A New Year's Day Hike Along the C&O

You know, hiking's a good New Year's Resolution. It gets down some of the weight we all probably gained during the holidays, and it's much cheaper than joining a gym.

My usual New Year's Day routine for several years has been to take a bike ride, usually to Leesburg, Virginia, where I search for a restaurant that serves black eye peas. (Yes, you are supposed to eat black eye peas on New Year's Day. Everyone knows that tradition, right?)

This year, I plan instead to take part in the 36th annual New Year's Day hike along the C&O Canal, starting in Washington, D.C. It's sponsored by the Sierra Club and looks like a lot of fun. They don't mention black eye peas in the promotional material, but maybe I'll bring my own ...

If you live in the D.C. area and are interested, the hike starts at 9:30 a.m. at Wisconsin Ave. at the canal, south of M St. in Georgetown. It's a 10-mile hike. Go to
http://sierrapotomac.org/events.htm for more information.

January is also when a lot of people settle on a destination for a summer vacation. We're hoping you consider our July hiking trip to Switzerland. We'd love to have you! Check us out at http://myhikingvacations.com/


Happy Hiking Year!
Joseph

Igloo!!! (And, yes, Merry Christmas, while we're at it ...)

I've always wanted to build an igloo. Not just a tiny hole in some snow, but one big enough to sit in and relax while drinking some hot chocolate _ and certainly big enough to throw down a sleeping bag to spend the night. While growing up in North Carolina and later living in London and Virginia, I was always a bit envious of those people up north who got to build snowhuts and big ice sculptures in the front yard every winter.

Well, we finally got a major dumping of the white stuff on Saturday _ 20 inches at our house. It took a while, but I managed to build an igloo that held five people sitting comfortably on an ice bench. We crawled in at night holding a candle. It was sooooooo cool _ in every sense of the word. It doesn't look like much from the outside _ and I probably didn't follow the standard igloo-building procedures _ but I can say I did it.

I was tempted to spend the night inside. In retrospect, I wish I had. My winter sleeping bag would have been a perfect fit.

I had houseguests from North Carolina over the weekend, and they'd never seen so much snow. I still have to walk 50 feet just to get to my car. The ground will definitely stay white through Christmas _ and maybe into the New Year.

I just checked a live webcam in Kandersteg, Switzerland, where I'll be leading a hike next summer. Yep, snow on the ground there, too. And a simple Christmas tree lighting up the dark night.

I'm off to North Carolina to see family for Christmas. My Dad is 97; my Mom is 92. God bless 'em both. I really love this time of year. It's the only time I love to shop _ and that's because I'm thinking about the people I love as I do it.

So, on this beautiful night in Virginia _ as the lights from my outdoor tree twinkle through the window near my keyboard _ I get a romantic twinge as I think about the few people out there in the Internet world who might actually read this little blog. I am so fortunate. I have a happy life, good friends and a great family. How I so wish that feeling for each of you. And for everyone. May your world have lots of love. May this tired old world experience more peace in 2010. If you are alone this Christmas, please accept a cyber-hug from me. I wish I could do more.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Joseph
http://myhikingvacations.com/

Google Hiking Searches ... (key word: underwear?)

"hiking underwear you dont have to wash"

I'm always intrigued to see how people end up visiting my hiking Web site. My wish/hope is that they're looking for the ideal hiking vacation _ particularly in the Swiss Alps _ and therefore have typed something like "hiking vacations Switzerland." Then, of course, they click on http://myhikingvacations.com/, examine the Web site and maybe even sign up.

Ah, but that's too straightforward. We live in a convoluted world. The phrase I typed above _ "hiking underwear you dont have to wash" _ is an actual phrase that someone typed into a Google search that led to a visit to my Web site. I just typed it in myself, and the "What to Pack" page of my Web site came up No. 4 on the results list. How about that!

I'm afraid the searcher might have been disappointed. I'm sure he/she found me because I list underwear on the packing list for the July 2010 hiking trip we're offering to Switzerland. I say nothing about whether the underwear should be washable or not. Hmmm. Maybe I should.

Anyway, for the Web-curious among you, here's a list of some other search strings used to find my Web site. Some make sense; some don't. For instance, I have no clue how "cottage rental va 20194" made the cut.

cost of hiking in alps
cottage rental va 20194
guided hiking in the alps
herndon
hiking
swiss guided hiking
swiss hiking vacation
switzerland vacations hut overnight
what clothes to take on hiking vacation
what to bring when going to the alps
what was your favorite hiking vacation in europe


Anyway, feel free to visit the Web site any way you please. Happy Googling ...

Joseph

C&O Snow Hike _ And Snowcream!!

Here's the first snowman of the year! A little creation I construction this morning on the C&O Canal in Maryland during a 6-mile hike. We knew the weather was going to be dicey _ thus we altered our previous plans to drive to the Blue Ridge and hike at Wildcat Mountain _ but the white stuff came down even quicker than we expected. What a winter wonderland! As they say: "There's no business like snow business."

And, by the way, in case you were wondering: "You don't have to be a star to be in my snow."

And, yes, in the spirit of the season, I believe I was heard singing the classic Christmas song: "Do You Snow What I Snow?"

This snow is great packing snow _ perfect for snowballs, snowmen and snowcream.

Snowcream? Don't tell me you've never eaten snowcream! It's the greatest winter treat ever!

OK, you snowcream novices: Here's the recipe, straight from wonderful More-With-Less Cookbook:

_ 2 1/2 quarts clean snow (Skimming it off a car is best. Obviously, if you live in a high pollution area _ near a factory, for example, you probably don't want to try this.)
_ 1/2 cup milk
_ 1 teaspoon vanilla
_ 1 cup sugar

Mix and eat right away.

I personally like to add sliced banana or a cup of blueberries to make it fruity. My Mom used to stir in an egg, but you should do that only if you're comfortable eating raw eggs.

I guess I should add this disclaimer: Some people say that our air is so polluted everywhere that snowcream isn't safe to eat anymore. I'll only point out this: It happens to be the same air you're inhaling into your lungs a zillion times a day.

One final word of kudos: Because I was on my hike, I was able to defend my title in the annual Skyhaven Court Snowman Competition, awarded to the person who builds the first snowman of the season on my street. I came home to find one in front of my neighbor's house, the one where the two daughters live. Good going, girls!

Happy Hiking,
Joseph
http://myhikingvacations.com/

December Hike to Wildcat Mountain

I love hiking in December. The air is brisk. The trails aren't as crowded. Everyone's in a good mood because Christmas is near. One catch: Make sure to start early _ because it'll be dark by 5.

I'm going to a new place this week: the Wildcat Mountain Natural Area in Farquier County, along the foothills of the Blue Ridge. Someone else picked the hike, so I'm more or less tagging along for this one. It's good not always being the leader _ I get a chance to see how other people handle a group hike and maybe pick up some pointers. Plus, I get to soak in the sights and sounds a bit more while concentrating less on pacing and morale.

We're expecting about 8 people for the hike, 4 adults and 4 kids. I'll let you know how it goes ...

Happy Hiking,
Joseph
http://myhikingvacations.com/

Montague Miles

On Saturday, for one of the few times in recent memory, I took a ride on Montague Miles.

What's that, you say? You've never heard of Montague Miles? Alas, I suppose that's due to a signage failure by the otherwise reliable North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Montague Miles is the 38-mile stretch of Interstate 95 from Exit 107 in Kenley to Exit 145 in Gold Rock. It opened in 1979 and was promptly named for John Merle Montague, salutatorian of the Bertie High School Class of 1978. John's one of the finest fellows I've ever known, and it's always puzzled me that NCDOT still hasn't found time to put up the signs.

To help give John his due, I emailed him a few years back and asked for his thoughts on the stretch of highway that bears his name. Here was his reply, verbatim:

"I have been told by travelers that Montague Miles ranks as the most boring stretch of interstate between Maine and Miami…and that's saying a lot considering it outranks I-95 in South Carolina. Feel free to use that quote!! Really, I’d like to thank all the little people who made that breathtaking stretch of freeway possible. I am happy that it represented one of the final links of I-95 in North Carolina."

I don't get much of a chance to enjoy the stark pavement of Montague Miles anymore. As a hiker and outdoors guy, I'm more partial to scenic backroads, but my son and I found ourselves on that very highway on the way back from visiting family in North Carolina at Thanksgiving. Maybe next I'll find time to ride on other great NC highways, including the Cherry-Constable Freeway near Wilson. (Or is it the Constable-Cherry Freeway?)

As this is a hiking blog, one that helps promote hiking tours to Switzerland, I suppose I need to work in a hiking reference. (Before that, however, for you Montague Miles fans reading this blog for the first time, here's the shameless plug for the Website: http://myhikingvacations.com/). I'll make the connection by pointing out that North Carolina is where you'll find a village called Little Switzerland. I remember going there as a kid and seeing the sign that listed the population as the "square root of negative 1." Wonder if that sign is still there.

Happy Hiking. And, with all due respect to John, my fullest sympathies if you're having to spend a lot of time on Montague Miles during the busy holiday travel period ...

Happy Thanksgiving

I haven't done a Thanksgiving Day hike, unless you count the leisurely walks through the woods we sometimes do when my family gets together in our little village of Gatlinsville in rural eastern North Carolina. Instead, we usually work off the big meal with the traditional front-yard touch football game. I'm sure we'll do that again tomorrow. Look out for the bird bath when going out for a pass!

I love family holidays, so this is definitely one of my favorite times of year. As much as I enjoy traveling in Europe, I always felt a twinge of sadness if I couldn't be home on Thanksgiving Day. I'd try to find somewhere to have a turkey dinner, but it's just not the same.

Wherever you are, Happy Thanksgiving. And Happy Hiking.

That photo on your right ...

I've been asked quite a few times where the photo that accompanies this blog was taken. It was at sunset at a Swiss mountain hut called Fründenhütte, at the end of one of the greatest hikes in the world. You spend the entire hike rising about this pristine Alpine lake, with spectacular views at every turn. Eventually you're above the tree line, and it seems as if you'll never reach your destination as the trail gets steeper and steeper.

But then you turn a corner _ and there it is! A welcome mountain hut ready to serve you a great pasta dinner and give you a place to spend the night at 2,562 meters above sea level! The prices are reasonable, the people are friendly, and there's a huge glacier right behind the hut. The place is so isolated that it can only be serviced by helicopter. (In other words, clean your plate! Those leftovers are expensive for the hut's owners _ because the flying garbage service charges by the pound.)

The hike is about 2 1/2 hours from the lake (called Oeschinensee) if you're a Swiss juggernaut. Most Americans, even the ones in good shape, need about 3 1/2 to 4 hours because they are unused to the steep terrain and the altitude. It's best to take your time, anyway. Don't race up the mountain _ take plenty of breaks, break out the camera and soak it all in.

Fründenhütte is the on the list of hikes for our July 2010 trip to Switzerland with http://myhikingvacations.com/. We'd love to have you along ...

A Hike Under the Stars ... Well, Almost

Light pollution is a major bummer here in Northern Virginia, and I got a fresh reminder of how bad it is this weekend when I took a group for a short stroll Saturday night around 9 o'clock, out to a big field near the area where we were camping at Dennis Farm.

Essentially, we were celebrating the fact that the clouds had finally disappeared after five straight days of rain in the area, so we figured we would to do some stargazing. Yet even among the woods and fields of Dennis Farm, the stars were no competition for the intrusion of light from nearby Leesburg. We could barely make out the Little Dipper, and parts of the southern sky had only one or two stars visible.

That's too bad. The stars have wonderful stories to tell through their shapes and colors. An hour or so looking at the heavens with good company on a clear night beats watching television anytime, but our cities and towns and houses waste light (and therefore money!) like nobody's business. There's even a group called the International Dark Sky Association (darksky.org, if you're interested) that does all it can to promote more efficient lighting for roads, houses and other buildings. Maybe one day we'll get our nighttime back!

Of course, much of my hiking has been done in Switzerland, which begs the obvious question: "How's the stargazing over there?" While the Swiss are more efficient with their lighting, they can't do anything about the big problem: Those big mountains block the view of much of the sky! That said, if you're at a mountain hut on a perfect summer night _ and you don't mind staying up late _ the view of the stars can be tremendous. We hope to have some nights like that when we do our next guided hike to Switzerland next July. Go to our Website (http://myhikingvacations.com/) to find out more.

Happy hiking!

Happy Friday the 13th Birthday

Happy Friday the 13th birthday to Lou Ann, who was actually born on Friday the 13th. Lou Ann is a good friend of MyHikingVacations (http://myhikingvacations.com/) and was in a group we took to Switzerland in 2006.

Happy trails, Lou Ann.

Return to Dennis Farm

While Switzerland is my favorite place to explore (and I'll gladly direct you to http://myhikingvacations.com/ for more info if you wish to go with us to the Alps next summer), I'm always thrilled whenever there's an invitation for a good hike or camping trip.

This weekend, I'm headed to a place called Dennis Farm, a spot near Leesburg, Virginia, that has a wonderful story behind it. It's a gorgeous spread of forest and farm that overlooks the Potomac River, privately owned by the Dennis family. They could make millions many times over in an instant if they sold it to developers in rapidly growing Loudoun County, but they have remained steadfast in their desire to keep the land in its wonderful, natural state. They allow Boy Scout troops to camp there for free _ because the Scouts know how to take care of the land _ so I'll be there to help as an adult leader with Troop 1018 from Dranesville.

Mr. Dennis passed away recently. Very sad news. He would always walk down to visit us at the campsite. I can't wait to see Mrs. Dennis again. I feel for her loss, but, knowing her, I bet her spirit remains strong.

Salmon and Sauerkraut Pizza

It's amazing how many great hiking stories revolve around food _ and
thus I present to you the true tale of the Salmon and Sauerkraut Pizza.

It was 2007 in Colorado Springs. I was helping lead a group of Boy
Scouts on a backpacking trip to New Mexico. I never like to eat at fast food restaurants or any sort of familiar chain when I'm on a trip _ no
use traveling that far to have an eating experience that I could've had
back home _ so I took the group to a place called Giuseppe's Depot
Restaurant. It's a great spot, an old railway depot turned into a nice but not-too-over-the-top restaurant near the heart of downtown.

The menu was excited and varied. There must have been 25 different
pizza toppings! A Scout named Quinn and I decided to be adventurous, so we picked a topping twosome that, we're quite sure, had never
existed on a pizza before. That's right: salmon and sauerkraut.

The rest of the group cringed, but Quinn and I enjoyed our treat. (And, yes, a few of the others had a bite, too.) The salmon was salty; the
sauerkraut was chilled. Truly and unusual combination of flavors.

When I got home, I Googled the phrase "salmon and sauerkraut
pizza." No matches found. Surely, therefore, I had played a part in
creating a new food. Just before I wrote this blog entry, I checked
again: No exact matches found for the phrase "salmon and sauerkraut pizza."

Of course, now that I've finished writing this blog and hit the
"Publish" button, that will change. Salmon and sauerkraut pizza will
have Internet immortality. I wonder if the people at Giuseppe's realize
what they started ...

Next year, I'm leading hiking trips to Switzerland. (Go to

http://myhikingvacations.com

for details.) You're invited to join us, but I'm afraid our Colorado
Springs dining experience won't be replicated there. Just thinking,
though: Maybe we can order a fondue with those two ingredients ....

Happy hiking!

"Honey, Should I Bring an Umbrella?"

One of the toughest decisions on the eve of any vacation: "Should I pack this or not?" From my experience, most people overpack when they travel -- yet those same people still manage to leave behind many of the essentials.

Packing for a hiking vacation can be just as challenging. You'll hear experts telling you to "pack light," but they'll also implore you to "pack everything you need."

So what's on the list and what's not? You can find the list we've compiled on the following link, which takes you to the "What to Pack" page of our Web site, MyHikingVacations.com. This will be the packing guide we give people who go hiking with us to Switzerland next year.

http://myhikingvacations.com/packing.php

Notice anything you think is missing from the list? Anything you don't think is necessary? Drop us a line. And maybe, just maybe, you'll be tempted to join us for our trip to the Alps.

And, no, you don't need the umbrella ...

MyHikingVacations.com Goes Live!

It's quite a landmark day. After months of hard work, years in the making, the Web site MyHikingVacations.com went live in the early hours of this morning. My Web friend, Will Donnell, has been burning the midnight oil to make sure everything is up to scratch. Please take a visit, tell your friends. Better yet, think about signing up for our inaugural hike, July 13-23 in Kandersteg and Grindelwald, Switzerland.

I'll be using the blog in the upcoming days to take about various details about the trip, along with the kinds of adventures we're bound to encounter. We hope to see you on the trails with us in 2010!

Return to the Scene of a Swiss mini-golf disaster ...

The Web site is only days away from going live. Meanwhile, I've been busy researching some of the hikes and hostels that will make up our inaugural My Hiking Vacations trip to Switzerland in July 2009. I'm especially excited to return to Grindelwald, a special little Swiss town (aren't they all special?) south of Interlaken and not too far from the Jungfrau.

Odd as it seems, I'm looking forward to revisiting a miniature golf course in that area. In Switzerland, mini-golf is often played on a cement-like surface rather than fake green grass. It's a difficult change-of-pace for us Americans, and it threw me for a loop. There was one hole I never was able to complete because the ball kept rolling away from the cup. It was too embarrassing for words. I want to get back to that course and finally get the ball in. Then I'll probably vow never to pick up a putter in Switzerland again _ and stick to the hiking trails instead.

Writing a Web site

Just finished turning in the info for my Web site to my good friend Will, who is putting it all together for the world to see. Even though I have been a professional writer for 16 years, the effort was more work than I had anticipated. Nothing like trying to sell yourself link-by-link. Picking out the photos, however, was much more fun.

In less than 3 weeks, you should be able to see if for yourselves _ MyHikingVacations.com. Meanwhile, I'm doing more research and planning for the great debut trip, next July in Kandersteg and Grindelwald, Switzerland. Get your hiking shoes on and join us!

The Start of New Adventures to Come

Hello to the Hiking World,

It's an exciting time in the White household. We're not far away from launching our new hiking guide venture _ MyHikingVacations.com _ offering a spectacular 11-day hiking trip to Switzerland in July 2010. After leading Scouts and other groups on hikes for the better part of the decade, we're anxious to share our experiences with as many people as possible. If the July hike fills up quickly, we'll also offer one in June 2010 as well.

Lots of last-minute things to finish up. Got to make final additions to the Web site before it goes live in a few weeks. Many details have already been sorted out_ accommodations, price, train itineraries. It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun, imagining the feeling 10 months from now, when we're leading our group to the beautiful lake known as Oescheninsee, where we'll have a nice picnic lunch before heading up to our mountain hut in the Swiss Alps to spend the night.

We'd love to see you there. ...