After a couple of days to adjust to the time change and explore Liverpool, Joanie and I set out to stretch our legs on some trails for the first time – the primary goal of our trekking holiday. We followed Iain’s recommendation and made the fairly short drive to Snowdonia National Park in North Wales to climb up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) , the highest mountain in Wales and the highest point in the British Isles outside of Scotland. At 3,560 feet (1.085m) above sea level, it is easy to think of Snowdon, like all the famous mountains of the UK, as quite small when compared to the Sierra, Rockies, Alps, Andes, Himalayas, or any number of taller ranges around the world. But the terrain and oft-changing weather attests to why so many mountaineers of old did their training on the peaks of North Wales, the English Lake District and the Scottish Highlands. Sir Edmund Hillary was only one of the many alpinists who trained in the UK before making the first successful ascent of Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Continue reading “UK 2022 -Snowdon”Tag: hiking
UK 2022 -England’s Lake District
As a 19 year old foreign exchange student in Scotland, I made my first visit to the Lake District of England over a long weekend and immediately fell in love with the terrain and local culture. Through many other visits over the years, I took a few daylong treks and always looked with envy at the people carrying their rucksacks on more serious adventures up into the fells. “Some day…” I hoped, “I want to do that, too!”
Continue reading “UK 2022 -England’s Lake District”Chris-on-the-Trail
Let’s call it a rebranding of this weblog…
Hello, all – I hope you are well! Thanks for visiting again.
I’ve been delinquent in keeping up this blog during the pandemic, although I was fortunate that the virus didn’t keep me from visiting Namibia a few times – it is always nice to see my friends and former colleagues there in my second home. Throughout the period, I’ve mostly kept busy with some local volunteer activities (elections, census, food bank, and mentoring several foreign small businesses through MicroMentor) as well as enjoying some self-improvement (online courses, lectures, webinars, and gardening).
While I expect (and hope) to spend a lot of my future in Namibia again, and possibly even with the Peace Corps, I’ve spent most of my recent months preparing for some long distance hikes this year. In order to share these adventures with all of you, I thought I would borrow this “Chris-in-Namibia” site and temporarily rename it “Chris-on-the-Trail.” I hope you don’t mind.
Continue reading “Chris-on-the-Trail”An abundance of gratitude…
This past weekend was most special! Bringing together so many of my favorite people in Namibia! Colleagues from work, clients, Namibian friends and fellow PCVs joined me Friday night to celebrate my farewell – an experience I will never forget! Some of them agreed to be caught in these photos and many others graciously made entries in my Memory Book. (I can’t bring myself to go through that one until I’m on the airplane in 10 days’ time.)
Zambezi, Chobe and Victoria Falls
Following the Game Count, I had the chance to hang out on Namibia’s Zambezi River and to visit Botswana’s supreme Chobe National Park – home to the largest collection of elephants anywhere in the world. I also got to Victoria Falls, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, one of the natural wonders of the world. It was a treat to meet other Africans and to see a bit of our neighboring countries! I hope you enjoy the images! Continue reading “Zambezi, Chobe and Victoria Falls”
Game Count in Zambezi
I recently participated in IRDNC’s wildlife census activity in the Zambezi Region of Namibia, the far northeast corner of the county, at the tip of the extended thin finger of land squeezed between Zambia and Botswana. After a 3-day long road journey from Arandis, hitchhiking about 8 hours a day, the transformation of terrain and population density made evident those words from the national anthem: “contrasting, beautiful Namibia.” Green, Trees and Water – things I don’t often seen in the desert! Continue reading “Game Count in Zambezi”
Namibia’s wildlife conservation
I am excited to soon participate in a game count sponsored by IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation) in the Zambezi Region of Northeast Namibia. We’ll be conducting an annual wildlife census in the bush and it will give me a chance to see another part of this beautiful country. The links below describe important aspects of Namibia’s leading role in wildlife conservation, including one of its heroes, IRDNC co-founder Garth Owen-Smith. Continue reading “Namibia’s wildlife conservation”
Backpacking the Naukluft 8-Day Trail
I was treated to a very special visit by my son, Tyler, who spent several weeks in Namibia during March and April. A highlight of his visit was backpacking together along the remote, 125km-long Naukluft 8-Day Trail with 9 other American volunteers (from Peace Corps and World Teach). As always in wide open expanses of land, the photos never do justice, but I hope just the same that you enjoy the photos taken by Tyler, PCV Sheridan and me.
Continue reading “Backpacking the Naukluft 8-Day Trail”
Off the grid in Namibia’s wild, wild West
Longtime best friend David recently visited Namibia, so we hired a 4×4 with a roof-mounted tent to explore a corner of the country that has attracted me since my arrival: Damaraland and Kaokoland. Lying mostly in Kunene Region, it is considered one of the most remote places on Earth and besides its fascinating scenery, flora and free-ranging wildlife, it is the traditional homeland of the Damara and Himba tribes.
Continue reading “Off the grid in Namibia’s wild, wild West”
A project completed (and I have the blisters to prove it!)
When I first visited Goanikontes-Oasis back in October, I started to think about a return trip to that relaxing retreat by hiking from Arandis across the desert and down a number of dry river canyons. While I had painful memories of the reconnaissance mission to remind me of the challenges, it was still a project I looked forward to accomplishing once summer was over and the temperatures were more tolerable.
Continue reading “A project completed (and I have the blisters to prove it!)”