About Us
We, Suzy Maroon and Ellie Zartman, were both in our sixties when we became aware of some unwelcome changes in our personal contours and decided to take corrective measures. Casting around for something that would be fun, challenging, and not too expensive, Suzy happened upon an article stating that Swiss mountain guides are so well trained nowadays that any four of them could, if necessary, guide a cow safely to the top of the Matterhorn.
For some reason this caught her fancy, and seemed to be exactly what she and her friend, Ellie, needed to do. However, further research revealed that, in addition to being foolhardy, the cow needed to be young and rich. (Air Zermatt is very experienced at plucking off the mountain those who have no business attempting the climb in the first place, but they do it at a cost of anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000, payable up front.) Those criteria eliminated both of us, but by that time we had been seized with the idea of climbing something, preferably in or near Switzerland, and we signed on for the Tour du Mont Blanc - one of the classic walks of the world. And by the time we completed it, we were hooked.
In the beginning our reaction to almost any suggested trip was “Why not?” Perhaps down the road it will be “Why?” However, there are many miles to hike before we get to that point. There’s nothing we can do about the passage of time, but we do have some control over the goals we set ourselves, and we have only ourselves to blame if we let them all go the way of our youth.
We now plan at least one hike a year, and we try to plan the next trip as soon as we get home from the one before. That is, before any doubts have a chance to set in. The simple act of looking through catalogues and surfing the Internet for the next destination is confirmation that we still think we can do in the coming year what we did in the last. And once those cheap, non-refundable flights have been booked (which one has to do as early as possible in order to get the upgrades), second thoughts are no longer an option. One is committed.
This website will discuss the many advantages of hiking, and will include advice for the novice hiker on how to choose a trip and how to interpret the stated levels of difficulty. We also draw on our accumulated experience to compile a highly subjective list of recommendations and warnings. Equipment will be discussed and sorted into must-have, not-a-bad-idea, and don't-waste-your-money categories. In sum, we hope to impart some of our own enthusiasm for something that offers the rare combination of being really fun and good for you. If you are interested in travel that
- is off the beaten track,
- requires a degree of physical effort but little or no expertise,
- offers a sense of adventure, and
- leaves one feeling recharged in mind and body,