Peak Preview: A Mountain Adventure Blog

Pearl Jam Electrifies Buffalo

2010-05-19T12:35:00.003-04:00

On May 10, Pearl Jam returned to HSBC Arena for the third time in its prolific twenty year career. The show was part of the bands 2009-2010 tour promoting its latest release, Backspacer. And I was there. On the floor, 20 rows from the stage (thanks Ten Club!). As a long-time fan, let me be the next to say—they’ve still Got Some. Plenty, in fact.

Twenty years after nursing grunge music to life, Pearl Jam delivered an intoxicating live performance of surging energy and spine-tingling crowd interaction. Like most shows, this one also featured hilarious Eddie moments, and plenty of red wine straight from the bottle (the latter, of course, partly responsible for the former).

Following first-time opener Unthought Known, the band embarked on a musical time warp spanning songs from its 1991 debut album Ten, through more recent releases. The first set featured seldom played No Way, only its 8th concert appearance, and closed with a crowd chorusing rendition of the Better Man/Save it for Later medley.

In one of the shows spectacular highlights, the band attempted Fatal—a rare b-side from the Binaural album. After Ed’s lyrical screw-up in the first attempt (followed immediately by song-stopping obscenities) alert crew members ushered a fresh bottle of wine to the stage. After a quick taste, the band delivered a flawless rendition, marking the song's fourth live appearance.

A spirited encore featuring Once, Alive, and Yellow Ledbetter, punctuated the show with driving rhythms from the bands earliest compositions.

The official bootleg should be available within a few weeks for those interested. I know I’ll be ordering one.
As usual, great show PJ! Now back to the mountains…

Pearl Jam plays Last Kiss facing fans seated behind the stage

Airport Security is Worse than Burger King

2010-04-15T22:22:00.003-04:00

I love airports. Almost as much as I love flying. (‘Love’ means pure hatred that boils deep within your innermost core, correct?) Okay, so I hate airports. And flying. And everything about the process. Except for waking up somewhere interesting on the rare occasion that happens. There are many reasons I feel this way, and I couldn’t possibly discuss them all in this post (but maybe a top 10 list is in order?). So for now, I’m only going to focus on airport security.

On a recent trip to St. Louis, I found myself brutally interrogated – with a bonus anal cavity search – after a small near-empty container of hair product was discovered on my person. By discovered, I mean it was in a clear quart-sized zip-top plastic bag and handed directly to the security officer. I might as well have handed him a loaded crossbow or bloody hunting knife – I would have gotten the same look of terror in return.

You see, the container in question was 5.1 ounces – 2.1 ounces over the TSA allowed size. According to the highly intelligent and caring airport employee, this left me with three options:

Option 1: Leave the security area, check back into my flight, place the highly offensive hair paste in my luggage, check the bag, then come back through security. As my flight was boarding in less than twenty minutes, this wasn’t really an option. Although, I did engage in a lengthy inner monologue regarding the pros and cons of missing the flight (Would I get fired? Probably not. Then it’s not worth it.)

Option 2: Again leave security, leave the airport, in fact (with the potentially lethal amount of putty in tow), carefully place the explosives in my car, and return through security. Again, this wasn’t an option worth exploring.

And finally,

Option 3: Throw it away. “May I point out that this container is 99% empty?” I offered. “I hear that all the time – can’t help you.” “In that case, may I point out that you’re an asshole?” “What was that?” “Oh, nothing, just throw it out then."

Let’s stop here and discuss, shall we? We somehow arrived at three ounces as a “safe” quantity of liquid allocation. Seems random, meaningless and ridiculous…but fine. However, I as a passenger am allowed as many of these 3 oz containers as I please, as long as they fit inside a quart-sized – and apparently explosion resistant – zip-top bag. Conversely, I cannot have a single 5.1 oz container in the same magically protective zip-top bag, even if it contains less than a tenth of an ounce of the same harmless matter.

This actually leads me to believe flying is more dangerous than I previously imagined. Not because of anything related to liquid explosives, mind you. But because the TSA is clearly run by the CareerBuilder office monkeys that starred in those hilarious commercials a few year back. I, for one, loved those commercials. Not so hilarious now though.

What’s next – I can only carry-on a stick of deodorant if I first dice it into symmetrical 1 oz cubes? And I assume I would be able to carry on as many of these odor-protecting cubes as I wish – so as long as they fit inside a magic zipper bag, of course.

But here’s my other issue with all this. If my near-empty hair-paste container poses some kind of in-flight danger – why am I allowed to store it under the plane where it can nestle up against the fuel tanks?

And maybe we’re still missing the bigger issue here. All this is in response to one instance in which an assortment of passengers attempted to carry large quantities of liquid explosives onto a few different flights departing from England – and were caught. Call me crazy, but maybe we should focus on developing scanners that can simply detect the presence of dangerous chemicals (regardless of state of matter), rather than implementing meaningless travel requirements that do nothing but make air travel more inconvenient.

Besides, something tells me these mastermind terrorist types might someday hear about our complex travel policy on liquids, and revisit solid state bombs. Or simply check explosive luggage to ensure highly flammable materials are ushered as close to the fuel reserves as possible.

Then, of course, we’ll probably have to ban people with beards from boarding commercial aircraft all together. I give it 3 years…tops.

Title inspired by Wesley Willis…RIP.

Flat Tops Addendum: Eric’s Revolutionary Tactic Revealed

2010-04-14T22:08:00.003-04:00

After the trip, Eric’s performance became legendary among our friends and family. In fact, I don’t think a conversation has taken place since July 2008 in which this wasn’t discussed. Literally. Regardless of the situation, Eric’s day-2 struggle was somehow worked into the conversation. For example, the following chat I had with my Grandma a few months back:

GRANDMA: Would you do your dear ol’ grandmother a favor and drive me to the doctor’s office tomorrow?

ME: I’ll tell ya what I’m not gonna do, gramma – hike across the state of Colorado with a 50-gallon cask of wine on my back. Shit.

GRANDMA: ?

ME: But sure, I can give you a ride.

You get the idea.

But before you judge – Eric had this coming (Grandma not so much...and I have since apologized). From November 2007 ‘til the day we set off into the mountains, Eric ridiculed Mike’s training philosophy on a daily basis. Mainly because Mike did most of his training in a gym. I don’t recall Eric’s proposed regimen, but I believe it involved plenty of Panda Paws ice cream and a healthy dose of mid-day naps.

Whatever the details, as soon as we realized Eric was inadequately prepared, the verbal chastising was immediate and relentless. But this is what any caring brother would do. In fact, I believe it’s a law of some kind. And I’ll be damned if I’m the first brother in America to violate such a law.

Interestingly enough, though, we now believe this was a calculated safety tactic on Eric’s part. And we owe him an apology.

Eric has since explained that he was intentionally falling back into a “sweeper” position. You see, this was his older brother instinct kicking in to ensure none of us were left behind. May seem crazy to you and me, but quick thinking is exactly what separates leaders from the rest of us. And it worked. (See attached diagram for a visual explanation of this theory)

With Eric anywhere from one to seven miles behind the group, there was no chance any of us could lag back far enough to find himself alone or unable to reach the others. Except for Eric. And he was apparently willing to take that risk. Now that’s a selfless display of heroism.

Clearly, we were blown away by this admission – and even more impressed that Eric kept it a secret for nearly two years. Now, we feel compelled to share our discovery. We have submitted our findings to Backpacker Magazine as a preventative survival tactic for serious hikers. We’ve yet to hear back, but that’s probably because it evolved into a cover story and they’re working out the final details on the piece. Typical magazine stuff. But keep an eye-out for upcoming issues and more information on this groundbreaking new technique.

Eric…we all owe you an apology. We’re sorry, brother.
(Illustration provided by “Bighorn” Steve)

Flat Tops Part 5: The Stench of Victory

2010-04-09T13:07:00.001-04:00

Day 4 – Little Trappers Lake to the Car (4 miles)

The final day was a short hike out of the woods, a short walk back to the car by road, then a 5 hour drive back to Boulder. Not much to it.

I was up at dawn to catch the last of the sunrise, and steal a few extra minutes of silence and mountain air. I was jealous of the father and son pair that joined us for having another 5 days ahead of them, but it’s hard to complain about the trip we had. Great weather, wild elk sightings, 3 nights of lake-front camping and a little danger. Perfect.

The others started moving, so we took down camp and got ready to leave. But we had a problem. A serious problem. There were four grown men, but less than an arms length of toilet paper. Not good. Two of us would be facing the ultimate test of endurance – ass-clenching in a car on rocky terrain. Since I was up early, I was not one of those two.

We got moving, and of course now one of my hiking poles wouldn’t hold, and I developed a small blister on my right foot. Luckily, the hike out was mostly flat and followed the shore of Trappers Lake (pictured). We reached the car in an hour or two, and started the drive home. While driving, we debated the winner of our battle with the mountains, but came to one unanimous conclusion. The score was tied, and we were still within the park boundaries. It was still anybody’s game.

As we drove I studied the passing countryside in an effort to solidify the image in my mind. Meanwhile, Eric and Mike continued to clench. Then, out the passenger side window, stood the most glorious object we’d seen since setting foot in the mountains. A public restroom. Victorious! Final Score: Brothers-3, Mountains-2.

Looking back...

Flat Tops Part 4: Crossing the Devil’s Causeway

2010-04-08T18:27:00.008-04:00

Day 3 – Mosquito Lake to Little Trappers Lake (10 miles)

Shortly after breakfast, we were on the trail again. Within minutes we wandered across hills full of thick grass and wildflowers. But this tranquility was soon cadenced with the start of a long upward climb. We were just above 10,000 feet and had to climb to the Devil’s Causeway at nearly 12,000 feet before afternoon thunderstorms became a risk.

Even so, Eric was hiking with renewed vigor. Apparently, not having 40 pounds of wine sloshing around in his pack was a positive adjustment. Write that down ultra-light backpackers.

As usual, the weather was excellent – dry, sunny and mostly clear blue skies. We spent most of the morning ascending a winding trail no more than 3 or 4 feet wide as it hugged the boulder-strewn slope of a steep mountainside on our right. There were no good places to rest, so we pushed on with Eric out in front.

After reaching a snow covered slope that led to the final ascent to the Devil’s Causeway, we took pictures, rested our lungs, and assessed our water situation. We still had a challenging hike to the top of the Chinese Wall, but were almost entirely out of water. With no streams or clean water sources around, we packed our water bottles with snow (avoiding the top layer) and warmed them against our bodies and in the sun. This was a good excuse to take a longer break. Once the snow began to melt, we got moving again.

The trail became steep, and we had to stop every couple minutes to catch our breath. We were ahead of schedule and gaining ground on a group of day hikers above us, so we felt no need to hurry. After a long climb over the snowfield, most of us collapsed and took another deserved break. If I remember correctly, Steve was running through a calisthenics routine and hunting elk in the meantime.

We were all excited to see the causeway, so the last exhausting climb is kind of a blur. I remember waiting at the top for the others and thinking, “hmmm….this looks significantly more life-threatening than the pictures suggested.” On top of narrowing to as little as 3 feet in places, with sheer cliffs that fell hundreds of feet on each side, the causeway is at no point a flat and level surface.

When the others arrived, we slowly approached the causeway and found the day hikers having lunch. We talked with them for a few minutes, and drank our melted snow. They were apparently not crossing the causeway, and thought were crazy for thinking about it. After seeing it person, I also thought we were crazy. Actually, I thought Steve was crazy and the rest of us were going to die. Same difference I guess.

One of the day hikers was an older woman who had crossed the causeway many years earlier. I found this somewhat comforting. Until she offered up this little nugget: “The ridge was in much better shape back then, it’s pretty well eroded now. I wouldn’t cross it again that’s for sure. And definitely not if I was wearing a pack. That’s crazy.” Thanks, Steve.

Steve decided to “take a look” at the causeway and assess the difficulty of a crossing, and Eric followed. Before I could collapse my trekking poles Steve bounded across the causeway in two strides, and was waving to us from 100 feet away. Eric, apparently realizing this would happen, was following close behind and soon joined him on the other side.

Mike and I were both reluctant to cross but he seemed more nervous than I was. Mike was the best athlete of all of us, but was not a regular hiker. Outdoor adventure activities in general are not of much interest to him, so he was a little outside of his comfort zone the entire trip. Realizing this, Steve bounded back over the causeway, and offered to take Mike’s pack over for him. Mike agreed. I intended to follow them, until Steve offered to return a second time and take my pack over. The amount of time that passed before I accepted the offer is too small to be measured with modern instruments. We watched Steve cross the causeway again with Mikes pack (Mike literally mimicking each move he made), RUN back across the causeway, then cross again with my pack.

Watching Steve scamper over the unstable ridge 5 times with total ease and complete disregard for obstacles and danger (he was doing cartwheels at one point) confirmed our suspicion that he was at least part mountain goat, and earned him the nickname “Bighorn.” He didn’t care for it at first. But after realizing the name would often be used out of context and would therefore carry other beneficial meanings – he accepted the designation.

Once on the other side, everything seemed lighter. Simpler. Easier. Back on relatively flat terrain we moved at a good pace across several miles of trail. Steve was watching the sky all the while, and saw signs that a storm might be on the way. We were still at high elevation and miles from a good campsite. Not the ideal place for a lightning storm.

We picked up the pace a little. Sure enough, the wind was picking up and the sky was getting worse. So we got out our rain gear and started hauling some ass. Within minutes it was raining hard and the sky filled with lightening flashes. I kept up with Steve, while Mike and Eric fell behind a bit. We were losing elevation quickly, and covered a good distance in less than an hour in the rain.

On our decent we crossed through ghost forests of dead spruce and fir that remained from the bark beetle epidemic of the 1940’s. More recent wildfires left their mark as well in the form of fallen branches and charred black stumps and debris. I wish we had more time to enjoy the scenery, but we still needed to get to lower elevation. Fast. We continued to hustle without breaks until we reached Little Trappers Lake. We found a good sized camping area near the water, with no sign of humans. Perfect. We quickly set up our tents and climbed in for about an hour until the rain and wind passed.

Once the skies cleared again, we gathered all the dry wood we could find, and ridiculed Mike for how he looked with his rain poncho pulled over his pack (even though this was a highly effective method of keeping his pack dry). As usual we cooked dinner and started a fire.

A father and son duo joined us at a connecting campsite late in the afternoon, but that didn’t impede the flow of bourbon or the slew of expletives we used to describe the Devil’s Causeway. As we bedded down for the night, it seemed the trip was already over. And with the Causeway behind us, there was nothing left to worry about. Score one for the brothers: Brothers-2, Mountains-2.

My bros on the trail

The view from our campsite at Lil Trappers Lake

Eric in front of the Chinese Wall

Flat Tops Part 3: The Mountains Launch an Attack

2010-04-07T18:59:00.009-04:00

Day 2 – Wall Lake to Mosquito Lake (12 miles)

Without a fly, the sun was beaming down into my tent with incredible brightness. This started approximately three and a half minutes after I fell asleep. Since we had a much longer day ahead of us, I didn’t fight the wake-up call for long. And since I wasn’t mauled and eaten by a bear in my sleep, I was actually quite pleased with the situation.

We were all up and moving by 8am. And after one last meal overlooking the lake, the mosquitoes were already in full force. So we took down camp and moved on with Steve leading the way as usual.

This was a planned 8-9 mile day and Eric fell behind immediately. From that point on, he fell victim of what I call BSS (Beginner Skier Syndrome), an affliction characterized by a group waiting for a slower member to catch-up – sufficiently resting in the process – then taking off again immediately after the struggling, fatigued member reaches them. The three of us were making great time, but often realized Eric was completely out of view. As we were on a wide-open flat area of tundra, this was alarming and actually quite impressive. During the 30-45 minutes it would take him to come back into view, we would rest our legs, eat, take naps, and study the map. Once we confirmed he was ok, we would proceed and Eric was instantly out of view again. This continued for hours as we traversed a spectacular country-side speckled with wildflowers and the occasional heard of elk off in the distance. Above 11,000 feet, endless views and startling silence created a unique feeling of solitude, freedom and possibility. If you had any care or worry in this place, you were doing something wrong. Or getting mauled by a bear.

After a long lunch break in the sun, we decided to alter our route. Eric must not have been with us at the time, because this decision actually lengthened the hike by several miles. We were now pushing on to Mosquito Lake – a distance of 12 miles from our starting point at Wall Lake. There was upside though – we were sure to get relief from the bugs at this location.

At about 1:30, we became frighteningly aware that Steve was developing a serious condition known as “five minutes disease.” For those unfamiliar – this condition is characterized by an individual who continually promises that a destination is five minutes away, when in fact it is a minimum of 30 minutes away. It’s important to note that at this point in the day my eldest brother was sweating profusely, breathing heavily and using his trekking poles to prop himself upright. Five minutes of hiking required significant effort and determination. Each time we approached a ridge, Steve would declare we were 5 minutes from Mosquito Lake, and Eric would hike with everything he had. Thirty minutes later, at another ridge, we would have to deliver the news that the lake was now 5 minutes away. To the amusement of none of us, and the near demise of the family, this cycle continued for several hours.

We eventually stopped for a break above a steep decline that led to a thick wooded area and what we believed was a lake. This time Steve studied the map carefully before declaring, “That is definitely Mosquito Lake. We’ll be there in five minutes.”

I don’t have a published source to back this up, but I believe Mosquito Lake is home to the largest, most dense population of any insect anywhere on the planet. And we didn't care. We set up camp quickly (Eric and I set up camp, and Steve set up camp for himself and mike…again) and within seconds, Eric was asleep in his tent and the rest of us washed in the frigid lake water. The camp site was a small clearing surrounded by thick forest not far from the lakeshore. Much different than the open penthouse with a view we had the night before. But as Eric pointed out reassuringly – if real estate was sold to bears…we were camping on a premium lot.

We cooked ramen noodles (mike did better this time) and drank wine around the fire to lighten the next days load. And I must say – wine has never tasted so good. For me, it was totally worth having Eric struggle with the extra weight for two days. Delicious.

This time I covered my tent with the fly and fell asleep immediately. In 29 years, that was the deepest and most sound continual sleep I can remember. The others had to wake me in the morning. However, due to Eric’s diminishing health and overall embarrassing performance - this day goes to the mountains. Mountains-2, Brothers-1.

Flat Tops Part 2: The Battle Begins

2010-04-06T21:06:00.009-04:00

Day 1 – Trappers Lake to Wall Lake (6 miles)

As I implied in the first post, the four of us together usually results in a hilarious and frightening regimen of tomfoolery. Thankfully for mankind this happens but a handful of times each year. And right from the start, this trip was no different.

It was a 4-5 hour drive from Boulder to the trail head. Along the way we joked about who would win the battle between the brothers and the mountains, and struggled to read the map. Steve was driving and Eric was navigating, we thought, in the front seat. After about 12 hours and roughly 27 tactical errors, u-turns and pre-mature epiphanies, we pulled over for a map assessment. How many brothers does it take to read a map? More than 4 apparently. Before we even started hiking: Mountains-1, Brothers-0.

We arrived at the trailhead later than expected, but still had enough time to reach a good camping destination if we hustled. So while Steve relieved himself in the bushes, we wasted no time in hiding his hiking shoes. After a very enjoyable 10 minutes of watching him look for his shoes, and consider the option of hiking in sandals, we got down to business.

We heard mosquitoes were bad in the Flat Tops this year, and they immediately lived up to the report. We kept moving, and tried to take short rests to limit their attacks. But they were relentless.

The trail was relatively flat for about a mile or two and crossed through a wooded area scarred by wildfires. We emerged from the pines and had a clear view of our trail. From here it was a steady climb that switch-backed to11,000 feet. Steve planned the trip, and picked our route. And he didn’t disappoint. For the duration of day one we hiked under clear skies, privileged to sun, heat and miles of panoramic views.

When we reached the plateau above Trappers Lake we filled up on water and sat by the stream where it disappeared over a steep cliff into the valley we just climbed out of. Facing north into the valley, we had a view of our starting point and both sides of the u-shaped cliff of boulders and exposed rock we sat on. To the east we could see where the trail would continue, at about 12,000 feet, over sprawling tundra. But for now, we had to keep heading towards Wall Lake where we would be spending the night.

From there, it was an easy walk to the lake over relatively flat land, and one stream barely narrow enough to jump across. We reached the lake by 5pm and took a break. The mosquitoes were ruthless and we needed head nets, which made snacking difficult. There was another group camping a ways down the lake shore, so we decided to continue hiking, which would take us to a steep wall-like cliff overlooking the lake (thus the name). This proved to be one of our better ideas; the view was outstanding.

We found a good spot not far from the cliff’s edge and set up camp. After gathering dead wood for the fire, we laid out our sleeping pads near the drop-off and rested. Eventually we started a fire and cooked dinner on our personal stoves. Three of us made mac-and-cheese. Mike used no less than 3 liters of water for his batch and ended up with a large quantity of watery corn chowder (see picture).

After dinner we spent most of the night sipping bourbon while cloud formations and colors of dusk danced on the lake below. The evening was calm and threatened no rain, so I zipped closed my cozy half-person tent without donning the fly. Supposedly this is a two-person tent, but unless both of them are midgets that number is grossly misleading. Other than a nylon bathtub floor, the tent was all mesh, so I had a clear view of the stars and full moon above until I fell asleep. Sweet revenge for the brothers. Score: Brothers-1, Mountains-1.

Flat Tops Part 1: An Essential Tip on Hiking Pants

2010-04-06T08:01:00.002-04:00

Day 0 – Travel & Preparations

Pants are perhaps the most basic item of gear any hiker owns. And with so many options and styles on the market, I thought I would share a tip to help you get the most out of your hiking pants.

Around the time we agreed to take this trip, I had just rediscovered my love for hiking. But I hadn’t completed any multi-day trips or climbed any real mountains. So I started training and preparing early. I researched and bought all my own gear, went on hiking trips whenever I could and developed a robust training regimen. I made sure my shoes were broken in and wore my pack while hiking and walking around the house just to get used to it. I did literally anything and everything I could think of to get ready for this trip. Except pack my hiking pants.

I had purchased 3 pairs in the year leading up to our trip. And as a bonus, now got to spend another $70 on whatever pair the Boulder REI was carrying in my size that day. Which conveniently turned out to be miss-marked by the way. I didn’t try them on, of course, and therefore spent four days hiking in baggy pants and a bunched waistband.

Bottom line – the most important thing about hiking pants: bring them with you. And here’s a secondary tip for free – if you do forget your pants, be sure to try on a new pair before traipsing off into the wilderness for several days.

After purchasing ill-fitting new pants, alcohol for the trip was next on the agenda. This is an integral step of any agenda we put together. And would be a five minute exercise, if not for the personality qualities mentioned in the first post.

Steve – an avid backpacker, our resident adventure guru and, we think, part mountain goat – suggested making a lightweight booze selection. Eric assumed that meant a 5-gallon box of wine. After several hours of bantering, we decided on the following: we would only purchase the wine if Eric carried it, and Steve would carry bourbon for the rest of us. Sound like a reasonable compromise? It wasn’t. In fact, this would prove to be a near fatal mistake.

Flat Tops Wilderness: A Battle With the Mountains

2010-02-23T19:51:00.000-05:00

Four brothers. Four days. One mountain range. One victor.

I have three brothers – Mike (32), Steve (34) and Eric (approximately 97). We’re all impatient, stubborn and at times domineering. At any point when we’re together, one or more of us thinks he is the alpha male (but isn’t) and is 100% sure he’s right (but isn’t). So when we decided to embark on a 4-day backpacking trip in a remote section of the Rockies, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I was certain, however, one of us would be mauled by a bear, one of us would be left behind, and at some point Eric would collapse and convince Mike to carry his pack. Only two of these actually happened.

The posts that follow will provide the details of that four day hike through the Flat Tops Wilderness in July 2008.

Your Bad Spelling is Killing My Blog

2010-02-19T14:19:00.001-05:00

The masses have screwed me again. This time with bad spelling.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying Peak Preview is some ultra-unique, super creative, never-been-done-before play on words. But I did think it was mildly clever, and perhaps somewhat seldom used. I was very wrong.

Try typing “Peak Preview” into your Google search box sometime. My blog will be absent from the first 100,000 or so pages of search results. The reason? An unimaginable number of people have created websites, articles, comments or other online content with the words “Sneak Peak Preview”. Let’s stop there for a minute. For those who may not be aware, when used in the context of viewing an object, or a sneak preview, the word peek is spelled P-E-E-K. Peak means, top, maximum, climax, or more specifically the summit of a mountain. Thus why Peak Preview is the title of this blog.

In fact, so many internet users have spelled ‘peek’ wrong when using this phrase, Google will suggest “Sneak Peak Preview” as a search option just as often as “Sneak Peek Preview”.

Admittedly, I was aware of this before selecting the title of this blog. However, I’m still disappointed. If everyone who intended to write sneak peak preview, wrote sneak peek preview, my blog would be much easier to find. Of course, no one is looking for my blog. And the two people reading this know where to find it. So I guess this is 100% irrelevant anyway.

So if you were looking for a sneak peek at some hot new movie or product and ended up here…I apologize for the disappointment. It’s not my fault. But this post, while extremely whiny, annoying and uninteresting may actually help my cause. I’ll shut up now.

Welcome to Peak Preview!

2010-02-08T20:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Peak Preview! I started this blog as a way to share my experiences in hiking, backpacking and other outdoor activities. As the name suggests, these adventures will generally involve an excursion to the mountains. In particular, I plan to hike the 46 High Peaks of the Adirondacks and will document each ascent with a detailed article. Each of these posts will provide trail names, mileage, duration, elevation gain, terrain descriptions and other information I think readers will find useful.

For me hiking is the purest form of exercise and adventure. And the Adirondacks are home to some of the most physically challenging, remote and naturally inspiring wilderness destinations anywhere in the country. Most of them only accessible on foot. I hope this site will encourage you to take a hike of your own, or help you plan one in the Adirondacks. So before you embark on your next high peak hiking adventure – preview it here first. I may help you select a more appropriate hike, or find the view you’ve been looking for.

However, I also engage in many other outdoor adventures, often travel to interesting places and certainly have my share of unique friends and family members. Any of these aspects of my life could, and likely will, result in a post on this site.

Furthermore, as you will soon realize, I am extremely intelligent. It’s true – my wife would be happy to confirm that I rarely admit to a mistake. But more importantly, I have a sharp, insightful view of our world that can only be found here or on literally millions of other free websites and blogs. In other words, the internet all but dared me to start this blog. And I will oblige. (Honestly, are the personal thoughts and ramblings of one more idiot really going to hurt anything?)

Sarcasm aside, I take hiking seriously and will exercise extreme care when posting critical information about a hike. I use official trail guides and keep a meticulous record of data before, during and after every hike. However, if you believe any trail information posted here is inaccurate, I encourage you to contact me or leave a comment. I will review the information in question and make corrections as necessary.

To kick things off I will be sharing the story of a 4-day backpacking trip through the Flat Tops Wilderness Area of Colorado. Soon after that, I’ll get things started from an Adirondack perspective with details of my 2009 ascents of Marcy, Cascade and Porter Mountains.

Be sure to check back regularly as I will update this page as soon as I climb another peak or someone I know does something embarrassing. I hope you enjoy Peak Preview!