Should We Try and Sell Ours?!

Today we hit up an art festival in Cape Girardeau, MO and saw a picture of Mt. Moran in Grand Teton National Park. It was very similar to the picture below. Our picture, as you can see, has smoke rolling through over the top of the trees and the one we saw for sale did not. The guy was selling his for like 30 bucks! I'm wondering if we should try and sell some of ours?

Mt. Moran in Grand Teton National Park.

Planet Explore

We spent three years as sponsored educators working for Leave No Trace. One of our outfitters was The North Face. The North Face is an amazing company that is run by some really great people. Our contacts there were always happy to help out and keep us clothed while on the road.

I just wanted to take a minute and encourage everyone to check out their new project called Planet Explore. It is just one more way that The North Face is trying to give back. The website is a way to connect people to the outdoors through play, fun, and volunteering.

You should all check it out!

Our North Face gear never let us down.

Mt. Ranier Glacier Training!!!

A few years ago we had the amazing opportunity to spend the day on Mt. Ranier in Washington state with George Dunn working on glacier travel skills. George is probably on of the classiest guys we have ever met. He holds the record for most ascents of Mt. Ranier (over 500 successful climbs), he has climbed Mt. Everest (the tallest mountain in the world), and is co-owner of International Mountain Guides. You aren't gonna do much better if you are looking for a professional guiding service.

We hope to get back out west and see him again to go for the summit attempt!

George is on the left in the red jacket, Emily is kneeling.

The Little Grand Canyon!!!

Today we hiked down into southern Illinois' Little Grand Canyon. This wasn't one for the hiking guide we are working on, it was just for fun. A 3 mile loop trail that takes you down a nice long ridge until you hit a switchback, which leads into the canyon. The canyon was pretty cluttered with debris from the "in-land hurricane" that blew through last year, but still quite nice.

You can see the Big Muddy river behind Emily and Aspen.

Descending into the canyon.

The debris cluttered trail.

White Oaks Trail

Today we hit up the 4.4 mile White Oaks Trail in Hawn State Park. Another perfect day for hiking! As usual, Arnie and Aspen really enjoyed the hike. We're gonna return later and hike the Whispering Pines trail also.

JD at the trailhead.

Arnie, blazing the trail.

Breaktime!

Hike #1 is in the Books!

We headed out to Babler Memorial State Park near Chesterfield, MO today for our first "Best Easy Day Hikes St. Louis" hike today. What an amazing early spring day! There were quite a few folks out enjoying the park as well but, as usual, we only needed to hike a short distance to get away from the crowds. The 2 mile Dogwood Trail is definitely gonna make the book. We'll return a little later this spring for some Dogwood pics, but here are some from today.

Emily making some adjustments to Aspen's new Ruff Wear gear.

Eastern Red Cedar tree.

Taking some trail notes.

Time to Hike!!!

Well, things are warming up here in southern Illinois and southeast Missouri, flowers are blooming, and the Cards (GO CARDS!!!) have started spring training games. That all means one thing, time for us to start hiking. We're gonna head out tomorrow and hike a trail or two near St. Louis. Our Falcon Guide hiking guide, Best Easy Day Hikes St. Louis, is due June 1st. We gotta get a move on!

Check back for a trail report!

Is TREE CLIMBING the Greenest Job?

Hey! There is a Tree Climbing workshop being offered at the AEE Heartland Conference this year by Jon Richard of Vertical Voyages. Take a read of this blog to get pumped up for it: http://www.theadventurelife.org/2010/03/the-greenest-job-might-be-professional-tree-climber/