[Trigger warnings: death; grief] My phone rings. It’s my buddy Ron. We’ve been playing phone tag all day, so I pick up immediately. “Hey A., before we go into anything… there was an avalanche in Tahoe…”, the words catch in his throat as my mind already knows what’s coming next — “… my friend… he’sContinue reading “Avalanche in Tahoe”
Tag Archives: adventure
My full moon hike
For a large part of my life, I’ve enjoyed doing fun and/or adventurous activities on nights with the full moon: sailing, skiing, swimming in the sea back Europe, hiking, or long walks at the beach along the ocean in California. Since moving to Colorado I had only gone for a few full moon walks inContinue reading “My full moon hike”
Northern Light(s)
I’m back in Colorado, back “at home”. And yet, as I was leaving Alaska on Wednesday night, I cried. Colorado is “home” for me, or as close as “home” can get, I guess. But in Alaska I left a piece of my heart: a big piece of my heart. As my plane landed in ColoradoContinue reading “Northern Light(s)”
Alaska
It’s been wet. Rustic. Cold. Wild. When I was getting ready to come out here a week ago, I was thinking it would be “fast forward into fall”. And sure enough, the first day, Tuesday 09/09, that’s how it felt: like autumn. Like I had been sped up a little, with respect to Colorado, intoContinue reading “Alaska”
My first three days in Alaska
It’s been rustic. I’ve been staying at cabins with no running water. The bathroom is an outhouse for peeing & pooping. A pot of water heated on the stove and then used to wash oneself in the shower-tent in a corner of the garden is the shower at my friends’ cabin. No shower option atContinue reading “My first three days in Alaska”
South Dakota solo trip — Afterthoughts
I’m back from my solo trip in South Dakota, I got back yesterday late afternoon. I was on edge for the first two thirds of the trip because after about half an hour of driving a whining/whirring sounds started, the pitch getting higher as I sped up, which indicated that it was something rotating, likeContinue reading “South Dakota solo trip — Afterthoughts”
South Dakota solo trip — Day 3
I will definitely have to sleep in my car tonight. It’s pouring with rain now, positively pouring, and thundering. “Heavy rain and thunderstorms” had been in the forecast today around 2-3pm, so I guess here it is, about an hour earlier than expected. I just hope it gives some reprieve later, so I can cookContinue reading “South Dakota solo trip — Day 3”
South Dakota solo trip — Day 2
I might have to sleep in my car tonight. We’ll see. I got back from my hike just in time, as it was starting to drizzle, before it began to pour. It rained pretty hard for about half an hour, now it has stopped again. The inside of my tent is dry but the grass &Continue reading “South Dakota solo trip — Day 2”
Finding myself again
A quarter of a century ago, the summer after I had finished high school, I met a boy who was nearly three years younger than I and who quickly became one of my closest friends and biggest loves. We were sailing partners, buddies, lovers, siblings. We’re still in touch to this day — in fact,Continue reading “Finding myself again”
Trust: the most fundamental form of love
We were swinging freely almost twenty meters above the ground. The 9-mm climbing rope went through the two rappel rings at the top, 100 feet up from the ground, a “free-hanging rappel”, i.e. a lowering technique where there are no walls around or adjacent to you: you’re lowering from what is basically a hole inContinue reading “Trust: the most fundamental form of love”
The Little Prince and the Fox 