Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.

JFK

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Ronald Reagan

When it is 80 degrees, It can be  difficult to get into “the Christmas Spirit” here In the Valley of the Sun. So, what to do? Go to Germany’s many Christmas markets, drink bier and mulled wine, eat plenty of brats, shop and stroll through the beautiful markets in the crisp temperatures.

We covered a lot of ground in just eight days…Berlin, Dresden, Weimar, Nurnberg, Augsburg, and Munich.

The markets were nothing short of magnificent!! We were able to bring back many Christmas treasures/gifts.

 Seeing what is left of “The Wall” in Berlin put us in a reflective mood. The Berlin Wall was erected in the night of August 13, 1961. . There were 3 more generations built thru 1975 that were more resistant to breakthroughs.

Official demolition of the Berlin Wall began in the summer of 1990. Over 5,000 escaped over the wall in the 30 year span of the wall. 

We felt a sense of sadness while attending the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. 

On  December 19 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into it leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured. 

Large blocks of concrete are now in place, in order to prevent a reoccurrence. 

We also went to the location where Hitler operated in his underground bunker. 

We took the opportunity to visit the Olympic village in Munich,  where in the summer of 1972 the Black September terrorists  killed 11 Israeli Olympic athletes. I vividly remember watching this tragic event on television while living in Reno. 

The historic atrocities were sobering, however, all in all it was a merry, joyous and fun trip. The German people were very kind and wonderful to us.  I am not able to give more details as I am in the process of reloading for a week long trip to Mexico, leaving Thursday.

UK Lake District, Scotland

“The loveliest spot that man hath found.”
William Wordsworth

Amigos, I have a quick turnaround. I am reloading for the Grand Canyon tomorrow so sorry, again this TR will have to be brief. 

It was 16 days of absolutely incredible scenery, history  and culture. The weather was perfect!! We absolutely LOVED Edinburgh.

Both Gerry and I are CELTICS! It was like coming home for me! 

The food was really good…….Bangers and mash babeeee! And the liquor was mighty fine in all our Pub and distillery visitations.

We had both been to London a few times but somehow missed the “Tower of London”  that was really important for Gerry to tour.

The Lake District of England is country unbound…civilization and nature in harmony.  Certainly one of the most beautiful areas on the planet. 

We were able yo get in some really nice hikes in cooler temperatures. The Scottish Highlands were all that we had dreamed about. The Isle of Skye was simply off the charts in raw beauty. The long drive back from Skye was a bit stressful…narrow roads, other side driving made it an adventure. Gerry….”You are too far over” (her side-right) ELG….."no I’m not! Relax!”  Nothing that a few scotches at the airport hotel wouldn’t fix!

Great weather here, its good to be back home for even a couple of days. … .OK Rim to Rim to Rim ,  with Dingo and Jake. I am leaning towards only doing Rim to Rim (24 miles instead of 48)

I must be getting old? NAH!!!…..Too much scotch and bangers and mash have taken me out of industrial superman hiking strength. 

Hasta

Sir ELG of Scotland

John Muir Trail

“The world's big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”
― John Muir

Kearsarge Pass to Taboose Pass. About 50 miles hiking with 30,000 feet of altitude gain/loss. 

Our route crossed scenic passes, rivers, lakes, meadows, and landmarks. We were treated to view after incredible view. This section of the John Muir Trail is the quintessential high Sierra trek. It was perfect hiking weather. although we were pummeled one evening with a fierce electric storm and rain.

Our  descent out was quite gnarly! After climbing up for 6 miles, we went down the Taboose Pass and found it difficult but enchanting. Taboose Creek is a very dependable water source for the entire route. Descending 6000 vertical feet, often in scree, in six miles, was knee pounding, but the scenery was incredible. It was a long exhausting 12 mile day to get us to
the back road where we shuttled our vehicle. It is quite  a distance on bad road before reaching US395 and requires a high clearance vehicle.

Us boys had quite a celebration at Jakes Saloon and Seasons restaurant.  (great food) Dingo and Larry are climbing Whitney today, Pete drove to LA to see SC/Texas, James went back to Sacramento, Jake and Lobo drove the 8 hours back to Phoenix.

NOW the  MEN Behaving Badly -Popular around the planet

Dingo the Dawg ……

-for not showing up for the planning session. 

-at camp ...providing high octane rum without showing us warning label
-remembering his grandmom by liquoring us up
-leading the group on a day 1 bushwhack

    -for confusing everyone on the number of days in the bush plan (4 or 5?)

Young Peter Da Wild Goose…

- for flaunting his pretty boy USC smile
- for expelling legendary weeklong fire-in-the-hole. Ones as long and the sound of a sleeping bag zipper-he was ROTTEN!
-for getting lost in Lone Pine looking for the hotel and then blaming Lobo for bad directions?

    -for wanting to hike out early and then laying back and claiming that it was Lobo and Jake that wanted out early 

    -for complaining that the HO HOs weighed too much and consequentially didn’t bring any(note HO HOs are booze and hors dourves)

 El Clicko for texting sweetie pie on day 1 of hike

 Jake da Snake
- for devising a hike-end strategy with Lobo and not telling the group

      - for NOT bringing any HO HOs

Larry da Mountain Man
 -for Providing slightly over smoked salmon. Maybe he did this to assure that the bears wouldn't attack us.

     -for sending out a milage spread sheet that had one fewer day than Dingo’s plan

Lobo
-for wanting to break up the group cuz he drank and ate everyone else's booze & HO HOs
 -for willing to abandon El Clicko and jam it out after James partnered with him early on in the hike
 -for his generous HO HO contribution of one date per person and no booze

AND as a BONUS…………..

El Clicko’s Top Picks/Moments

Best International Crisis - Lobo for not being aware of their presence and  undressing in front of two Asian Ladies on the trail
Best Selfish moment - James for not sharing his ONE man tent with Dingo and making him sleep on picnic table.
Best Memory - Glen Pass when all hell broke with lighting, hail and rain pelting us while a  female hiker was crying all the way down 
Best Happy Hour - Larry and Dingo at Lake Marjorie
Best Drug Czar - Jake for handing out max dose of Ibuprofen to a fellow hiker
Best Dressed Hiker - Pete, made Lobo very jealous
Best Altitude Sickness Moment - Pete, Larry, Dingo and James having breakfast in Lone Pine. The waitress brought our food and we denied it and told  her she had the wrong table,  the only problem was she only had one table to serve. 
Best Winging it by the seat of our pants - Dingo and James, James thought his BMW was a 4 wheel drive, NOT!…. requiring a couple of extra mile walk
Worst Advise - Dingo and James for listening  to a rookie hiker, who sent us on the wrong trail causing many extra miles were logged
Worst International Advice - A fellow Austrian hiker was told by Lobo to say HAWAYA to greet people  and that it  was a custom to say it  three times. So if you ever travel to Austria and they say HOWAYA to you three times, you know know the root beginning