Celebrate Margo's 60th Birthday on Kilimanjaro! One of the reasons I climbed Kilimanjaro, my very first mountain, in 1988, was to celebrate my 40th birthday. Rather than being a completion, as I had planned, that climb began a passion for mountains and trekking and rivers that has been a foundation for me ever since. Skip Horner, premier adventure travel guide, has been my mentor and friend during these 18+ years, and we have done almost 20 trips together In honor of my 60th birthday, and Skip's as well. We will be returning to Africa to climb "Kili" once again in January of 2008. The vision is to put together a trip of folks who have been a part of my life in some way: folks who have read my book or the journals on this website; folks who have heard [...]

In October, 2005, I had the great privilege of traveling with my friend and mentor Skip Horner and his wife Elizabeth, to the very remote part of Nepal known as the Kingdom of Mustang. "Mustang is a country frozen in time. Closed to foreigners for more than thirty years, this tiny feudal kingdom high in the Himalayas has existed in virtual isolation from the rest of the world. Although politically part of Nepal, Mustang is linked by religion, culture, and history to Tibet -- and now stands alone as one of the last truly pure Tibetan cultures existing today. With its untouched temples, colorful festivals and red-robed lamas, the kingdom preserves not only the daily vernacular of Buddhist ethic, but a unique heritage of Tibetan religious art." from The Last forbidden Kingdom: Mustang, Land of Tibetan Buddhism. Fewer than 1,000 [...]

Tuesday, May 28, Red Mountain Adventure Spa Thursday, May 30. Hike to Gateway | Cultural Adventures | Monday, June 3, The Subway | Tuesday, June 11, On The Road I am currently staying at Red Mountain Adventure Spa, a wonderful fitness spa just outside St. George, Utah. Hiking is the core of their fitness program, and each morning at 6 I join a group of hikers and a couple of guides to go out into the desert to spend 3 hours in the fabulous red rock that surrounds this area. Most of the hikes have a good deal of scrambling around on the slick rock, mostly sandstone that is very sticky, at levels that push many of the hikers to new levels of comfort and through some pretty good fear of heights. It is marvelous to watch people who haven't [...]

The 1999/2000 PCT Thruhikers  |  1999 Pacific Crest Trail South to North Through Hikers A. Ray Tomlison and David Busha, coolwahr@aol.com Aaron Unger, psndcsr@jps.net Airdale, Stephene Barbee, Completed 9/29 Al Wohlpart & Josef Piller, awohlpart@cwix.com, Completed 10/10. Album, Alan Nelson, aln@uswest.net Allen Downs, ahdowns@aol.com, Reached Tuolomne Meadows, skipped to Echo summit and left trail permanently 30 miles later due to arm injury. Andreas Kramer, Completed 10/2 Andy McKerrow, spotted at Skykomish 9/18 Annie and the Salesman, Ann & Larry McDuff, lpmcduff@juno.com, Completed 9/19. Batch, Calvin Batchelder, contact via the Ravens at tumstead@gi.com Big Daddy, Mike Robertson, bigdaddy290@juno.com Birdgirl, Charlotte Clews, clc13@cornell.edu,http://www.fcinet.com/pct. Completed 9/17. Blake Shepard, bshepard@nextera.com, Completed 9/18. Bong, Jarrod Gasper, completed 8/31 Brian Farsted, spotted at Skykomish 9/22 Bruce McMutrey, spotted at Skykomish 9/18 Buffalo Bob, Bob Reese, spotted at Skykomish 9/25 Butch Farstad, Completed 10/2, brianfarstad@aol.com Caboose, Dave NcQuitty, [...]

1999 Pacific Crest Trail  | The 1999/2000 PCT Thruhikers   My dream was to backpack the 1,700 mile California section of the Pacific Crest Trail, coaching clients via cell phone on the way. My reality was that the absence of cell phone coverage made coaching impossible, and after 4 months away from home and 600 miles of hiking, I was done. It was a great adventure. The first time I did a big trip on my own, without an accompanying group. Most days I saw, walked with, and/or camped with other hikers. And they were not a part of my group. Physically, I was on my own; spiritually, I was accompanied by the connections with friends, Nature, and Spirit that are such an important part of my life. It was an extraordinary journey. I invite you to take a look at my [...]

In 1996, Skip Horner, my good friend and climbing mentor, sent out his list of trips for 1997. Included was a trek in Nepal which included a climb of Mera Peak, at 21,247 feet (6,476 meters), the highest trekking peak in Nepal. I had not done any big climbing since my 1993 Everest attempt and was far less fit than I had been then. Yet a trip to a part of Nepal I had not seen, climbing a 21,000 foot mountain, on a trip led by the man who had so radically altered my life was very appealing. I was turning 50 in January, 1998 , Skip would be newly 50, and it seemed this might be the perfect way to celebrate this milestone age. I sat with the idea for a few days, meditated on it, talked about it [...]

Kora Around Mt. Kailas, 1995 My dear friend, Jonathan Wright, who instilled the fascination and love of mountains and exotic, out-of-the-way places in me, died in an avalanche on a mountain called Minya Konka in 1980. He practiced Tibetan Buddhist and had a lifelong dream of going to Tibet. Minya Konka is in an area that is culturally Tibetan and geographically has always been in China. He came very close to his dream and didn't quite reach it. When my friend and mentor Skip Horner announced he was leading a trip to do a kora (circumambulation) around Mt. Kailas, the most sacred mountain in Tibet, I realized I had a chance to live out both my own and Jonathan's dream of being in Tibet. Mt Kailas, at 22,028 feet, stands in spectacular isolation in western Tibet. The mountain has the [...]

After a phone call from Helen Wilton, base camp manager for the Adventure Consultants 1993 Everest expedition, I made the decision to spend some time at Base Camp with the Kiwis this year. There would be many people I knew from prior trips, and the idea of being there without the stress of climbing was most intriguing. After checking the logistics out with Rob Hall, it seemed the perfect opportunity to spend time in a place I love, with people I greatly admire and to enjoy the energy of Everest without having to climb. A week after Helen had planted the seed, I decided to go. Following are parts of my journal from this trip. Entries in parentheses were added later for clarity. 4/16 7:30 pm. En route, Kimpo Airport, Seoul, Korea Burning eyes, puffy feet, flat hair, foggy brain. [...]