Grateful for a life of adventure - but I want more

I've given a number Zoom talks to the ForeverWell 55+ Hiking Club at the local YMCA. Earlier this month the topic was my hike of the Inca Trail back in 2006. I'm not sure how much the dozen or so attendees got out of my 30 minutes of sharing photos, facts, and stories, but I sure had fun reliving the adventure.

And an adventure is what it was. One of the great blessings of my life has been the opportunity  to travel and explore new places, especially through hiking and bicycling. Since this blog started in 2005, I've tried to summarize some of those outings in posts. Here are a few:

• The Inca Trail (2006)
•  Rim to Rim Grand Canyon (2009)
• Kilimanjaro (2010)
• Abel Tasman NZ (2010)
• Bike Northwoods WI 2011
• Rice Terrace Hiking Philippines (2012)
• KATY Trail Bike Ride MO (2014)
• QUETICO canoe trip with Boy Scouts (2015)
• Ciudad Perdida, Columbia (2016)
• Biking in the Czech Republic (2017) 
• Rocky Mountain National Park with Boy Scouts (2018)
• Mount Pinatubo, Philippines (2019)
• Adventure Touring in Costa Rica (2019)
• Biking Holland (2019)
• Isle Royale (2019)
• Hiking Montenegro (2019)
• Sapa Vallley VIetnam (2020)

Some of these experiences were more adventurous than others, but all had their own challenges and pleasures. (See Rating my hikes.). 

So where next? I already (optimistically) have signed up for a boat/bike trip along the Danube River this spring and a hiking trip in Arcadia National Park this fall. Third time may be a charm for hiking with one of my grandsons at the Philmont Scout Ranch this summer.  Let's hope the vaccine comes quickly and proves effective.

I have a long. long bucket list of hikes as well. These include:

•  El Mirador, Guatemala
•  Copper Canyon, Mexico
• Blue Mountains, Jamaica
• Cinque Terre National Park, Italy
• (North) Pindos Horseshoe, Greece
• Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, Japan (alternative to Camino de Santiago)
• Carstensz Pyramid, Indonesia
• Royal Trek, Annapurna, Nepal
• Mountains of the Moon, Uganda
• Toubkal Circuit, Morocco
• Torres del Paine, Chile 

Hoping to find less popular, less crowded venues to explore. Information about these hikes come from about a dozen "best hikes of the world" books gathering dust on my office book shelves. Can't wait start actually using them.

I feel my biological clock ticking. I can still carry a pack and do a pretty easy ten mile day of hills. But I am slowing down, starting to appreciate guides and lodges over tents. A cold beer at the end of the day. But I might be good for at least a few more years...