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Tres Cruces Costa Rica

 I try to find a hike or something out of the ordinary when I travel. In 2023, I was invited to speak at a conference, MICN Re-Fresh , in San Jose, Costa Rica. The conference was held at the International Baptist Church , Paul Dreessen, pastor. Paul knew I liked hiking and adventure so he lined up a hike on the Tres Cruces Trail just north of his home in San Antonio de Escazu.  Paul’s house sits at about 4100 feet above sea level, and the highest point on the trail is about 6600 feet. The trail is only about 1.5 miles one way, so it is a pretty steep climb. Getting to the trailhead was challenging enough. When I commented about the steepness of the trail, he asked, “I thought you were in shape to hike something like this?” I replied, “I’m in shape, but not for this!” I had not done much leg work getting ready to speak at the conference.  Once we found the trailhead, which is hard to find without someone who has been there before—that is why you always hike with a local, experienced hi
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We Are One

We are one       in our sin and       our suffering  We are one       in our wounds and       our scars            scars from our sinful choices           wounds cut by the sinful choices of others We are one      at a table set by suffering sacrificial love      invited by One           who sacrificed his life to heal the scars of our sins           who suffered at the hands like those that wound us  We are one      by his healing love           salve for our woundS           the story behind our scars We are one      not by           color                race or                     creed      earth-bound labels that drive us apart We are one      freed slaves all            rescued by the Conquering King      joy-filled servants           to those who wound us and           to those freed with uS We are one      we feast at the table of his presence           as aliens and sojourners in a hostile land           no green-card status      we are citizens of heaven We are one      h

I Celebrated my 70th Birthday on the CT (Segment 14)and Mt. Shavano

You can tell by my other posts, I like backpacking and hiking. So, to celebrate my upcoming 70th birthday (August), two friends who have shared other adventures with me partnered to complete Segment 14 of the Colorado Trail and climb Mt. Shavano . Mark and Amy have shared epic climbs and cycling events, and I was happy they agreed to join me in my celebration of life. Mark’s wife, Linda, prepared meals and snacks for us she gathered from a blog post suggesting a backpacking meal plan. We could not have completed the trip without her help. It takes a team.  We hiked the segment from the Highway 50 trailhead north to the Chalk Creek Trailhead . Most through hikers and day hikers traveled north to south, but we only had three full days to complete the segment, and we decided to do the shorter length of the trail prior to our climb of Mt. Shavano. We started from the Highway 50 trailhead at 17:00 and hiked about a (steep) mile to our first campsite. We left that camp the next morning a

Wheeler Peak via Williams Lake Trail #67

  I have traveled most of the trails from Red River, New Mexico to Wheeler Peak. I had never climbed to the peak via the Williams Lake Trail out of Taos Ski Valley . Trail #67 comes out of the valley, past Williams Lake, and on to Wheeler Peak. The lower parts of the trail were damaged by the wind storm that tore through Taos and Red River in December of 2021 . The destruction looked similar to the destruction caused by a Texas tornado, but they don't have those in NM in the mountains; do they? The trail rises steeply out of the valley and divides to go down to Williams Lake or continue up to the Peak. The trail above the tree line has several sections of scree, which makes traversing the face of the mountain difficult.  The trail intersects with the Middlefork Trail on the ridge between Mt. Walter and Wheeler and leads to the peak. Neal and I made it in about four hours with stops to catch our breath, fuel and hydrate.  I prefer the Lost Lake Trail to get to Wheeler Peak, but Tra

Mt. Huron, CO 14er

Vacation in Crested Butte this year included climbing Mt. Huron with friends. Some of us had climbed Mt. Belford three years ago and wanted to climb another one in the area. Also, the women in the group had attempted Mt. Huron last year and had failed. We were all there to reach the top this year.  Finding the trailhead was iffy and required a 4W Drive Jeep. (Thanks, Jeff) Some other climbers helped us to the starting point , and we were off.  The initial switchbacks and first 3/4 of the trail was an easy walk up through beautiful forest and open slopes. The last quarter mile is another story. We had been told Mt. Huron was an easy climb, "no problem," they said. However, the trails near the top were loose rock and sand, which caused you to slide both going up and climbing down. This section is the Class 2 Moderate part of the mountain trail. I prefer the ascent because of better footing, and this trail only confirmed my preference.  The summit was terrific and the view spec

Wheeler Peak, NM with Friends

On 19-21 July I hiked to Wheeler Peak for the sixth time, I think. (First pictures I have are from 1994) Love this trek and that mountain. I'll have my ashes scattered there.  1994 Wheeler Peak Group Campsite at Lost Lake Jon and Jeff at Lost Lake   The three of us left Riverside Lodge in Red River about 0700 Friday morning. After stopping by Major Bean for coffee and sausage/cheese biscuit, we got to the Middle Fork Trailhead about 0800. The weather was ideal, and my legs were okay after Gold Hill the day before.  We got to the "half-way meadow" by 0900 and texted Kim, who had left for home the day before. I found out we needed a new AC unit at the house back home. Ended up calling Kim, texting a friend to get a friend’s number for a framer to lay boards in the attic, and buying a new unit to be installed Monday. All at 10,000 ft. of elevation! (Not really a break you want from life in the city while on the trail.) The trail from the m