Looking for an adventure that is within your grasp? Think
about a European hiking vacation. There are two good ways to do this. The best
may be to sign up with an adventure travel company, which will take care of all
the logistics.
With such a company you typically meet your group in a
European city such as Zurich or Madrid, and then travel to the beginning of the
hike destination. The guides are often English speaking natives of the country
in which you are hiking, and they are friendly, knowledgeable, athletic, and
fun. All hotels and meals are preset. Your fellow hikers are usually Americans
with outdoor lifestyles. Most of these people are cooperative, nice people,
though from time to time one can encounter a difficult person. These trips take
place in countries like Switzerland, France, Spain, and Chile where there are
mountains. They are rated according to degree of difficulty, and the
descriptions sent out by the adventure travel companies are very accurate.
Most trips are relaxed and low key with a minimum of
competition. The guides work hard to make sure everyone has a good time, and
almost all hikers with a reasonable degree of fitness seem to. The level of
sophistication of the average client on these trips is high, so the companies
are under pressure to provide excellent accommodations and cuisine. They
usually do!
Adventure travel trips vary in price, depending on the
location and length of the trip. Five thousand dollars for an eight or ten day
trip would probably be a fair estimate of the cost of many of these trips. A
reader might ask, why not do a trip on my own for much less money? This is a
good question, and self-guided trips are a possibility as will be discussed
below. There are both obvious and more hidden reasons for going on a guided
trip.
There is less hassle on a guided trip. The company takes
care of all the logistics, so there is less anxiety for the hiker. All you have
to do is relax, talk to your fellow hikers, and put one foot in front of the
other. The guides usually know the area, its restaurants, and interesting
places to visit. In addition to
providing transportation from area to area, they frequently know interesting
trails that tourists would never find on their own.
Guided trips may be safer than non-guided trips. The guides
have first aid training and first aid equipment. A helicopter needed to be
called on one of the trips on which I was a client. On another a man fell and
sliced open his head. A helicopter was almost called, but he managed to hike
out. On another porter need oxygen at 17,000 feet, and the guide was carrying a
cylinder in his medical kit. Had I been alone, I don’t think I would have had
the proper equipment or the knowledge with which to deal with these situations
in a competent manner.
Is it possible to design you own trip? Yes it is. The best
way to do it is to go to one of the hiking centers in Europe like Zermatt,
Chamonix, Grundewald, or Cortina de Ampezzo. The local tourist centers have
ample information on day hikes in the areas. We hiked on our own in Saas Fe,
Kandersteg, and Zermatt, Switzerland at different times for a number of days.
We took interesting hikes that were well described in local brochures. At times
we met other hikers in the hotels in which we were staying, and we walked with
them.
Mountain huts are everywhere in the Alps. One can plan a
hike to have lunch at a hut, and they can provide refuge in the event of a
sudden storm. With reservations one can spend the night in a mountain hut, and
this can be a fun experience. Often local families staff the huts. Good food is
a given. The sleeping arrangements are often crude, but remember you are high
in the mountains!
Recently I played behind two foursomes of seniors “playing a
match” at Encinitas Ranch.. I knew they were serious because they had matching
shirts. They were very slow in spite of the marshall talking with them a number
of times. Here are some suggestions.
2.
When the first person has finished putting, he
should pick up the flagstaff and everyone should pick up their clubs as soon as
they have finished putting.
