by Elaine Fredrickson
For the Sequim Gazette
A hitchhiking trip through Western Europe in 1967 was the beginning of a lifetime passion for adventure travel and wanderlust, still not quenched.
From 1967-2001 our focus was raising a family, careers and travel within the U.S. The Grand Canyon, Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier were some of our favorite destinations. After retirement in 2001, travel adventures began in earnest with hiking trips to Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Australia, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Nepal, Tanzania, Madagascar, Iceland, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
We travel for many reasons. Discovering the natural beauty of our world, while challenging our bodies to “work for it” drives us to continue to seek such adventures as long as we can.
While hitchhiking through Europe, we experienced the fun and sense of adventure that comes with traveling independently, meeting local people, struggling to communicate and not knowing for sure where we might be sleeping that night. We continue to keep these as our themes, traveling in ways that will challenge us physically and allow us to meet people from all over the world.
Iceland is an adventure traveler’s dream. It is a land of wild and varied extremes, exemplified each day on the five-day Landmannalauger trek. The first day, we hiked among boiling turquoise thermal pools which provided hot water and heat in the huts where we cooked and slept. Fording icy rivers was a daily event and always proved tense and exhilarating no matter how many times we did it.
Hiking through lava, Iceland’s defining feature, was both beautiful and challenging. The landscape changed from crumbling pink pastel, to shiny, sharp obsidian to huge basalt boulders, which were the most challenging to negotiate.
By afternoon we were happy to catch our first glimpse of the “hut,” our destination for that day. Seeing who and how many people we would share a room with that evening is all part of the hut hiking. Throughout it all, the memories we bring home to our family and friends are of the interesting people we meet.
Travel has broadened our world view and helped us understand that people are more alike than they are different in spite of political, social and cultural differences. And we never lose the thrill and memories of the most amazing stories we hear around tables in mountain huts!
About the presenter
Elaine Fredrickson is a retired school principal who lives in Sequim with her husband Arni. Her passion for adventure travel began in the summer of 1967 when she
and Arni hitchhiked through Europe. In 1995, they hiked the Chilkoot trail in Alaska and Elaine began to nurture her love for the mountains. Since her retirement in 2001, they have hiked in South America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Italy, Nepal, Tanzania, Madagascar, Iceland, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
When at home in Sequim, Elaine is involved in her grandchildren’s lives and avidly hikes in the Olympics.
About the presentations
Traveler’s Journal is a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition. All of the money raised is used to buy project supplies and food for volunteers working on Olympic Discovery Trail projects.
Shows start at 7 p.m. in the Sequim High School library at 601 N. Sequim Ave. Please note the change of venue: All shows are in the library, not the cafeteria as in previous years.
Suggested donation is $5 for adults. Youths 18 and under are welcome for free.
One selected photo enlargement will be given away each week as a door prize. Creative Framing is donating the matting and shrink wrapping of the door prize.
Call Dave Shreffler at 683-1734 for more information.
