Hiking in Thuringia

I always seem to have more dreams than time or money.  Hiking the Rennsteig trail in Germany sounds like an interesting adventure.  According to The Local, Germany's News in English, the Rennsteig runs through the Thuringia hills past historic castles along an old Medieval Trade route.  The Rennsteig is the oldest known trail in Germany extending 170km or 105 miles. 

Being in Europe there is always a beer hall or hotel close to the trail with fairly easy access.  The Local also mentions how simple it would be to take a pack with a few changes of clothes and still stay at what I would call luxury accommodations, a hotel, and eat something more substantial than trail food.  

This five or six day hike will go on my dream list, meaning, I will probably never get to it due to the afore mentioned time and money.  But if you have time plan a trip to Thuringia for a trip along the Rennsteig trail.

Vertical Sailing Part 4

The boys sail through some ice and head south to find more big walls. This time they walk into a fog and come out in front of a big wall. They climb until 1am and then set up what they call a shiver bivy. Sitting on top of the mountain in the wind and the cold is what mountaineers endure, it is what I call a fine and pleasant misery.

Stone Henge - A memorial to the sacrifice of the Great War

Recently, after a successful bid for the summit of Mt. Adams, I visited a full sized replication of Stone Henge in one of the most out of the way locations you could think of, across the Columbia River from the tiny town of Biggs, Oregon. This Stone Henge is oriented exactly as the original in England, toward the Autumnal and Vernal equinoxes, there is even a key stone.

It is believed the ancient Druids offered human sacrifices upon the alter at the center of the monument, probably as a way to appease whichever gods they worshiped. The new Stone Henge is dedicated to the greatest sacrifice of human life up to that point in history, WWI. The man with the money, Sam Hill, built the monument and placed plaques on the inner ring of columns with the names of those from Klickitat County, Washington, who gave their lives on the battlefields of Europe. Sam Hill also gave large sums of money to the country of Rumania to help it rebuild after the destruction of the War to end all wars. He gave so much that that he became close friends of the queen of Rumania, Queen Marie. They were such good friends that she donated some of her personal things to the museum in his mansion, including the dress she wore to the coronation of her cousin Tsar Nicolas II of Russia. Stone Henge in Washington is a great place to visit and admire and also to remember the sacrifices men made for others.