Greeter Falls, Beersheba Springs,TN

This afternoon we decided to make the most of the Fall colours and get outside. We drove to near Beersheba Springs where we went on a few short hikes in the Savage Gulf State Nature Area. We went to the Stone Door and Big Creek Gulf as well as Greeter Falls. All were very easy trails with great views. The leaves on the trees where all sorts of beautiful colours which provided for some great photos at the overlooks. We also got to play around with setting on the camera at several waterfalls along the trails. A fun Autumn afternoon at some new places!

Little Rock City (Stonefort), Chattanooga, TN

This morning "bright" and early we headed out bouldering. It was raining when we woke up and headed out but the forecast gave us hope. We went to Little Rock City which is in Chattanooga up on Mobray Mountain. (We are lucky to have LRC as the land was being developed and the Southeastern Climbers Coalition played a huge role in saving the boulders that remain today from being blasted and destroyed.) After being in the rain for about 45min and hiding under overhangs, the rained stopped and it turned into a rather nice day. I mostly watched and took photos as I am still on the injured list - not for my ankle - it is doing very well! I have Synovitis in my hands! It's frustrating. I've had 4 steroid injections so far and they seem to be getting better but the Synovial shealth is supposed to be pretty slow to heal. It's sooo hard not to "stress" them because I really want to do things all the time! Hopefully I will be back on the rock soon!

Algonquin Park, Ontario

Overlook of Looking Glass Rock, Pisgah National Forest, NC

This was just one of the amazing views that we saw as we drove from Looking Glass Rock (which you can see here far off in the background) to Asheville along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The drive is very scenic with beautiful views, lucious green forests, lots of winding roads and tunnels.

Top of White Side Mountain, Nantahala National Forest, NC

Today we did the Original Route on White Side Mountain. It's a pretty scary route. The mountain is 700 feet tall but the route traverses so much that it is approximately 1000 feet of climbing. The routes are very run-out and many spots/pitches don't take much gear if any. The route is rated 5.11a (or 5.10c A1 if you aid through the bolted cruxes) and is known as the place with the "biggest, longest, wildest, run out routes in the south" and it's often referred to as "the land of hard men who seek difficult and dangerous climbing". Of course my head might have been in a different place had I know all this BEFORE climbing it! I'm just glad I didn't have to lead it all. All I had to do is clean the very few pieces of gear on the route as I followed him up and watch I didn't pendulum to my death on some of the scary traverses!

Ocoee River, Polk County, TN

The Ocoee River was famous for hosting the 1996 Summer Olympic whitewater slalom events. The events were conducted on a one-mile course that is fed by the release of water from Ocoee Dam #3. There are three dams on the river controlled by TVA. Depending on the time of year and the water flow, sections of the river may be almost completely dry. eight months a year the river draws many tourists to it for White Water Rafting. It has numerous guiding companies lining both sides of the highway just waiting to take out bus loads of adventure seekers to have some fun down the rapids!

Fishing Trip - Algonquin Park, ON

I have been to Algonquin many times. I love it. When you are canoeing/portaging though you go deep into the lake systems and have to deal with whatever weather you get! Well I must say, of all the times I have camped/hiked/canoed/fished it almost always rains at some point. Nothing quite like this trip though. I have never been SO wet and SO could. It was a great morning - I caught the most fish I have ever caught in 3 hrs in my life - but was it worth getting soaked right through my rain pants and jacket to the skin so that my clothes underneath stuck to my skin completely? Yea... I guess it was!

Little River Canyon, Alabama

Little River is unique because almost the entire length of it flows on TOP of a mountain! The mountain is called Lookout Mountain. It spans from TN to northeast Alabama which seems crazy! There are all kinds of climbing places including sandstone bluff lines along the canyon, not to mention boulders, swimming holes & pools, waterfalls, and forests! Every time we're out climbing this time of year we have seen kayakers going down the river down below us. This picture shows the other side of the canyon behind me in the distance but unfortunately the river is too far below at the bottom of the canyon to see!

Laurel Snow Pocket Wilderness, Dayton TN

This was taken while we were out for a day of hiking and bouldering at the Laurel Snow Pocket Wilderness. It was my first time there - a very beautiful place - but it was cold on the hands! On top of that I don't boulder much any more since I broke my ankle, but it was nice to get outdoors anyway.

Maderas Volcano, Ompete, Nicaragua

Today myself, three other girls hiked up (with a guide)another volcanoe. This one was called Madras Volcanoe on Ometepe Island and had not errupted for over 3000 years so we figured it would be safe! The path was wet to begin with as it had rained solidly all night! (If you have ever been to Central America you might understand their rain - "solidly" I mean almost flooding!) It was still raining a bit when we started the hike and we had to cross a "river" which had developed along the path the night before. Mud was everywhere - including all over us after only a few minutes! The hike took us about 8hrs in total including our breaks. We were wet from the rain and after it stopped we stayed wet drenched in our own seweat due to the over-powering humidity. We were so glad to reach the lake at the top which has formed inside an old crater from the volcano. It was not easy, but we definitely felt like we had accomplished something by the end of the day!

San Juan Crater, Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua

Well this one was a pretty easy hike. More of a walk actually. We were able to drive right into the nature reserve and walk up to a view point to see the large crater and old volcanoes near by. The Masaya Volcano's last eruption was in 2003. After that we walked the ridge between San Jan and San Fernando craters formed long, long ago.

Water Cay, Utila Island, Honduras

It has rained the last two days and it's pretty hard to do much of anything. The island I was going to (Roatan) had a strike on it and the roads where blocked so instead I went to Utila. To make a long story short, the ferry that regularly goes to Roatan also was being repaired, and instead of the 1 hr ferry to Utila we went on one that took us 3hrs in the storm! Yesterday it rained all day and although I went for a couple walks and got thoroughly drenched, the majority of the day was watching movies. So today we were happy to get out and go on a snorkeling boat trip to some islands (cays) around Utila. (Even if the island was covered in trash from the mainland!)

Copan Ruins, Copan, Honduras

Today we went to the Copan Ruins which are not far from the border of Guatemala in Honduras... it was very interesting and I coudl have spent all day there if it weren't for the humidity! (But then again I love that kind of stuff!) Here I am in what used to be a head/mouth of a snake. You can see the bottom jaw and teeth. It was a great day overall even though it was pretty hot and sticky.

Cerro de la Cruz, Antigua Guatemala

Today I walked up to the Cerro de la Cruz a hill that overlooks the city of Antigua. It had been raining most of the morning, but luckily when I got to the top it cleared a little and I was able to sit and enjoy the view for a while. What a beautiful old colonial city!

Placaya Volcano, near Antigua Guatemala

Today I went up Placaya Volcano. It was quite an interesting experience to say the least. When we got to the top the guide actually let everyone roam around where ever they liked on the lava. Parts of it were glowing red and there was heat coming from under our feet. People actually melted their shoes and one family brought marshmallows along with them so we roasted them on the hot spots. Only in Guatemala!

Mixco Viejo, near Pachalum, Guatemala

This is near the town of Pachalum where I am volunteering. We took a picnic lunch and a bunch of us piled into the back of a pick up truck and drove to spend the day here. A small but beautiful Mayan historical site.

Panajachel, Guatemala

This was taken while I was in Panajachel for a 3 day meeting or conference with the Municiple Office I am volunteering for in Guatemala.
What a beautiful place. Behind me one of these volcanoes is still active! What a beautiful place if you can see things through the clouds!

Acropolis, Athens, Greece

It's not easy taking a photo in such a crowded tourist destination. I must say, last time I was in Greece I visited the Acropolis about 5 or 6 years ago it was half covered in scaffolding and being renovated. Well guess what? It still is! It is a bit of a disappointment to say the least my flight went through Athens anyway, so and I spent some more time in the city!

Fragul, near Bunyola, Malloca Spain

We tried to access one of many famous climbing areas while we were in Mallorca and after driving up many many hairpin turns on what any North American would call a very scary cliff side road back and forth and back and forth we reached a gate saying the road was closed during the months of June, July and August. After talking to some other climbers we met, we found out we were indeed on the right road and we needed to just park here and walk the extra 2.5km up the cliff instead of accessing by the dirt road. (It was more of a path anyway). We went back several days later and did it again this time getting to the climbing area with little trouble. From the top of this point you can see all the way across the island to Palma the main big city on Mallorca.

Formentor, Mallorca, Spain

After climbing today, we drove all the way to the most northerly tip of the island in our rental car to a place called Formentor. There are several lookouts and places you can pull off and go for short walks over the cliffs that look down into the sea. We noticed over the face of one cliff there were a few routes bolted although climbing in this place is supposed to be strictly prohibited. The views were amazing and I took a lot of photos! It's a place that I'd recommend going to if you're ever on the island!