hiking – Page 2 – Six!Dog Studios

Thanks to my Sponsors!

Walking the # 8 trail in a snowstorm! Brrr!

I can hardly believe how many people have signed up to sponsor me to raise money for the Rhinoceros and their Rangers at Ol Pejeta Conservancy! As of today I’m earning 44 cents a mile! I’m so excited I even braved the winter weather to do the 7.5 mile loop at Fleming Meadows this afternoon. I have to admit there was a moment or two when I really wanted to stay home curled up by the woodstove reading a good book, but then I thought about how many millions of years there have been rhinoceroses evolving and roaming around on this planet, and how us humans have managed to pretty much wipe them out in less than a hundred years, and out we went. Besides with 16 sponsors and Lyssa and Pippi hiking along, how could I say no?

A Blustery Day in Patagonia

“Say, Pooh, if I were you I’d think about skedaddlin’s out of here. It’s Windsday, see?”

I have been occasionally known to complain that the weather in California is too….boring. I mean, who wouldn’t get tired of day after day of blue sky and sunshine? I need a little variety in my atmosphere. Well, in Patagonia, that’s not a problem! In Torres del Paine the daily weather forecast usually called for sun, rain, clouds, blue sky, fog, and variable winds with gusts and a chance of snow, hail, and/or sleet. (The one thing they don’t have is thunderstorms!)

The 6th day of our Patagonia trip was not at all pleasant weather-wise, but it was certainly very memorable, which is what it’s all about for me these days. The wind started howling around midnight, like a pack of Patagonian demons screaming down from the rocky heights, vibrating the thick fabric covering our geodesic domes, and rattling and banging anything not firmly attached to the planet. The screeches and shrieks were unearthly, as if the flying saucer cloud formations yesterday afternoon had delivered a load of Alien Demons out onto the land. The howls were purely Patagonian: raw and primordial, earthly and unadulterated.

Continue reading “A Blustery Day in Patagonia”

Cleopatra’s Needles

Los Angeles is not a place you would expect to find me unless there was an extremely good reason, and witnessing our first and only grandson graduating from college was an irresistible cause. Although the family event was worthwhile, it was no fun enduring the crazy chaos of the city, and so it was a good time to take a mental trip to Patagonia, back to the Parque Nacional del Torres del Paine.

The road to the Whitney Trail starts in Lone Pine and climbs the long winding canyon to let hikers climb the highest elevation in the continental US.

As we drove down the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains, I was inspired by the sudden sharp steep rise of the Sierra escarpment over the dry high desert of the Owens Valley. The valley averages about 4,000 feet elevation and Mount Whitney is just over 14,000. That’s a pretty dramatic rise. The Sierra massif is penetrated by deep winding canyons every few miles- the passes by which hikers can gain access to the interior of the range and the high peaks which are the jewels of the Sierras. It’s not unlike the mountains of Patagonia.

Continue reading “Cleopatra’s Needles”

Discovering Parque Nacional de Torres del Paine

Discovering the Parque Nacional de Torres del Paine

Lady Florence Dixie, born Florence Caroline Douglas in 1855.

Yesterday I was casting about trying to come up with something more interesting to say about our first day at Parque Nacional de Torres del Paine other than “Holy cow wouldja look at those mountains!,“ when I stumbled across the name Lady Florence Dixie, who was one of the first Europeans to travel around Patagonia. She was also the first European woman to go to Patagonia. But the coolest thing about Lady Florence was that she wrote a book about her trip, and it was published in 1881. Lady Florence was a Scottish Upper Class Victorian Tomboy. She could ride horses and shoot a rifle; she loved the outdoors and had a passion for adventure. She was also a pretty good writer, a claim needing no further proof other than the fact that her books are still in print today! You can order them from Amazon, and you can read her book “Across Patagonia” for free online at Google Books.

Accompanied by her husband, two brothers and the artist John Beerbohm, Lady Florence sailed to Argentina on a ship, and traveled to the Andes on horseback. Led by local guides, they camped and hunted for their food, met tribes of native Teheulche, endured all kinds of weather, encountered pumas, foxes, condors and herds of wild horses, deer, guanaco and rheas (she called the ostriches), not to mention a vast array of other flora and fauna. A trip to Patagonia was an unusual choice for an upper class Lady in the 1870s. It’s still an uncommon destination for tourists, given Patagonia’s well earned reputation for rugged peaks, harsh weather and remote location. Lady Florence’s rationale for going to Patagonia still resonates today: Continue reading “Discovering Parque Nacional de Torres del Paine”

Proofs are at the Printers!

END-to-END, A Long Trail Journey, by Shirley Harman

Last year while you weren’t looking I wrote a book. Yup, I did. The Proofs are at the Printers. All the bugs are finally worked out, the Tee’s crossed and Eye’s dotted.

It’s been a Long Journey getting here! In fact, that’s actually part of the title of the book: “END-to-END, a Long Trail Journey.” I started working on it in September 2016 when Tina & Lyssa & I went on our own Big Adventure across the country and spent three weeks backpacking the Long Trail of Vermont, from Canada down to the Massachusetts State Line.

On the surface, the book is the story of the hike, walking in the woods for 21 days with 2 dogs, carrying all our food, supplies, and gear, dealing with steep rocky trails, lots of mud, thunderstorms, and all kinds of people along the way. On a deeper level it is the story about dealing with the loss of my parents and honoring their lives. It’s also a story about reclaiming my own life.

When I was thinking about doing the hike I worried a lot about abandoning my job and family for a whole month. Was I being selfish and shirking responsibilities? Would everyone survive without me there to take care of things?

Whenever I’m having trouble making a decision I take a hike down into the canyon to a special place on the creek and have a chat with my inner Dad. (It’s sort of like being in touch with your inner child, but I have an inner Dad. Some people pray, or meditate; I talk to the inner Dad.) I just ask him what he thinks and usually the answer comes pretty quickly.

So in answer to whether it would be okay if I ran away for a month and did this backpacking trip he said yes but you have to write it up. Write a trip report and share it. Write about what you see and learn. I had to pay some dues. Dad was that way, no free rides.

Anyhow it’s finally done and shipped off to the printer. In a few weeks I hope to give you an update and put together a Free Sneak Preview so you can check it out. If you like hiking, backpacking, outdoor adventures or dogs, you’d probably like it. Or maybe you know someone that might like it. Details to come!

Until then I’m taking you back to Patagonia again with Episode 5, in the Torres del Paine, currently under construction.

Thanks for coming along and Happy Trails!

Shirley