I found out that I will be going to Berlin Germany next month. This should be a great business trip but it looks like I may have an extra day to myself. Therefore, I've started to search for a hiking spot. I haven't been there before so I really don't know of any good hiking areas. If anyone out there knows, Berlin, I'd be interested in hearing about hiking spots.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Banff National Park, it's set in the Canadian Rockies outside of Calgary. Banff is called the hiking Capital of Canada with many hiking trail available. It's definitely a hiker's paradise as you can choose from a variety of trails with different levels of difficulty. Lake Louise has incredible scenery including the emerald colored water of the lake, view of the glaciers and various waterfalls. You'll also run across a variety of wildlife during your trip.

And some more pics from Banff...

Somebody asked me where I got the pictures on the let side of the blof. These are from Banff national Park in Alberta Canada. One of the most gorgeous areas that I've ever seen. Here are some images from that trip including pics from Lake Louise.

I started talking the other day about what you need for a hike. First thing was determining what trail that you wanted to go on. Second is to determine what you will bring on the trip. What's the most important piece of hiking gear? It's the Shoes! Or more specifically, the hiking boots. A long hike can really do damage to your feet if you are not equipped with a good pair of hiking boots. There are a couple things to look for in a boot. Even if you are a fair weather hiker, you may run into wet conditions on the hike, therefore, you want a pair of shoes that is waterproof. There's nothing worse than hiking with wet shoes and socks. The Goretex shoes that are available will protect your feet pretty well in the worst of conditions.

The shoes come in three ankle heights: low, medium and high. I like a pair of light-weight mid hikers for a typical weekend hike. They cover your ankle and provide some support for your ankle as well. The high hikers are for the serious hikers who will be traveling through very difficult terrain. I have a pair of these also, however, I will typically stick with my medium hikers for most hikes. I've never quite understood the need for the low hikers. If your just going for a casual walk and don't require any protection of the ankle, I'd rather wear a pair of comfortable tennis shoes.

Hiking boots are readily available in most shoe, sporting goods and outdoor stores as well as on-line so there should be no difficulty in finding them. I like to look at Eastern Mountain Sports or Cabela's for mine. In reality, I just like going into these stores and looking around. There is so much neat stuff to look at. If you go to Cabela's, I'd recommend looking on-line first for a pair of hiking boots. That store is so big, it helps to get an idea as to what you want before you go in. the most important thing is to find a pair of shoes that will protect your feet and feel comfortable. I've had expensive hiking shoes which were not very comfortable and wound up throwing them in the trash can.

Over the weekend, my son and I went hiking through the woods behind our house. I'm truly thrilled that I can provide the opportunity for my son and I to walk out the backyard into a beautiful wooded area. Like his dad, he seemed to like hiking at a very early age. When he was about 4 years old, we went for a hike at Hartwood Acres in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. I was thinking that he would be tired or bored in about a half hour and want to turn back. We went through that area for a couple hours until my tongue was dragging. He just wanted to stay in the woods at Hartwood Acres and explore. He's managed to keep up this interest over the last few years as I've taken him on several hikes a year through the Western Pennsylvania area. Hopefully, when he gets older, he and I can enjoy some hiking adventures in other areas of the US and world.

This a beautiful time of year to hike in Western PA. The leaves are now past peak and have started falling off the trees. As we rustled through the freshly fallen leaves, I could smell the wonderful autumn leaf scent. Nothing beats the smell of the woods in the fall. At one point, while we were walking along a creek at the bottom of the woods behind our house, my son was commenting how he really enjoyed hiking with me. It's fantastic that he and I have something together that we both really enjoy.

We saw a white tailed deer running through the woods and tracked it for a short time. These woods are heavily populated by deer , ground hogs, squirrels and skunk. It's hard to go on a hike here without running into some kind of wildlife. Luckily we haven't encountered any skunks. I wish that I could say the same for my dog!

Well, now that I described what not to do on a hike let's talk a little bit about what you should do. First off: Find a trail. Many people think about hiking but really never do it because they just don't know where to go. How many people have you seen in the gym on a nice day slaving over a treadmill with that blank look on their face? A hike in the great outdoors is so much more enjoyable than a treadmill.

I've lived in a few different areas in my life and my experience is that there is always a place for a hike within a hour or two. They may not all be as beautiful and challenging as Mount Washington, but they are there if you are willing to look. Mount Washington may be a once in a lifetime opportunity, but there are probably many hiking areas within a short drive that you can go on during a weekend. A quick Google search or a look at a map will probably uncover several parks or trails.

Next is to learn about the trail. You should learn the location of the trailheads and how the trail is marked. You should match the trail length with the time that you have available and your ability level. Remember, trails can present a number of different challenges to the hiker. Some are more physically demanding due to elevation. Some trails can have terrain that requires a certain level of skill to negotiate. A beautiful hike can turn ugly if you have overextended your abilities.

Also, we should all remember that we are out in the real outdoors that is not controlled by man. If you sprain your ankle or cross paths with a skunk, you won't be able to hit the stop button on the treadmill! Typically though, with the proper preparation and knowledge, hiking can be a very safe activity with tremendous personal reward. By learning about the trail beforehand and proper preparation, you can take the risk out of the hike and be a happy hiker.

After a few more hours we were able to reach the top of the mountain. By then we were a tired, cold, exhausted, thirsty crew. I was wandering to myself how on earth we were going to turn around and make it to the bottom before it got dark. The leader of our group suggested that we stop at the little shop at the top of the mountain. A shop on top of the mountain? I wondered how the heck a shop got on top of the mountain! When we reached the shop, we noticed that there were a ton of people visiting the shop. How did they get there? Our leader said "Well there's a train and a road that leads up to the top". That was one vital piece of information that I sure wished I knew before the trip. With the one person suffering from a twisted ankle, there was no way that he could make it back down the mountain. The good news was that we would be able to take a van ride back down the mountain.

So ended my trip to Mount Washington where I learned many lessons about what not to do while hiking. The breath-taking beauty and the tremendous experience of hiking up this mountain make it worth the trip. If you ever get a chance to go, I would recommend this trip to anyone. Just don't make the same mistakes that we did!

Mount Washington Continued

Once we rose above the treeline, the temperature fell dramatically, the wind picked up and we started hiking through snow. After a few hours, we all really wished that we had water with us instead of beer. The hiking became considerably more difficult as the slope of the mountain increased. I'm not sure when it happened, but to make matters worse, we deviated from the trail. The reality of the situation that we were in started to hit me. I was feeling a real bad headache and dehydrated and wished that I was sleeping back at the bed and breakfast.

This situation didn't seem to affect one of the guys that we had with us. At one point, we were close to a cliff that I believe led to Tuckerman's Ravine. He seemed to be really enjoying the scenery close to the edge. I wouldn't consider this a major problem but the wind was howling at about 40-50 MPH and he seemed to be swaying back and forth. One good gust of the wind and he could have been another fatality of Tuckerman's Ravine. Luckily, this didn't happen.



Now that we were off the trail, we had to do some simple climbing up the mountain at some points. While it wasn't difficult, it certainly wasn't something that I expected on this hike. One of the guys with us slipped and managed to twist his ankle. Of course, we had no first aid equipment with us so we couldn't tape his foot. He had to continue the climb up the mountain to survive.

One thing that I should mention is that it was early May when we went on this adventure. At this time of year, it is still cool at the base of the mountain. I believe that we started out with temperatures in the low 50's. However, as you work your way up the mountain above the treeline, the weather changes dramatically. At the top of the mountain, the temperatures are in the 30's with high winds and there is still snow from the previous winter. Luckily, my friends told me this already and I was dressed for the climate change.
So we started up the mountain and the hike was going fine. The hike invigorated me and I was started to get over the effects of the hangover. The first couple hours were no problem. It was an incredibly beautiful view as we worked our way along the path. No major problems so far.....

After a few hours of drunken sleep, I woke up to a nice hangover. After eating breakfast, we headed over to the mountain. For those of you who don't know, Mount Washington, at 6,288 feet, Mount Washington claims the title of the Northeast's highest peak. One thing that it is famous for is the number of deaths which have occurred on the mountain. It was an imposing site as we looked up at what lie ahead of us.
So we finished packing our gear by adding beer to the backpacks and not a single bottle of water(major, major mistake). Oh, we didn't actually have a map or a firm understanding of the trail. The leader of our group told us that he already knew the trail and we could just follow it up the mountain ( mistake #?, I'm losing count) . Now, we were smart enough to have good boots and several layers of clothes. It's about the only thing that we did right that day.

Mount Washington Hike

A few years ago, I was invited to go hiking up Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Being from Pittsburgh, my first thought was of the Mount Washington that rises above the Pittsburgh skyline, a nice hike but not all that difficult. I was going on the hike with some friends who had hiked Mount Washington in the past who said that it was a tough hike but assured me that they had everything under control. (First mistake - trust others without doing any research in advance).

At the time, I was living in Connecticut so we took the beautifully scenic drive up to New Hampshire. Our plan was that we were going to stay in a Bed and Breakfast at the base of the mountain. We arrived there early in the evening, so we decided to go to a local bar and have a drink. Well, one drink led to another and another... Being young and unattached at the time, I had no problem with going out and having a good time. We noticed that a band set up their equipment at the bar and soon the crowd became larger. After a night of dancing and drinking, we got back to the bed and breakfast at about three in the morning (mistake number 2). It was then that I was informed that we were to get up at 6 AM for the 8+ hour hike. Yikes!

I wasn't able to go on a hike in the woods over the weekend but I kept my legs in shape by going with my son and his friend to the Pittsburgh Zoo for "Zoo Boo". It was about 5 hours of trying to keep up with two 8 year olds! There were times were the kids were at a full sprint. Therefore, I'm classifying this under the hike category.

The Pittsburgh Zoo did a great job of fixing up the place for Halloween. There was trick or treat stands, pumpkin painting, a haunted house and a haunted train ride. Most of the animal were out as well. My son had a stuffed polar bear with him as we walked up to the snow leopard. The leopard was on the hill and saw the bear. It came running up to the glass to see the bear. My son just froze in place as the leopard stopped at the glass. My wife said that it was looking for a friend. I said that it was more likely that it was looking for dinner. She got a great picture of the leopard which I'll have to share. If you have young children, I'd definitely recommend this event. However, bring a good pair of tennis shoes so that you can keep up with the kids!

Some of you may be thinking that this wasn't a real hike. However, I'd argue that anytime that you get out and achieve this much aerobic walking and enjoy the day, it should be considered a hike. It's not the miles that you put in or the location, it's the enjoyment that you get out of it that determines whether or not it's a great hike.

Another great trail at Moraine State Park is the Glacier Ridge Trail. It's located in the North Shore area. I start on the entrance which is about a half mile past the bike rental area. The entrance is located on the left side of the road. Once you get on the trail, you pass through a beautiful field that has a variety of plants and wild flowers that are indigenous to this region. You then start going uphill through a region loaded with evergreen trees. I always take an extra moment to stop, relax and smell the wonderful pine smell coming off of the trees. No air freshener in the world can match the true smell that nature provides.
The next area is a wooded area that rises up the hillside. As you walk down the other side of the hill , the hill can be somewhat tricky depending upon the weather conditions. If it's rained a lot in the past few days, you will run into some fairly wet, slick areas. At the bottom of the hill, you'll pass over a small bridge which takes you through another field loaded with plants and flowers. Depending upon how much of a hike that you are interested in you can continue on for several more miles.
I love this trail for a variety of reasons. You will see a great variety of plants and trees throughout the trail , the trail has some regions which are a little tougher than a walk in the park. But what I really love about this trail is the fact that there is a considerable region where you don't hear anything except the nature going on around you. No sounds of car, buses, people or anything. It's a rare area around here where you can go on a hike and not hear the sounds of motor vehicles.

Last week, I was able to head out to one of my favorite local hikes at Moraine State Park. Moraine is a beautiful park north of Zelienople PA that has Lake Arthur in the center of the park. I like a particular walk which starts near the South Shore of the Lake called the Sunken Garden trail. The trail winds along the edge of the Lake and up a hill with a variety of trees that are found in Western PA. and then returns close to the ranger station.

It was a beautiful fall day with the colors of the trees near peak. We were lucky to get in a couple more days of warm sunny weather which made the hike a great pleasure. It was fairly early in the morning, so I was able to come across about 5 or 6 doe along the trail. Those of us living around this area get to see deer quite often but I never get tired of seeing the beauty of these animals. I ran into quite a few squirrel and chipmunks along the way as well. It was truly a fantastic hike. The colors were magnificent and you could really smell the leaves that have already started to fall. It was truly what a fall hike should be all about.

Introduction

Hello Everyone!

This is my first try at this blog so let me tell you a little about myself and what I hope to accomplish with this site. I'm from Western Pa outside of Pittsburgh and have hiked for many years. Obviously, many of my hiking experiences are from around this area but I've been lucky enough to travel around the US and some international destinations on some hikes. One thing that I'd like to do with this page is to tell you about the various hiking adventures that I've had through the years. My philosophy for hiking is simple. It doesn't matter how long the hike is, what matters is that you enjoy the scenery around you and you have fun. To me, hiking is more about the experience than the exercise. Exercise and staying in shape is a great byproduct of thehiking experience. I'm also always looking for some new hiking experiences so I hope to be able to tell you about some hikes that I'm planning out



I'll also be talking about hiking gear and hike preparation. As you probably know, preparation is the key to an enjoyable hike. I've made some dumb mistakes over the years due to lack of preparation which have gotten me into some predicaments. This blog will give me an opportunity to share tips on preparation and gear selection.