Iceland and Beyond
So in case you hadn't heard, my sister and I and our good friend DJ Relativity are going to Iceland in August for 10 days. We've got a nice little apartment in Reykjavik and we'll use that as a base for a bunch of day trips and possibly an overnight trip. Lots of hiking and outdoor activities are on the docket. This may include whale watching and kayaking. Needless to say, this should be a good time.
tigerlily_blue and I were then looking forward to 2013. Our original grandiose travel plan was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which is one of the Seven Summits. The climb is physically but not technically demanding, so as long as you are in good physical shape and allow adequate time for adjusting to the extreme altitude it can be done, even if you have no arms or legs.
However, we now have a new potential trip: The Tour du Mont Blanc. This desired was inspired by this article. Essentially you hike through the Alps for 105 miles through three countries (France, Switzerland, Italy) over ten to twelve days. At night you stay in various small hostels throughout the area, so you don't have to carry camping gear. As a nice bonus, the hike goes through the home territories of some of the greatest European cheeses, so if you need to calorie load on fatty dairy products you're in the correct place. If you're so inclined you can either hire a guide to make all the arrangements and to make sure you don't get lost.
While this trip wouldn't let us knock off Africa off our list of continents, it would be gorgeously scenic, involve tasty cheese, and would not have the risks of altitude sickness. Travel to and from the hike would be significantly less strenuous as well.
So yeah, why not? We're not getting any younger.
tigerlily_blue and I were then looking forward to 2013. Our original grandiose travel plan was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which is one of the Seven Summits. The climb is physically but not technically demanding, so as long as you are in good physical shape and allow adequate time for adjusting to the extreme altitude it can be done, even if you have no arms or legs.
However, we now have a new potential trip: The Tour du Mont Blanc. This desired was inspired by this article. Essentially you hike through the Alps for 105 miles through three countries (France, Switzerland, Italy) over ten to twelve days. At night you stay in various small hostels throughout the area, so you don't have to carry camping gear. As a nice bonus, the hike goes through the home territories of some of the greatest European cheeses, so if you need to calorie load on fatty dairy products you're in the correct place. If you're so inclined you can either hire a guide to make all the arrangements and to make sure you don't get lost.
While this trip wouldn't let us knock off Africa off our list of continents, it would be gorgeously scenic, involve tasty cheese, and would not have the risks of altitude sickness. Travel to and from the hike would be significantly less strenuous as well.
So yeah, why not? We're not getting any younger.