Gwendolyn Lewis
Author's posts
Mar 18 2023
Grandmother Mountain: The Blue Ridge’s Bouldering Paradise
The weekend was coming and I was looking for a good place to do some bouldering. After asking around, Grandmother Mountain was the name that came up the most in conversations. As I searched for directions, my climbing shoes winked at me from across the room. It was bound to be a great adventure. Like …
Mar 06 2023
Iztaccíhuatl: The Peak of Mexican Ecstasy & Heartbreak
Standing proudly at 17,160 feet (5,230 m), Iztaccíhuatl boasts the third highest peak in Mexico. Like some of the largest mountains in Mexico, such as Popocatépetl and La Malinche, Iztaccíhuatl is a volcano (now extinct) in the center of the country. It is one of the few remaining mountains in Mexico to have a peak …
Feb 05 2023
Hiking the Volcanoes of Iceland
The blackout curtains in the hotel room did their job, and when I pulled back the shade around 10pm, a solid brick of bright sunlight pierced the pane of thick glass. After a long day of traveling, my body, refreshed by a quick nap after check-in, wanted to move. Luckily, I was in Iceland in …
Jan 29 2023
Mount Mansfield and the Persistence of the Spirit
Vermont is a mountainous state. The mountain that best represents the pinnacle of the Green Mountain State is Mount Mansfield, located in Chittenden and Lamoille counties. Mount Mansfield gets its name from its resemblance to a man, complete with facial features and even an Adam’s apple. Popular among locals and tourists alike, Mount Mansfield offers …
Jan 03 2023
Cardiovascular Contortion on Old Rag Mountain
Tucked into Shenandoah National Park in Madison County, Virginia, is Old Rag Mountain. With a low peak standing staunchly at 3,284 feet (1,001 m) and a prominence of less than half that, it offers a fun hike for all skill levels, with two routes to the summit. The more strenuous hike – considered by many …
Feb 28 2022
Traversing the White Mountains’ Presidential Range
They say you are who you hang out with. For this reason, it is difficult to get a true sense of a mountain until you spend some time with its neighbors. Sometimes the character of one peak may be better appreciated after having explored others in the same range. You know what you’re looking at …
Feb 28 2022
Punta La Marmora
Sitting in the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean lounges the Italian island of Sardinia. Throughout history, whichever tribe or nation had control of Sardinia was considered a bellwether for the power dynamics of the Mediterranean. One of the things that made Sardinia such a strategic point, aside from its relative size as the second-largest island …
Feb 05 2022
Stargazing from the Summit of Sierra Negra
The summit of Sierra Negra is a special place. It is an extinct volcano with bragging rights as the fifth-highest peak in Mexico. Its prominence is just 1,770 feet (540 m), but its location in the higher altitude neighborhood of Pico de Orizaba, the summit of Sierra Negra reaches a maximum of 15,030 feet (4,580 …
Feb 05 2022
Standing Indian Mountain’s Monster is No More
The mountains hold so much wonder. I feel a billowing sense of wonder whenever I stand on a giant rock which was forced up by energy deep within the Earth to soar above the crust many millennia ago. A mountain top is a place to look around and gain a deeper understanding of the fascinating …
Nov 28 2021
Mount Ritter
Mount Ritter When the electrified chaos of the city becomes too loud, it is necessary to escape to nature. John Muir waxed poetic on the subject, and I would tend to agree with his waxings. A visit to Mount Ritter, whose jagged profile can be seen from his eponymous trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains …
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