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Mountain Hardwear Mesa Convertible Pant-Grill-M

Trek, scramble, climb... Made from sturdy nylon canvas, the Mesa has a full-length inseam gusset and articulated knees for full range of motion and a micro-chamois lined seamless conical waist for comfort under a pack. Zip off knees for added versatility.Full-length inseam gusset and articulated knees for mobility.Integrated belt with adjustable buckle for fit adjustmentsMicro-chamois lined seamless waist to eliminate chafe.Convert to shorts with an 11" inseam.Side cargo pockets with internal reinforcement panels so you can carry as much stuff as you want.Adjustable drawcord cuffs.

As the storm continued to pound us, we came around the bend and saw Long and Meeker ... covered in hail and huge rivers/waterfalls of water. This picture isn't very good - water covered the front of my lens. But you get the point! The story:

Beauty and the Beast & My Heroes.

A hike up Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, elevation 14,200 feet, is not a normal hike even under good conditions. Our hike up Longs Peak with Catherine Jones, 15, sophomore, Niwot High and her friend Hannah Biddle, 14, Niwot High, and me, Curtis Jones, 51, Old Geezer, started “normal”. To avoid thunderstorms, we started up the dark trail at 4am with flashlights in hand. Being the age that they are, the ladies (I call them ladies rather than girls after this trip) were still asleep the first couple of miles. As we left the trees and the sun poked up through the Twin Sisters, both girls, usually preoccupied with texting on their phones and worried about their looks, were truly amazed at the majestic beauty around them and continued to be amazed as we saw Longs Peak from the Boulder field and went through the “keyhole” to see what arguably is the best mountain view in the world. Something about the grandeur of it all is good for the soul. As we climbed our way to the top of the trough, stopping about every 15 feet to gasp for air, we wondered WHEN we would get to the top. Shortly, we hit “the narrows”, a scary ledge with a huge drop off. Something stopped us there. Having done Longs before alone, my somewhat overprotective nature kicked in and I told the girls that if they wanted to continue, we could but there would be no shame in turning around – they had made it to 13,900 feet and seen the most beautiful views anyway. Normally, I believe they would have gone but something in both of them said it was time to head down. That decision probably saved us. Except for a cut finger and a fall on a tailbone, the trip down the very steep trough, through the keyhole, and partway down the boulder field was “uneventful” even though extreme attention must be paid on this section of the hike or it quickly ends up “eventful”. As we exited the boulder field, we felt a few drops of rain. Looking back at Longs Peak, a dark cloud hung over the peak. It popped up out of nowhere. We worried about the people still behind us. Quickly, the drops of rain turned into a downpour and Mother Nature added hail to the mix. The trial was completely full of water – attempts to sidestep the stream quickly turned into walking right through it because the rocks and grass beside the trail were too slippery to walk on. The temperature dropped probably 30 degrees, there was a wind, even rain gear was soaked and mother nature decided to add on lightning and thunder, several bolts which hit 200 yards from us (while we were walking in 6” of water). My previous explanations of the conditions can never convey how hard things were – as both Catherine and Hannah would say as we sat in Hannah’s hot tub that evening enjoying the little things that we didn’t appreciate before having a life threatening/changing experience like that one – “why tell anyone? They simply wouldn’t understand”. And the conditions were hard. We were barely surviving. All of us had to fight to move because we were soaked and cold, hypothermia was setting in, the hail hurt badly is it pelted our faces, heads, and hands. In my 51 years of life, I have never been that scared. Every other hiker we walked by asked if we were OK, all agreed that they had just had a life changing experience. Catherine and Hannah were unbelievable. When conditions were at their worst and I was very worried about these two young teenagers in front of me and how they would react, their true tenacious characters surfaced. Several times, both girls would look back to make sure I was still with them and when I started to fall back a bit because my legs would stiffen, both girls would give me a look like “you get your butt up here old geezer or we will start dating boys you don’t want us to date”. Later I found out that they were as scared as I was. Having such an experience, an experience many people will never experience in their lives, at such a young age matured them beyond their physical years and showed me what they are made of. I think they will handle what life throws at them well. Even though we were more prepared than most for Longs, we weren’t prepared enough. Partially waterproof equipment isn’t enough. But sometimes having all the equipment isn’t enough – not much could have helped us if one of those lightening bolts had hit 200 yards closer. We are just happy to be alive and worried about the people who were behind us and still on the steep parts of the hike. And the little irritations in life that occasionally get us down? We have better perspectives now. Like all bad things, there is some good … the bond I have with my daughter just got a lot stronger. We survived together. Sometimes, most of the time, tee

Drakolimni (= Dragon lake) is the name of several alpine or sub-alpine lakes in northwestern Greece Epirus periphery. According to local folktales the lakes used to be inhabited by dragons that fought each other by throwing pines and rocks and thus created the peculiar landscape and gave their names to the lakes. Drakolimni of Tymfi resides at an altitude of 2100m above sea level, on the mountain range of Tymfi and is inhabited by a species of alpine newt, called drakakia by the locals. According to local sources, the newts' resemblance to small dragons gives the lake its distinctive name.

…and this was my most difficult capture to get. Not to capture, but to reach that sliver of paradise we had to go through a kind of hell. To set things straight, when I say WE I mean WE. Most people traveling light, with only their clothes in their backpacks or with no backpacks at all reach that place in 5 hours of fairly easy uphill track (or even less, we met people that jogged that track just for fun). Well, let me give you the version of two mildly to seriously out of shape and heavily packed photographers carrying with them all of their photographic equipment (to talk with numbers that’s translated to 25 kilos for male photographer *KirlianCamera and 15 kilos for female photographer me –that’s just a little less than one third of my weight)...

Alarm clock set at 7.30 am, arrival at the nearest village at 9.00am. We saddle up and start walking. First half hour is a mere torture to me as what starts as a merely annoying pain at my right shoulder becomes a stab real fast. I keep fumbling and messing with my backback straps, tightening some and loosening up some until I find a comfortable combination at last. We carry on panting laboriously, tongues lolling out of our mouths; we do innumerable stops to catch our breath and I use each of these stops to munch enthusiastically through our supplies of food not because I’m hungry but because I want to lighten up my burden. Fortunately at some point the carbohydrates I have consumed kick in and I feel much better, find a reasonable pace and 6 hours later we reach the refuge and collapse on the front porch unable to shoo away the horses that come to greet us, sniff, lick and nibble at our bags. After a hot drink and a tasty dinner we sleep like logs.

That was not the end, the lake still lay ahead of us and we set off to explore it and time ourselves on the next morning. Stop clock verdict: 2 hours. Which means that since we want a sunrise at the land of the dragons we wake up at 3.30am, leave by 4.00 am, snow sparkling like diamond dust under our headlights, moon shining behind the peak of Astraka, mildly worried about wolves and bears waiting for their nicely wrapped up in isothermal clothes take-away breakfast. We reach the lake in our usual, unbecoming fashion (panting laboriously, tongues hanging out of our mouths etc etc) just in time to catch the first light touching the peaks before it was snuffed out by a heavy cloud right behind us.

Do I dare do it again? H E L L, Y E S!!!

Engineered to make hunters more successful in the field, the Freestyle720s large footprint/ tri-pod design with a cantilevered seat allows the hunter the silent mobility to efficiently and effectively traverse from window to window and make their shot with proper form from any angle while remaining in a seated position. Patent pending cam-over latch technology, 6061T6 aluminum, reinforced polymer construction and full deployment in less than 20 seconds only begins to describe the features packed into the Freestyle720 from S4Gear. Think this is like all the other ground blind chairs. Think again. The Freestyle720 is designed for persons weighing up to 250 lbs. Seatback not included.