and you agree not to hold the author responsible for any damages, injuries, or death arising from any use of this resource. Please thoroughly investigate any mountain before attempting to climb it, and do not substitute this web site for experience, training, and recognizing your limitations! |
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