Greenfield High School
Alumni Association
               

Alumni Adventures

Welcome to the new part of our website entitled “Alumni Adventures”.

What travels have you experienced? Are you willing to share a few photos and a short commentary describing your trip? Maybe you achieved a personal goal like running a marathon, seeing one of the seven natural wonders, or spending some time in a foreign country. This is a place you can share a little about yourself. Your adventure or achievement may inspire someone else to experience something unique or challenge themselves in some new way.
           
  These few pictures are just a snapshot of the John Muir Wilderness Trail in California. It is approximately 250 miles long, and several mountain passes reach 13,500 ft, and several peaks are over 14,000ft high. My guide, a much more experienced backpacker, had planned a week to hike about 50 miles, including a few hours to peak Mt Whitney. We certainly made the most of the time and miles we hiked, yet an unusual rain and snowstorm blocked our journey to the peak. We had to settle for the trail skirting the side path to the peak, since two foot drifts made it very precarious hiking. The snow and glare of the suns rays at that altitude made a fun trip into a challenging adventure.    
     

Most of the hike was in the sun and crisp autumn air. Great weather preceded the freak storm, and even better scenery which included glacier lakes, snow capped peaks and unusual conifers and other trees that had been burned from lightning strikes or forest fires. The hiking trail at times was stark, rocks or desert like conditions for a mile or two. Several of the lakes did have fish, and we did catch a few goldens – a small type of trout that would only bite while fly-casting.

We met several phenomenal through hikers; they were packing very light and traveling 15 – 22 miles a day. Some were trying to complete the Muir Trail in ten days; others were walking the Pacific Crest Trail. I marveled at their speed, since every few hundred yards I stopped to catch my breath and look around. I became more acclimatized with each day, yet the scenery provoked many a stop. My trip was to see more than the trail and get a change of pace from my regular life, especially my job as a paramedic.
Enjoy the pictures, I may add more, but certainly I will add some pictures of my recent tour of Peru, especially the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

Steve Lepore – class of 1978