Lima Far Outskirts
[Peru] After about two hours in the bus towards Huaraz, we finally made it to this last human habitation in the Lima outskirts before the land became empty.
Lima Near Outskirts
[Peru] There are a couple million people are living in these conditions surrounding Lima. There are hundreds of square miles of desert hills (It almost never rains) filled with shanty towns crawling up the slopes. I took a taxi on an all day drive with the goal of finding the most out-there place I could.
Receding Glaciers
[Peru] Underneath 5,900 meter Taulliraju is one of the locations in the world where scientists are measuring receding glaciers and climate warming. This particular glacier was down at the water’s edge 20 years ago.
Black and White
[Peru] [2004] I arrived in Lima in an odd frame of mind, not having decided where I was going to go. I gave myself a day to think about it. I was divided. The Colca Canyons and Ariquipa? Cuzco, the Inca Trail, Machu Pichu? Or Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca? Morning number two found me […]
Through a Canyon
[Lake Powell USA] I don’t know how to climb back into a kayak if I capsized it, and this water is freezing because is early in the season. Vertical walls mean I am continually noting the last place I have been where I could theoretically swim the overturned kayak, climb out of the water onto […]
Meteora
[Greece] Old monasteries sit perched high on dramatic rock formations in the foothills of the Pindos Mountains of central Greece. Sophie and I hiked around. This 12 year old of mine was a very different kind of traveler than the nine and ten year old who went with me to Guatemala and Alaska. Here I […]
Lady Bird Johnson, Redwood Grove, Eureka, California
[West Coast USA] Lady Bird Johnson, Redwood Grove, Eureka, California June, 2003: I took a couple weeks and drove to Northern California. By the time I got to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, I realized that for the first time in my life I was bored with natural beauty. I just whipped through that Grove, […]
Biking the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands, Utah
[Southwest USA] One of the classic mountain bike trips is the White Rim trail in Canyonlands. I went with a Denver outfitter and had no idea how challenging it would be. The first day was the most extreme physical demand I’ve ever put on myself. It was only 29 miles, but took ten hours, and […]
Wilderness Quest, Utah
[Southwest USA] I saw a tiny ad in a Buddhist magazine describing a “wilderness quest.” I got more information, and found myself two months later sitting on a rock looking out over a broad expanse of Utah landscape. For four days I was cut off from every daily habit. No music, no writing, no media, […]
Hermit’s Trail, Grand Canyon
[Southwest USA] I was on the “Tonto Platforms” – the mid-level mesas sitting 3,000 feet down. I walked in a state of marvel for 50 miles. It was so continually and deeply quiet that I was disconcerted by the ringing in my ears coming from the minor ear damage I got from playing music too […]