H.A. Larson's Blog, page 26

Fall is Nearly Upon Us

As I sit here enjoying my morning coffee and looking out the window - as is my morning custom - I can't help but marvel at how quickly this year has flown by. It's August now, which means that Fall is almost here! If I seem excited about that, it's true. Fall is my favorite season. I mean, what's not to love?
Fall brings vivid, deep colors to the trees, the weather becomes cool enough for a light jacket or a long-sleeved shirt, pumpkin patches open, hayrack rides are enjoyed, the smell of spiced apple cider hangs around, and there's a clear crispness in the air that is pleasant and welcomed after a summer of heat and humidity.
I get out into the forest more times in the Fall than any other season, and it's one of my favorite things. The only downside is the shorter days, making day hikes during the weekend a must. Either way, I relish and welcome the season. I can't wait. 
Welcome back, Fall.

The Highpointer's Club

When my Dad and I signed in to the Black Elk Wilderness, he made an off-hand comment about the "Highpointers". Without much thought, nor having heard the entirety of what he said, I responded, "Oh yeah?" "They're people who climb the high points in every state," he replied.
Fast forward a few weeks when the euphoria of having climbed Black Elk Peak, the highest point in South Dakota, had died down, and I got to thinking about what Dad had said. I wondered how many other high points I had already been to. I remembered being on Signal Hill, the high point on Mt Magazine, located in the Ozarks of Arkansas. I remembered Pike's Peak - which, it turns out, is NOT the high point of Colorado. I wasn't in good shape back then and only made it to 9000 feet by car. This means, then, I have hiked two states' high points: South Dakota and Arkansas. 
Thinking of high points in every state got the wheels turning in my mind about how I should go to more of them. Since my dad lives an hour's drive from Iowa's high point, Hawkeye Point, I sent him an email about going. He liked the idea. I also mentioned that I wanted to take the kids to my own state's high point the next weekend (Panorama Point in southwestern Nebraska) and he shot back with, "Maybe we can take a long weekend down there sometime in October." Obviously, he doesn't want to be left out of my new goal and is onboard for highpointing with me.
So, today I'm traveling up to my Dad's with my youngest to make my way to my third highpoint. Three down, forty-five to go. Yes, I realize that is 48, but the majority of highpointers do the lower-48. I'll never do McKinley in Alaska, as that's the kind of hike that is for die-hards only, and I'm not sure if I'll ever make it to Hawaii, but I'll try my damndest to do the rest. Wish me luck!

My Kids on Mountains

On our recent vacation to South Dakota, we hiked Black Elk Peak. As usual, we all took plenty of pictures. A few, in particular, got me thinking about all the pictures I have of my kids on mountains. So, without further ado, here are pictures of them on various mountains.


This picture was taken at Petit Jean State Park in Spring of 2015. It's located in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, and it was the first time I had ever taken my kids to the mountains. This photo is their first glimpse of the Ozarks as they ran to meet the landscape. My son was already at the edge, taking photographs while my daughter catches up. This trip changed them and really fostered a love in them for hiking and nature. I mean, they had loved it before, but not nearly in the same way. Sometimes it takes a monumental event to spur you on, and the Ozarks certainly did that for my kids. This trip had a huge impact on them, something that is pronounced more and more in the following pictures.



This was the following year, 2016, at Pikes Peak in Colorado. I wasn't in good enough shape to make the drive to the summit, so we stopped here. The kids were disappointed but still enjoyed the beauty nonetheless. I vowed then that I would make that up to them later.



In 2017, we went back to Arkansas, but this time, I made sure to take them to Mount Magazine, the highest mountain in the Ozarks - and in Arkansas. This time, we hiked around on the mountain and made our way to Signal Hill, the official high point.



While not technically mountains, the Loess Hills are not only native to me but are the closet thing we have to mountains. In fact, I lovingly refer to them as the Iowa Mountains. We've hiked them many times, including this trip, which was this Spring. I snapped a photo of the kids, exhilarated as they looked out from the very top.



My son snapped this picture of my daughter as she peered over the edge of Bear Butte in South Dakota. At half the height of Black Elk Peak, it was just a taste of what was to come.



I snapped this photo of the kids when we were halfway up Black Elk Peak. Good thing, too, because they left my Dad and me in the dust right afterward.



My daughter took this picture of my son on the top of Black Elk Peak. You can see four states from here - Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota - and it looks like he's holding up the clouds. 
As you can see, they definitely enjoy being a part of nature and make the most of it. I mean, how could you not? It is times like these that make one appreciate the magnificence of nature. In my humble opinion, there's nothing more humbling or awe-inspiring than standing on top of the world. I think the kids feel the same way.

Healthy Life Update: August 2019

Good morning! I hope your day is going well so far. It's been a minute since I've posted a Healthy Life update, so I figure that today is as good of a day as any. Bear with me, though, it's a bit longer than my usual updates!
1. First, I'd like to address my plant-based diet. I was a vegan for 3.5 years until January of this year. Between extreme hormonal changes and deep, personal issues, I really started craving meat back in September of last year. I fought it for as long as I could, but I realized that my body was trying to tell me something, so in January, I ate meat for the first time in 3.5 years. Now, I was never the perfect vegan anyway, having bordered on vegetarian several times (namely in the ways of mayonnaise and ranch dressing, two condiments that I cannot live without and will use non-vegan versions of it if vegan versions aren't available to me), but eating meat was something I had not done at that time. 
Now that my personal and hormonal issues have righted themselves, I noticed that I was really starting to miss my old plant-based diet. On top of that, I also noticed that I was starting to eat like crap again. One of the reasons I moved to a plant-based diet in the first place was my horrible diet. If I have no restrictions on what I can eat, then I tend to eat whatever crappy food/snack looks good. So, I've moved back to my plant-based diet and I forgot just how awesome it is! (Not to mention, I feel much better not contributing to factory farms and animal cruelty.)
2. In addition to going back to my plant-based diet, I also started eating nutrient-dense meals. This means I try to eat healthier, whole foods as opposed to sugars, carbs, and easy processed foods. This also means I have to spend time planning out and cooking meals instead of grabbing whatever is easy. Let me tell you, it's been a struggle. It's so tempting just to eat whatever is handy when I get home from work, but planning out meals and cooking large batches a few days a week has been a lifesaver for me. On top of this, and as much as I hate to do it, I have been counting my calories using MyFitnessPal. When I eat like crap, I tend to overeat, so I wanted to make sure I was still eating a deficit of calories WHILE eating nutrient-dense foods. I don't plan on counting calories forever, but it's a good way of getting a general idea of how much you should eat each day firmly in your mind.
3. I haven't lost any weight at this time. The reason for this is the aforementioned eating like crap. When you eat like crap, it's easy to overeat. Luckily, since I walk so much I haven't gained anything, but we all know that won't last forever, so getting my food back on track was essential. Now, while I didn't lose any weight, I toned up immensely. I know this from the various compliments I've gotten recently combined with how my clothes have been fitting. Yay for small goals!
4. You all know about my 100-mile a month goal of walking/hiking that began last year. This resulted in me acclimating to, and tackling all the issues of, every season. Between walking to work and hiking on weekends I achieved that goal nearly every month - except for winter when conditions often prevented me from walking. Well, around mid-June of this year, I realized how quickly my hiking trip to conquer Black Elk Peak was fast approaching, so I ramped up my walking routine. Where I would typically get around 3-3.5 miles a day, I started getting 4.5 miles a day. The reason for this is that I started walking 1.5-1.75 miles on my lunch break. It completely paid off as hiking while on vacation this year ended up being pretty easy for me. I've kept it up since vacation and it helps me feel healthy.
5. I cut my drinking back down to Friday and Saturday nights. Another terrible habit I do when times are tough is to drink more often. This is bad on so many levels! Like giving up crappy food, giving up booze during the week was tough, but necessary.
6. Something new I started doing is evaluating my sleep. I was starting to feel exhausted all the time. I realized that my diet and over-indulgence in alcohol was a factor in this, but it dawned on me that my sleep schedule wasn't helping. So, in addition to giving up weekday drinking and eating better, I've set an absolute latest time to get to bed at night. Let me tell you, what a difference this has made. Most nights, I get an average of seven hours of sleep and I wake up feeling rested.

So that's the Healthy Life update. A lot has been going on! While I definitely experienced some setbacks, I didn't let those setbacks completely derail me. Before, I would always go completely off the rails if I made one step back. I'm proud of myself for taking two steps forward to come back out of that. It isn't easy, and I'll never pretend that I'm an expert nor that I won't falter again, but at least I recognize my problems and try to right them. On top of that, I'm overall in the best health of my life. While I've said this before, and it was true then, it's even truer now. 
I hope you have a great weekend. I got my weekend coffee and the house is quiet. I'll relax on my back patio for a while before taking my daughter out on a planned mom-daughter day hike. I'll be sure to post about that in the future.
Until then,
H.A.

South Dakota Vacation: The Badlands

Today I'm posting the last of my vacation adventures. I really love posting these every year as I get to relive the experience over, at least in a small way. We were only in South Dakota four days, but we really packed in as much as possible during that time. On our way home, we drove through Badlands National Park. 


If you've never been to the Badlands, it's hard to describe the landscape to other people in a completely accurate way. It's unlike anything else you'll see. According to Wikipedia, Badlands National Park “is an American national park located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects 242,756 acres (379.3 sq mi; 982.4 km2) of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe.”


My dad took me here on our two-week vacation back when I was a kid, but I didn't take my kids here when we were in South Dakota years later. One thing I don't remember about the Badlands is all the greenery. That's because it simply never looks like this. With all the rain that has slammed the Midwest this year, however, everything is as green as you'll ever see it...including the Badlands.



It was quite a beautiful contrast to see all that green against the desert-like peaks of the Park.



One of the nice things about the Badlands as that you're allowed to hike and camp anywhere you want there....no restrictions. You, of course, assume all the risk, but the kids enjoyed being able to scramble all over everything.



The Park is ginormous, and one of the last areas you can stop and see on your way out is this one. It's so massive and so stark, that it reminds me of a mini-Grand Canyon. I've never actually been to the Grand Canyon, just to clarify, but I feel like this is what it would look like, only on a much larger scale.
For more information about the Badlands, click here. South Dakota is a wonderful place to take a vacation, whether you're outdoorsy or not, so if you'd like to start exploring that idea, click here.
I hope you have a great rest of your week. I'll be back on Saturday with a new post. Until then, plan your own adventure.

South Dakota Vacation: Black Elk Peak

I took this shot about halfway up the mountain. You can see the highest point, the Fire Tower, just to the right of the middle
tree.
Today is a good day to talk about my trek up Black Elk Peak. Formerly known as Harney Peak, this mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota rises 7,244 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in the state. It also happens to be the highest point between the Rocky Mountains to the West and the Pyrenees in France. 


The beginning of Trail #9 at Sylvan Lake, our starting point.
I've already talked about the fateful vacation my Dad took me on back when I was 14 and how I nearly died (sarcasm) on this very same trek. Well, we talked for a while about going back out there now that I'm a seasoned hiker, so this is exactly what brought us out to South Dakota together this year for a combined vacation.


My kids survey the rising landscape about halfway up the mountain.



The kids are more agile and quicker than my Dad and myself, so about here, they ditched us to make their way to the top on their own.



The trail is pretty even for the first two-thirds of it, although it slowly climbs.


My Dad posing along a rock face.
This man has hiked the Peak seven times, four of them by himself. I get my love of hiking from him.


If you don't sign in at the kiosk, you risk a $100 fine.
Once you get to a certain point, you are required to sign in your party. I imagine this is in case anything should happen to you on the rest of the journey as it's not an easy hike after this.






The farther you progress on the trail, the rockier and steeper it becomes.



A deer crossed our path. It wasn't even frightened of us as it stuck around for a minute.



The vista expands the higher you get, making for gorgeous views.






The Fire Tower approacheth.



A view from the small tower, about 30 stair-steps from the Fire Tower.



Finally! We reached the top about three hours after we started. Just look at that view. From here you can see four states: Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana. That view makes the hard hike worth all the effort, and at nearly 8,000 feet, it's breathtaking...literally.



A view of the inside of the Fire Tower.



A view through the doorway to the Fire Tower. I like taking "window" shots like this as the perspective is interesting.



My favorite shot of the whole series. Just look at how magnificent it is! It is here where I felt one with nature and all my woes and stress from the last year and a half just washed away. 



My daughter and my dad.


A plaque on the Fire Tower gives you some information about the mountain.
I kept my discourse minimal on this post for a reason: to let you visualize the hike with me. This post has a lot of pictures, but how else can you describe something so massive, so monumental, then with photos? I hope you enjoyed the journey with me. It was nice to experience this again. Hiking up this mountain was more than just a goal: it was a testament to how far I've come since January of 2014 and a healing experience for me. 
It ended up being more than all that as well. I got to spend a solid six, uninterrupted hours visiting with my dad. My dad was a single father so we spent a lot of time together when I was growing up. He got married after I graduated high school, I moved away, and then I had a family of my own. This means that 99.9% of our time together is spent in the company of other people. While I've never lamented this, I never realize how little we get to have one-on-one time together until we actually have some.
I'll go into depth about the experience in its own post sometime. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

South Dakota Vacation: Devil's Tower and Aladdin General Store

After our hike to the top of Bear Butte, we went back to our Airbnb, cleaned up, and hit the road for a bit of fun. Since we were close to the Wyoming border, we drove over to visit Devil's Tower. Dad took me here when I was a kid, and I took my own kids about nine years ago. At that time, my daughter was too small to walk the path around it, so she stayed behind with my Mom and my Grandma.



This time, she was more than old enough to take the walk, and so we all went around it. As you can see from the previous photo, large rocks and boulders surround Devil's Tower, so the kids had fun climbing on those prior to walking around it.



There's a fairly level, paved path that goes around the tower, and, clocking in at under two miles, it's an easy little trek that affords one beautiful views of the tower and the surrounding landscape.



Devil's Tower is a butte and the first U.S. National Monument, established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. It's notable for being a destination for climbers, who scale the face to reach its full height of 5112 feet.


A shot of the path that snakes around the tower.




We also made a pitstop in Aladdin, population 15, to visit the Aladdin General Store (also known as the Wyoming Mercantile). It's been in operation since 1896. That's 123 years! It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. 



It still serves as a bar, a post office, a freight station, and, of course, a gas station.



Fancy beer is $3.00



If you've ever wondered what it looks like inside a 123-year-old building, well, here you go. The upstairs of the mercantile serves as an antique store/flea market.



The worn-down look of the inside lends to its antiquated charm.



They still use this wood-burning stove. I wonder how old it is? 
It was neat to visit this little piece of history and see how it still serves an important purpose to the community in which it resides. While we packed a lot into this day - Bear Butte, Devil's Tower, and Aladdin General Store - we enjoyed every bit of it. And, hey, if you're not living every day of your vacation to the fullest, then why do it at all?

South Dakota Vacation: Bear Butte

From the park entrance, a lovely view of Bear Butte.
Ahh, South Dakota. A place of rugged beauty and impressive nature that rivals some of the best. My dad took me on a two-week vacation to South Dakota when I was 14 and it was wonderful (except for that hike up Black Elk Peak, but I'll go into more depth on that in an upcoming post). Nine years ago, I took my own kids out to South Dakota where I met up with my mom, stepdad, and grandma for a fun week out in Rapid City. On neither of those trips was I much of a hiker, so most of those trips were spent sightseeing and doing the regular tourist things. 
Fast forward to a few years ago, when I had become more of a seasoned hiker, and I mentioned to my dad that we should go back to tackle Black Elk Peak (BEP). Last year, I spent part of my vacation hiking various places with my dad, and we once again talked about taking on BEP, but this time more earnestly. So, we planned and hence found ourselves out in South Dakota together mid-July, with my kids and stepmom, for some hiking. Not one to waste an opportunity, and because we're the only family members he has besides his brother who will hike, he planned a few other things. One of those things was Bear Butte. At 4'426 feet, it's a bit more than half the elevation of BEP, but affords hikers a much more unobstructed view. 

Not far along the trail to the top.
The kids, also seasoned lovers of hiking, are younger, more agile, and quicker than Dad and me, so they went on ahead. Bear Butte is a sacred mount to the Native Americans and you can see prayer flags lining the path all the way to the top, although you see less and less the further up you hike.



While my kids were their own hiking team, Dad and I were also a hiking team, and he held the rear - something he's done ever since I can remember. 



Making our way to the top, we discovered dreamcatchers in the trees alongside the prayer flags.









You can see the trail we ascended off to the right. The trail to the top is like that the entire journey - a narrow, mostly rocky path that snakes up the mountainside.






It was a gorgeous hike, that much is for sure.












A view from the top, and what a beauty she is. No forestation on the mountain allows you to see, unhampered, for miles. The skies were crisp and clear that day as well, and I just sat there and admired it all.



I snapped this photo as I started my descent back down, and it really represents the trail in general.



One last shot as I was a little more than halfway down at this point.
While I didn't know, so hadn't expected, to climb Bear Butte until the week before we left, it was amazing to hike it. It was a way for me to see if the past year of training for this trip had paid off, while also being a way for me to get the nervousness I felt about BEP out of my mind. Besides all that, it was massive and gorgeous, and that always gives my mind a reset from all the stress and mundane aspects of my daily life. The Native Americans consider this a sacred and powerful place, and they're not wrong.

Weekend in Columbia, Missouri

Back in June, my daughter and I took a three-day weekend trip down to Columbia, Missouri. My Grandma (who is still alive) has family that lives there, and her nephew was having his 50th Wedding Anniversary party. My Mom decided to drive Grandma up to Missouri from Texas so she could see her two surviving siblings. Since I rarely ever see my Grandma - or my Mom really, for that matter - I took a Friday off from work and drove down.
It was a short trip, but, as usual, we made the most of it. We got to the hotel on Friday evening and went for a long swim in the pool while we waited for my Mom and my Grandma to arrive. The next morning, Grandma was fetched by my Great-Aunt so my Mom, my daughter, and I went to Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. I went to college in Columbia, getting my B.A. degree from Mizzou, but I had never been to this park. Not surprising, really, as I wasn't a hiker then at all.



There are a nice series of trails in the park, and we explored most of the fun nooks and crannies.



The defining feature of the park is this natural rock bridge - hence the name of the park. I brought back memories of Ha Ha Tonka State Park - also in Missouri - which I wrote all about in this post a few years ago.



Look at how beautiful the "bridge" is from underneath.






Another fun feature of the park is the Devil's Icebox. 



The Devil's Icebox is located down underneath this crevasse.







My daughter looks up from the crevasse, where the temperature was downright chilly. It was a refreshing break from the mid-90s temps that were happening that day.



After we hiked a pleasant, fairly easy, five miles. We drove back into Columbia to get some lunch. Since I am an alumnus of the University of Missouri - Columbia - aka Mizzou - I made a quick pitstop at the University to see the campus and take a few pictures.







While the University has changed drastically since my time there, the Quad still remains the same. I walked past these signature columns almost daily.



Later that evening, we made our way over to the anniversary party. I snapped a photo of my Grandma and her two remaining siblings: Norma, and Lucille. My Grandma is on the left.
It was a short trip, but it was a lot of fun. The hike in RBMSP was gorgeous, and it was nice to see my Grandma and my Mom. I got a four-generation picture of those two, my daughter, and myself. It's moments like these that I've learned to cherish. Time is so fleeting, so make the most of it.

Redemption and Revitalization at 8000 Feet

My kids, halfway up Black Elk Peak, right before they ditched me and my Dad.
My dear reader, I have so much to share with you that I will be posting my bi-weekly blogs like I used to. I've taken a couple of trips recently, one of them to South Dakota for my yearly vacation. A little over a year ago, I posted about my goal to climb Black Elk Peak. I didn't do it then, but I trained ever since that moment to hike it again.
See, when I was fourteen, my Dad took me on a two-week vacation to South Dakota. I had a lot of fun until the fateful day he drug me up Harney Peak - since renamed Black Elk Peak. I had no desire to hike at that age, and I whined a lot - and even got really angry at one point. Years later, after I became a seasoned hiker, I knew I wanted to go back and conquer it. Conquer it I did. I fought old, fat and out-of-shape me and I fought my crippling fear of heights to conquer that mountain. 
And, as I stood in the old fire tower, looking out over the majestic and overwhelmingly massive landscape, I felt a few things. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I haven't felt in a very long time, I felt redeemed from all those years ago, and I felt a sense of peace. Everything I have gone through, all of the personal turmoil, over the last year and a half were finally wiped out on the mountain at nearly 8000 feet. 
I came back down from that mountain exhausted yet renewed. I'm ready to move forward and move beyond. My life has been reclaimed.