Hooker Valley Track (Aoraki/Mt Cook NP)

October 2, 2022

Arrival

I drove towards Mount Cook Village on a breathtaking, sunny day in early October. For nearly 20 miles, Aoraki/Mt Cook loomed over the landscape as I continued along the shores of Lake Pukaki. At one point I stopped to soak in the views. Not a trace of snow remained along the lakeshore and in the valleys. But permanent glaciers covered Mt Cook.

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Hunter Mountain via the Devil’s Path

August 2, 2022

Arrival at Notch Lake

I grew up roughly an hour from Hunter Mountain, in New York’s pastoral Hudson Valley. But ironically, Hunter would become the very last mountain I would hike among New York’s 4000-foot-plus set. Growing up, we never skied Hunter (“too many New Yorkers!”), and chose the Adirondacks over the Catskills for vacations (“too many New Yorkers!”). If there’s one thing New Yorkers despise on vacation, it’s other New Yorkers. Especially ones from farther south.

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Hanging Lake

June 26, 2022

Arrival via i-70

My day began zipping along the winding curves of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon. This breathtaking stretch of highway involves a continuous series of bridges and tunnels over the Colorado River and through rocky canyon walls. This short section opened in 1992, among the last major links in the interstate system. At its heart, lies Hanging Lake Canyon.

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