Absarokanaut
Member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 702
I came to Wyoming as a little boy more than 40 years ago, fortunate enough to be a snowbird until I was almost done with college in the mid 1980s. My Aunt and Uncle that raised me built a wonderful house near Kelly, WY and every summer I backpacked, horse packed, canoed... and even climbed some "epic" peaks including the Grand and other Teton treasures.
I went to Colorado College and overall lived in Colorado for 20 years and came to love the Central Rockies and American Southwest. In the Spring of 2002 I returned to a glorious Guest Ranch owned by some of my family in a very remote location near Dubois, WY. For ten years I was again in the mountains I horse packed as a boy and young man. I was overjoyed to be back in my favorite place on earth; but the isolation sometimes got to me. Three years ago I moved to the Jackson, WY area and started reliving many cherished childhood memories and that wonderful Ranch was just an hour and a half away.
Forgive my seemingly arrogant bias but I was born in one of the world's unequivocally greatest cities, Boston. As a boy I loved my occasional school year forays into the New England wilds but they just simply could not compare to my beloved Rockies. In late 1994 business was not going well for me and at Christmas I went for an extended visit to the home of my brother and his fabulous family about 40 minutes Southwest of downtown Boston. At a nearby school I started playing pickup basketball and after a few sessions I had a serious ankle injury. What was supposed to be just a month or so visit to recharge my proverbial batteries turned into a longer term presence on crutches for a few months. I got a job with a firm in Cambridge, MA where my duties revolved around helping environmentally minded organizations like the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society raise money. When I could finally ditch the crutches I started walking from the train station in Back Bay Boston over the Longfellow Bridge and Charles River to Cambridge. I was also connecting with childhood friends and was happier and happier every day to say the least.
In late April of 1995 I had recovered enough to move beyond walks to hikes of longer and longer duration around Greater Boston and on Cape Cod near my brothers cottage in Wellfleet. Memorial Day weekend I made a trip to Franconia Notch, NH and got reacquainted with the wonderful White Mountains I had not held in very high regard as a boy. Age brings perspective, and often that perspective promotes appreciation for that we had not thought much of as younger, less experienced souls. For the rest of the summer and fall I spent many weekends in the Whites and became infatuated with deciduous paradise. I was really happy at my brother's getting involved in the lives of my niece and nephew, and remained in New England until just after Christmas 1995. The catastrophic injury recuperation aside 1995 will always be one of the greatest years of my life.
In 2002 I had much of the summer to myself and took another brother's daughter hiking in and around the National Parks. After a pretty darn good afternoon thunderstorm we decided to spend the night at one of the planet's greatest hostels, The American Alpine Club's Grand Teton Climbers Ranch. I pretended to be incensed that the cost of a night's stay had increased four times from the $2 I had last paid in 1980 to 2002's $8. We had a great time and ended up spending 3 nights dayhiking right out the door. There I met an awesome photographer from West Virginia and after my niece went home to her family near New York City we took a wonderful trip through Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. He invited me to West Virginia and in 2003 I spent the month of April in the magnificent Mountain State. In travels on 5 continents I had never come across a more poorly stereotyped place. West Virginia does indeed have some nasty, polluted places and there are arguably more less educated people than many other states but what I found was paradise sprinkled with a lot of salt of the earth. I had kayaked there many years before but as it was with New England I simply wasn't seasoned enough to appreciate the gems around me. Although I haven't seen him in far too long Bruce remains one of my great friends.
I know now that the "App a latch ins" are one of the universe's most exquisite environs. I love all you Beehivers and other western folks and the fabulous images you post here, but I think it will far from hurt to expand our horizons just a bit and at the same time welcome some more of the great folks out East. I'll post some photos and share some info but more than anything this is OUR place. Let's see some of that awesome Appalachian allure friends; lets hear of the wonders you've been privileged to enjoy. So here we go!
Let's start in my favorite State out East, "Nu Hampshuh." This is hiking up the Old Bridle Path from Franconia Notch on one of the world's greatest hikes, the Franconia Ridge loop. On this incredibly warm October 1, 1995 I had the great fortune to come across hundreds of great folks from the Montreal area and met a lovely lady that motivated me to visit another of the world's greatest cities.
Those two mountains are two of New Hampshire's 5,000'ers, Lafayette on the Left and Lincoln on the right. Here's the view of Cannon Mt. and the Kinsman Ridge from near the summit of Lafayette. Here I am on the Appalachian Trail looking Southwest at some of the country it follows southbound.
I went to Colorado College and overall lived in Colorado for 20 years and came to love the Central Rockies and American Southwest. In the Spring of 2002 I returned to a glorious Guest Ranch owned by some of my family in a very remote location near Dubois, WY. For ten years I was again in the mountains I horse packed as a boy and young man. I was overjoyed to be back in my favorite place on earth; but the isolation sometimes got to me. Three years ago I moved to the Jackson, WY area and started reliving many cherished childhood memories and that wonderful Ranch was just an hour and a half away.
Forgive my seemingly arrogant bias but I was born in one of the world's unequivocally greatest cities, Boston. As a boy I loved my occasional school year forays into the New England wilds but they just simply could not compare to my beloved Rockies. In late 1994 business was not going well for me and at Christmas I went for an extended visit to the home of my brother and his fabulous family about 40 minutes Southwest of downtown Boston. At a nearby school I started playing pickup basketball and after a few sessions I had a serious ankle injury. What was supposed to be just a month or so visit to recharge my proverbial batteries turned into a longer term presence on crutches for a few months. I got a job with a firm in Cambridge, MA where my duties revolved around helping environmentally minded organizations like the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society raise money. When I could finally ditch the crutches I started walking from the train station in Back Bay Boston over the Longfellow Bridge and Charles River to Cambridge. I was also connecting with childhood friends and was happier and happier every day to say the least.
In late April of 1995 I had recovered enough to move beyond walks to hikes of longer and longer duration around Greater Boston and on Cape Cod near my brothers cottage in Wellfleet. Memorial Day weekend I made a trip to Franconia Notch, NH and got reacquainted with the wonderful White Mountains I had not held in very high regard as a boy. Age brings perspective, and often that perspective promotes appreciation for that we had not thought much of as younger, less experienced souls. For the rest of the summer and fall I spent many weekends in the Whites and became infatuated with deciduous paradise. I was really happy at my brother's getting involved in the lives of my niece and nephew, and remained in New England until just after Christmas 1995. The catastrophic injury recuperation aside 1995 will always be one of the greatest years of my life.
In 2002 I had much of the summer to myself and took another brother's daughter hiking in and around the National Parks. After a pretty darn good afternoon thunderstorm we decided to spend the night at one of the planet's greatest hostels, The American Alpine Club's Grand Teton Climbers Ranch. I pretended to be incensed that the cost of a night's stay had increased four times from the $2 I had last paid in 1980 to 2002's $8. We had a great time and ended up spending 3 nights dayhiking right out the door. There I met an awesome photographer from West Virginia and after my niece went home to her family near New York City we took a wonderful trip through Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. He invited me to West Virginia and in 2003 I spent the month of April in the magnificent Mountain State. In travels on 5 continents I had never come across a more poorly stereotyped place. West Virginia does indeed have some nasty, polluted places and there are arguably more less educated people than many other states but what I found was paradise sprinkled with a lot of salt of the earth. I had kayaked there many years before but as it was with New England I simply wasn't seasoned enough to appreciate the gems around me. Although I haven't seen him in far too long Bruce remains one of my great friends.
I know now that the "App a latch ins" are one of the universe's most exquisite environs. I love all you Beehivers and other western folks and the fabulous images you post here, but I think it will far from hurt to expand our horizons just a bit and at the same time welcome some more of the great folks out East. I'll post some photos and share some info but more than anything this is OUR place. Let's see some of that awesome Appalachian allure friends; lets hear of the wonders you've been privileged to enjoy. So here we go!
Let's start in my favorite State out East, "Nu Hampshuh." This is hiking up the Old Bridle Path from Franconia Notch on one of the world's greatest hikes, the Franconia Ridge loop. On this incredibly warm October 1, 1995 I had the great fortune to come across hundreds of great folks from the Montreal area and met a lovely lady that motivated me to visit another of the world's greatest cities.
Those two mountains are two of New Hampshire's 5,000'ers, Lafayette on the Left and Lincoln on the right. Here's the view of Cannon Mt. and the Kinsman Ridge from near the summit of Lafayette. Here I am on the Appalachian Trail looking Southwest at some of the country it follows southbound.
Last edited by a moderator:
