For a long time I've been doing an annual canoe trip with the same group of friends, but lately I've had the feeling that they aren't as adventurous as they used to be. Also, in the time we've been making our voyages, I've become a naturist and they haven't. So it occurred to me that I might be able to get lucky twice, and put together a naturist group to do some canoeing in locations that would be a bit more exciting than my old friends would care for.
Probably the most under-thanked people in outdoor recreation are the trip leaders. Without them, no trips would be run, no outdoor groups would exist. California's Great Outdoors Group has existed way before GayOutdoors was born. Few gay outing groups can claim such incredible success.
Saturday morning found the skies to be clear, the sun shining and temperatures around 30. A large group met us at the trailhead for the 10AM start and included Rick, Markus, Stephane, Christel, Mike C., Charley, Ed, Carlos, Andrew, Colin, Jon and myself.
(1/31/06) Friday afternoon, Andy, Jeremy, and I loaded our packs with the water and food cache, and headed off to Twin tanks to store our cache, find a campsite and do some exploring.
Everyone worked like clockwork in the morning, and we were ready to depart from Pinkam notch at 6:39. Our plan was to head up to the ravines, and see if there was anything safe enough to climb.
"Bottom line is... we're around each other an'... this thing, it grabs hold of us again... at the wrong place... at the wrong time... and we're dead." These words were spoken by Heath Ledger’s closeted character Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain." This could still be spoken today by closeted gay men. But thanks to the great outdoors, freedom for gay men still exists.
This was advertised as a beginner snowshoeing workshop, but some ice walking was thrown in due to recent weather. Due to the lack of snow around the Waterville Valley area we traveled an hour north to Crawford Notch, NH. Besides the instructors, Jon N. and myself, we had the following intrepid snowshoers: Richard C., Steve B., and Dave M.
The gales of January blew early and often but failed to dismay 13 Adventuring Club members from Washington on what has become our traditional Martin Luther King Weekend pilgrimage to Gettysburg.
(12/15/05) Three of us took spills at different points on this mountain hike and I almost broke my back while trying to sit in the driver's seat of a broken down old truck for the cover picture.
(1/1/06) Two dozen members of Washington's Adventuring Group, a pretty typical turnout for their New Years Day outings, showed up at noon at Great Falls Tavern on the Maryland side of the Potomac 14 miles above Georgetown.
(1/1/06) Tom, Mark, Rick, John H., Dave, John J., Charley, Jim M., Gino and myself joined Jon Normand to hike his last 4,000 footer in New Hampshire on New Year’s Day 2006. New Hampshire has a list of 48 peaks over 4,000 feet and the Appalachian Mountain Club recognizes those who finish. Mt. Cabot is the northernmost 4,000-footer. This peak was also my last 4,000-footer so it must have been ordained by the mountain gods that Jon and I be together. We arrived at the Mt. Cabot trailhead around 9:15.
(12/31/05) A bit crisp in the morning, then the day warmed up nicely. The first mile or so of this trail is a nice flat walk through hemlocks and beech.
(12/18/05) Nobody else showed up for this trip and I was the first one in the parking lot. There was 8" of fresh powder down low and increasing to 12-14+ inches up high (with knee deep drifts). You are not going to believe this but I broke the trail all the way from the parking lot to the top of Mt. Lafayette!
Seventy-one million Americans enter the wilderness each year - and an increasing number of them can't find their way back out. Staying alive requires more than starting a fire without matches. To survive, you must break the enemy within.
(11/30/05) Bruce and I were stunned on our Rabbit Peak scout trip. All the trip reports and pictures I've come across so far on this hike have been lack-luster at best. We scouted the hike up to Villager Peak last Sunday and I've got to say, this hike is an unsung beauty.
