The Eco-Caminho of Sizandro (Portugal) is a trail that can be done by bike or walking. One section starts in the city of Torres Vedras and it finishes in the firth of river Sizandro (Foz do Sizandro), totalising 18km distance. There is also a variation that leads to Santa Cruz (21km), a popular holiday spot in the Portuguese Atlantic coast. The trail breaks in between agricultural fields of fruits and vegetables and as it accompanies the margins of the river Sizandro, the difficulty level is low. It also passes by several forts of the Lines of Torres Vedras, built during the Peninsular war with the objective of defending Lisbon from the French troops. The lines of forts were named after the city of Torres Vedras and their construction was supervised by the commander of the British troops, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The eco-caminho passes through several interesting and authentic villages such as Ribeira de Pedrulhos, Ponte de Rol, Bordinheira, Aranha...I do this trail very often on my all terrain "Specialized" bike and I enjoy the views, the birds singing, the Atlantic. However, it deeply saddens me the way that farmers, walkers, fishermen and others treat the land and the river, with many litter left behind, mainly plastic litter. There seems to be no respect for nature and no awareness on how harmful this is for animals, ecosystems and human life.
Apparently, this is one of the best views in the US. These two sharp mountains, still covered in snow in June, are the Maroon Bells and the photo is taken from the Maroon Creek Valley. It would have been very nice to climb these mountains, but a plaque at the visitor centre read that even experienced climbers find this climb extremely difficult. The Maroon Bells are two peaks above 4,000 meters which are located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of the White River National Forest. So, on my own but together with the masses, I hiked from the Maroon Lake to the Crater Lake. In the Crater Lakes the masses stopped and enjoyed the views, but this did not satisfy me. So, I went a further into the wild. I only met an old couple of backpackers after passing the Crater Lake. This moment was inspiring for me as I saw that at their age they were still walking and camping outdoors. They explained me how to scare a mountain lion if I ever would see one: to stand tall and raise the arms overhead in order to look as big and intimidating as possible. However, some days before, someone else told me that if I ever saw a mountain lion that would have been already too late...I did not, though, not even a brown bear, which apparently is much less dangerous than a mountain lion. I passed by an elk without knowing it was one and this could have been dangerous as elks can charge, especially if they have calves with them.
