Hiking

Hiking is a very important part of our life on Sila. It is not uncommon for us to plan a week around a particularly large hike. Whether it is climbing a mountain with a view of Sila, clopping through thick mud, walking five miles through a park, strolling through a town, or pushing through solid walls of brush, we usually manage to have a great time. This blog entry is about those great times.

The three of us having gotten out of the mud in July 2013, still with dirty feet and legs.

One of the many different places that we hiked. The desert-like island of Lanzarote was home to a few wonderful hikes in November 2013

Over the last two years, there have been a few very memorable hikes. The first is the 6,000 steps of Saba. Saba is a Dutch island in the Caribbean. It is famous for having the tallest point in the Dutch empire. The Dutch builders must not have had much experience building upwards because those steps are brutal. They are not the right length for any of our four strides, quite numerous, and to top it off, they were slippery. Going down was slow and terrifying. Even with the brutal steps, summiting the Dutch empire was fun.

 Making our way up Saba in January 2014.

The slippery steps got me and I landed in the mud next to the stairs.

The next famous hike was in Chile. We landed on shore and started up the hill. The first steps into the forest were difficult; it took a hundred plus feet of elevation to get better. We plowed on, leaving a tunnel that was still tough bush whacking. With Big Jack to find the best way through the undergrowth, we were was just climbing over moss-covered logs and pushing aside ferns and nettles, which do not feel particularly nice on your bare forearms and knees. After a half hour, all undergrowth suddenly ended, and we emerged above the trees. This hike was memorable because it was our first difficult bush whacking experience and it was the first time we were able to get above an anchorage in Chile to see the boat.

 Here we push through the brush on our way down.

Jack stands in one of the clumps of brush we often had to push through.

Big Jack, Rabbit, and I up above the foliage.

 One of the views that we managed to get after an epic bush-waking experience

In addition to that experience, we had numerous other memorable hikes in Chile. For example, we ascended a rather steep mountainside next to our anchorage and as we looked out over the hills toward the channel, we saw an Andean Condor at eye level. From a cozy harbor called Brecknock, it was fun to hike a mountain named Monte Negro. On another occasion, we summited a mountain and enjoyed a snowball fight for the first time in two years. A fourth example is a hike that ended on a razor sharp knife ridge, about two feet wide, that dropped a hundred or more feet down to glaciers on both sides. Almost twice a week in Chile, we went on a great hike so the particularly memorable ones are numerous.

Here is the Andean Condor and Sila below in the fjord.

 Jack raises his hand to deflect a snowball.

This is Rabbit and me at the top of the "snowball fight" mountain, overlooking the entrance to the Straits of Magellan in November 2014.

 Rabbit and I making our way up to the knife ridge.

Here we are at the base of the knife ridge. Behind my parents you can see the end of the visible rocks which is also the edge of a straight drop to a glacier.

While Norway has had no individual hikes that leap to mind, Norway is one of the best places we have hiked. Not only have there been stunning views and beautiful forests, but there are well-used and well-marked trails. I can comfortably go on a hike in sneakers instead of wearing hiking boots and gaiters. Even so, when we do go off trail, we find that Norway is remarkably well set up for making your own way. You are allowed to walk across uncultivated private land as long as you stay 100 feet from dwellings and you leave no trace. This also applies to berry picking, in that you are allowed to pick berries on private land, a delicious deal for hikers during the blueberry season. 

 The three of us are sitting on the summit of Tonningen, which was a great hike Mama found for us

 Daddy and Jack take a break during a hike on the Norwegian island, Runde in August

The Rabbit with a handful of blueberries, the prize of the hike

I have noticed that each country has its own hiking specialties. During walks in France and Spain, there was usually a building older than the United States and an interesting museum at the turn around spot. The Galapagos hikes were filled with interesting wildlife. On Easter Island, we walked in order to visit incredible sites. Chile was our epitome of hiking places. Once we were above the trees, we were assured a stunning view of the channels and interesting terrain. Furthermore, it felt like we were walking in places where less than a dozen people had walked or even seen before us. Hikes on South Georgia started and ended with a battle through tall tussock grass and across a beach full of fur and elephant seals, often with an audience of penguins.

 Here we are in August 2013 at Finisterre in Spain, the farthest West point of Europe.

(From bottom turn to top) Mama, Jack, me. 

We are at a lighthouse on a Spanish island on my birthday in 2013

 A hike in the Galapagos in July 2014

A stunning view of the Beagle channel in December 2014

A horde of baby fur seals in South Georgia in February. Many would challenge you with a little growl and try to nip at your feet as you got out of the dinghy onto the beach.

While hiking, all four of us have our little quirks. Mama and Jack get teased about theirs all the time. Mama has a habit of hiking, walking, or running long distances. When we all go for an out and back hike, there is always the debate about when we should turn around. Mama usually says, "All right, we can turn back, but let's look around the next corner first." Once we are around the corner, she says, "Just one more corner," or "Just five minutes longer." For Jack, he has a strange keeping-up technique. It does not matter how fast we go, but Jack ends up thirty feet behind us, and stays there. The three of us call it Trolling a Rabbit, similar to when we are trolling a fishing line behind Sila. 

We do not have a picture of Trolling a Rabbit, but occasionally I join him behind everyone else. This photo was taken in Spain in August 2013. I was a lot shorter then!

I am glad that my parents taught me to go on long hikes as they add so much to life on Sila. Without them, I am sure I would be bouncing off the walls with built up energy and boredom. Even now, I am excited for our next walk. -Porter