The Ministry of Happiness

Himalayan Travelogue Part 6 – Moonlight Lodge and the Yeti Skull

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 6 – Moonlight Lodge and the Yeti Skull

I’m re-posting my Himalayan Travelogue posts from one of my other blogs, given my upcoming adventure, hiking the Appalachian Trail, I thought these might be an interesting look back as I prepare ~ Rev Kane

Today we start to go uphill, after doing some walking and crossing several suspension bridges we really started to climb, and at the two and a half hour mark we stopped at what I started calling a Himalaya Rest Stop, where several local women were selling fruit to the trekkers. I was excited to make friends with one of the ladies and buy the “last banana” at least the last one until we were up the trail I’m sure. The stop had a much bigger significance however, it was the first spot where we had a view of Mt. Everest.

As the day closed we arrived at Namche Bazaar (11,315 ft) essentially a giant swap meet in the middle of the mountains. Namche is the place where Tibetans who have walked over the mountains, often in sneakers, come to sell their wares. The village also has internet shops, bakeries and most importantly hot showers and the last sit down toilets on the trail.
Getting to Namche was great and I was thankful for an acclimatization day the next day as I wasn’t feeling great, but then again, 11,000 feet, a tough day walking and a bit of sunburn will do that to you.

The next morning has me very excited, I’m a big believer in Bigfoot and its Himalayan cousin the Yeti, to the point that my brother and I produce a website related to this and related topics, www.dystopiantimes.com. I’m excited because today we will visit a Gompa in Khumjung where they monks have a purported Yeti Skull.

Me and Stretch on the way to the Yeti Skull

Acclimatization day does not mean rest day, in fact the goal is to go up a thousand feet or so and then come back down to sleep lower than you climbed. We climbed up above Namche with amazing views in the clear November skies including Ama Dablam, Everest and Lhotse. The crazy thing is way up here on the mountain at 12,000 feet we came across a dirt airstrip and actually got to see a plane take off, it was wild.

We walked to Khunde for lunch and visited one of the mountain health clinics and then the big attraction for the day, the Khumjung Gompa and the Yeti Skull. Arriving at the Gompa we had to make a donation to get the caretaker to open the case with the skull in it, but once he did we got to get up close to the small glass container that contained the skull. Unfortunately the glass and the lack of light made getting a good shot almost impossible so here’s my best one below:

I’m a big fan of cryptids like the Yeti, but I’m also a scientist and the fact is the Khumjung skull is not a Yeti skull, it has been previously investigated and it turned out to not be the real deal, the link below can give you more information. The history of the skull, and a link to a picture of Sir Edmund Hillary with the scalp and it’s debunking. All in all it was still a thrill to be in the land of the Yeti and be talking to people who truly believe in its existence.

On the way back to Namche we stopped and took some photos including my favorite one of me in the Himalayas and here it is.

Rev Kane and a hiking friend

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged ama dablam, backpacking, bigfoot, everest, happiness, nepal, treking, yeti | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue Part 5 – Going To Lukla

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 5 – Going To Lukla

Mount Everest

We landed at the Kathmandu Airport (elevation – 4300 ft) with all of the associated crowds and insanity, standing in line to get our visas, customs, changing over money and then trying to find our connection and ride to the Kathmandu Guest House (KGH). We did find our connection and a large crowd of gentlemen happy to help us with our bags for a tip of course. The other thing that happened, of course, was we had to wait for another flight and other guests before going to the Kathmandu Guest House. While waiting we got familiar with all of the operations at the airport including the taxi line, and it became obvious that gas prices are high in Nepal.

Gas is expensive, taxi drivers manually moving in the airport line

During the ride from the airport we would find out there was a general strike on, we saw marching crowds in the street and the traffic was unbelievable. At one point our van driver actually leaned out of the window and tried to push the vehicle next to us out-of-the-way. Then suddenly traffic would part for a cow in the middle of the road, it is a Hindu country after all. Finally we made it to the KGH, checked in and met our guide briefly, we were told when dinner would be and were left to relax and nap. Eventually we crawled out to the dining area and met a couple of folks from our trek and sat down for a beer and a snack. It felt good after traveling for two days to finally just sit and relax with nothing to do. We had dinner at a place called the Road House, met the whole gang and got instructions for the next morning, a very early morning call for our flight to Lukla. We did a quick bit of last-minute shopping, had a beer and crashed for the evening.

Up and out pre-dawn we piled our bags and ourselves barely into the van and made our way to the airport. The airport was already bustling with other trekkers and we hustled through the ordinary madness of the airport morning to finally find ourselves waiting on the tarmac for our Yeti Airline’s twin engine otter to be ready to go. It was a spectacular morning as the sun came up and gave us our first clear views of the big hills.

We boarded the plane, listened to the props start to fire up and a lovely tiny flight attendant in full uniform came through the cabin, I believe she actually sat on some of our luggage in the back the plane was so full. She came through the cabin with a tray that contained cotton for earplugs and Japanese Melon candies, actually one of my favorite candies. We rolled down the runway with the engines roaring and took off, flying the route to Lukla with the Himalayas out my window, it was truly spectacular and Lukla loomed in the distance.

Now let me tell you a little something about the Lukla airport, it is the exact minimum length an airport can be. When you are landing in Lukla the runway ends with the vertical rock face of a mountain. When you take off from Lukla, you take off downhill and the runway ends in a 1000 foot vertical drop off. About 10 month before our journey a plane full of German trekkers had not quite made the take off and crashed in the valley. We had been warned, this would be the most intense part of our trek and this is what I was thinking about, looking up through the aisle and out the window past our pilots to see the runway below us. When you land in Lukla you come down to the runway at a desperate angle and can see the runway screaming at the windshield at what seems like an impossible speed. You hit the ground violently and then you see the pilot literally jump on the breaks as the co-pilot drops the throttle and you start swerving back and forth as you fly up the runway. Just as you think you are about to hit the face of the mountain the pilot whips a right turn and drives into the unloading zone. If you don’t like to fly, don’t go trekking in the Himalayas, this was as intense flying experience.

The link below has a perfect set of images of what the trip looks like:

http://delaheaven.blogspot.com/2010/07/tenzing-hillary-airport-lukla-adventure.html

And here is a video of landing at Lukla, you can hear the release of tension at the landing.
It was both a joy and a relief to make it to Lukla (9350 ft), we ate a quick breakfast and hit the trail, our first day walking would effectively take us downhill with our first day ending in Monjo at (9300 ft). We hiked for 5 hours at a calm pace and arrived at Kailash Lodge, a really nice place, albeit with a cranky hiker on his way back down, the lodge even included in-room hot showers. One of the things that you hear before you trek is how horrible the conditions are going to be, smoky lodges with bad beds, no chance to shower, human fecal matter on the trail and terrifying wooden bridges across the gorges. It’s not true for the most part, over my 22 days I saw only one small wooden bridge, only one slightly smoky lodge, enough showers to feel comfortable and absolutely no human waste on the trails. The beds, well hell, you can complain about anything that can reasonably be called a bed, even if it is a wooden frame with a piece of foam for a mattress.

Here below are my exact thoughts that I wrote that afternoon as I made it to Kailash Lodge:

“It was beautiful all along the trail, big mountains, crazy blue rivers, yaks, shrines, paintings, the bridges are all steel cable so not nearly as terrifying as I expected. Sherpas carrying insane loads, happy, dirty, crying and playing children, smiling people greet us, Namaste.”

A good meal, a shower, a snoring roommate and a surprisingly good night of sleep made for a fantastic first day in the Himalayas. Have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 4, I’m goin to Kathmandu

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 4, I’m goin to Kathmandu

As I was planning my time off I mentioned to a buddy at work that I was thinking about Everest and he said, “I’m in.” A lot of people say these sorts of things, hell there were at least 6 people who had hoped to join us on the trek, but in fact, he was in. We began the planning process shortly thereafter, reading, researching, looking at all of the trekking companies and guides available was a bit of a daunting task. Some of the things that became important to us were that the guide had some flexibility built into the schedule, that the company was more concerned with the experience but kept the goal in mind, and finally that they had some sensitivity to the local people. We had narrowed the search down to a few companies when my buddy saw a picture of one of the guides and boom; he decided we were going with them. Now to her credit, our guide Kim is a beautiful woman, but even more importantly the group she works with met all of our criteria and then some. Let me save you a ton of research, if you are thinking about trekking in the Himalayas, then you want to go with Kim and Lahkpa of Project Himalaya

Lahkpa and Kim

The Project Himalaya team takes great care of their clients and the locals they hire, they pay them well and treat them with respect. It was a pleasure trekking with them and I’ve recommended them too many friends. Now in planning this trip one thing was apparent, I was goin to Kathmandu, and of course for the full year before this trip Bob Seger echoed through my mind, so listen to Bob sing I’m goin to Kathmandu

The day finally came, after all of the training, gear purchasing and planning we were heading to the airport in San Francisco to leave it was the end of October, 2009. Now you get your Nepal Visa at the airport in Kathmandu unfortunately my ticket agent for Singapore Air at the counter didn’t know this, nor did she believe me. Neither did her supervisor and finally after a 5 minute discussion the clerk from the next window, who had processed my friend in like 30 seconds came over and took the responsibility. So a piece of advice, have your visa forms and pics accessible when you check in to avoid any issues. I will say this, that one glitch was the only negative thing I have to say about Singapore Air they were awesome.

One of the nice surprises that came about in the planning was that we had to overnight in Singapore on the way to Kathmandu, I’d never been there before and had a great time doing the one-day Singapore tour. I really recommend the botanical gardens and a heads up, Singapore is a crowded and interesting big city I had a blast there and plan to go back. Of course we got caught in a horrible thunderstorm at the gardens but 3 lovely lady Brits helped the time and the storm pass with us under an overhang. Below are a couple of pics from Singapore

Christmas in Singapore

New friend at the Botanical Gardens

Finally we boarded the plane and flew into Kathmandu, God how I love the insanity of airports in the developing world. It was great to be on the ground after 22 hours of flying and we were ready to start our journey.

Gas is expensive, taxi drivers manually moving in the airport line

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Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged backpacking, happiness, hiking, himalayas, mt. everest, nepal, singapore, trekking | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 3, Welcome to Utah

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 3, Welcome to Utah

I’m re-posting my Himalayan Travelogue posts from one of my other blogs, given my upcoming adventure, hiking the Appalachian Trail, I thought these might be an interesting look back as I prepare ~ Rev Kane

My family’s cabin in Utah

Truly it may be said that the outside of a mountain is good for the inside of a man. ~ George Wherry, Alpine Notes and the Climbing Foot, 1896

I was fortunate enough during my time off to have access to my aunt’s cabin in Utah. The beauty of that place is almost impossible to put into words, the sage brush, the clear air and the amazing sunsets with a flock of turkeys as my constant company. There is a peace that pervades you out there that is hard to find anywhere else, I was blessed to have that for three months. My schedule for the time there was perfect, get up, eat breakfast and drive over to Bryce Canyon National Park, spend four or five hours hiking and come home. Eat, take a nice little nap, do some reading or work around the cabin, shoot the sunset, eat and the do some writing before bed. Life the way it should be moving exactly at the correct pace. I could spend time in this space today writing about all of the magnificent hiking trails and experiences I had there, but that isn’t the point of this piece, we’re on our way to the Himalayas and it’s time to get there. So instead, from my three months in Utah, today I’ll give you nothing but images to tell the tale, enjoy.

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged appalachian trail, backpacking, Bryce Canyon, happiness, hiking, himalayas, mt. everest, national parks, nepal, trekking, Utah | 1 Comment

Happy News – October 27, 2014

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Michael Kane

Happy News – October 27, 2014

Tonight our weekly tour around the web to find the kind of happy news local and cable news love to ignore. Have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Two 20 year old guys gutted their van and started a laundry for the homeless

Point your phone at a math problem and your phone solves it!

Eight year old with Down’s Syndrome gets to score an amazing TD!

Five year-old with Autism paints beautiful paintings!

Posted in happiness news | Tagged art, autism, charity, down's syndrome, football, good news, happiness, happy news, kindness, painting | Leave a comment

Himalayan Travelogue Part 2 – The Great Glen Way

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 2 – The Great Glen Way

It was night and I could see a large and calm lake, reflecting the moon. Black mountains rose around it. I arrived from between two of these mountains, I looked at the lake and the moon, and that was it, nothing else happened. ~ Georges Simenon
Traveling is always an amazing thing to me, the simplest things that you do everyday take on a completely new feel in a new place. The Great Glen Way starts in Fort Williams and I arrived there by train and walked up to my lodging for the evening, the Rhu Mhor House, by far the creepiest looking house I have ever encountered, the door answered, of course, by a very old white-haired woman who was expecting me. I really felt like I was in the first scene of a Sherlock Holmes film.

The house would turn out to be fine, a little old, but good biscuits, tea and cocoa in my room and a huge breakfast with the man of the house appearing in his kilt and full Scottish garb. The previous night I made a quick foray into the center of Fort Williams for dinner and at the Grog & Gruel, (yes that was really the name), and had a fabulous plate of Haggis with Drambuie sauce. I also scouted around to find my way the next morning and the entrance to the Great Glenn Way.

Breakfast that first morning was surreal and very good and I also had the good fortune to meet two ladies from France who were also hiking the Glen. The first day was an easy walk along the trail which follows the New Caledonian Canal across Scotland including the impressive lock called Neptune’s Staircase. It was a pleasant first day, twelve miles of walking and a good night’s sleep at the Anoch Mor Hotel.

Day 2 on the Glenn, a total of 14 miles walking from start to my resting place was a nice quiet and very flat walking day along the shores of Loch Lochy, which if you translated it to American English would be Lake Lakey, that little thought amused me all day.
I had been in Ireland for two weeks previous to this walk and up to this point had not seen a single day of rain. That may not sound strange to us here in the states, but in Ireland and Scotland that sort of thing is unheard of, and on the Day 3 of the Glen (11 miles) and I finally got a taste of good Scottish weather. I was heading for Fort Augustus on this day and the rain gathered strength steadily throughout the whole day. At the Kytra Lock I ran into a lad from Liverpool who had inadvertently taken the keys to his wife’s car. She was back in Fort Augustus and initially he asked me if I would carry the keys to her, I agreed, but after a quick call and a bit of arguing on the phone he changed his mind. A little while later a car would come driving down the trail and a man stopped and asked me if I had the keys, not quite what I expected to see when I set out on this hike. Coming into Fort Augustus I stopped for a coke and a Venison burger, it’s amazing how good a hot meal tastes when you’ve been walking in the rain for several hours.
Day 4 on the Glen, a short little 9 mile hop and a great night’s sleep at a beautiful little home where the owner dried all of my clothes for me and set out a really wonderful breakfast in the morning. Though if you ever go to Scotland, prepare to eat a lot of toast, I think the fewest pieces of toast I was ever brought at breakfast was 4 half-pieces and usually it was 8 and I was always asked if I needed more toast. The morning breakfast was eaten with an Australian Special Forces soldier just off of back-to-back tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a truly fascinating guy with some amazing insights to what he’d just been through.

Day 5 on the Glen, a 14 mile walk to Drumnadrochit the Loch Ness Monster capital of the world! Of course after having the typical wonderful and huge breakfast I headed out and then up the biggest damn hill I’d ever seen. It was an hour and a half walk at a massive angle, a 2000 foot elevation gain and the craziest thing is that it was up a paved road. I can’t imagine driving up or down this road in the rain, unbelievable. The rest of the day was a wonderful walk along a rail line of an old country estate, back up into the hills with some great views of the loch below. Finally a drop down into Drumnadrochit and my extra day to tour the two competing Loch Ness Monster museums and unfortunately I have to say, I wasn’t impressed with either.

During my extra day I did however walk down and tour Urquhart Castle it was an impressive place and was just incredible cool to be someplace I’d seen my whole life in photos. For those of you who are not Loch Ness Monster junkies like me, Urquhart Castle was the place where in the 6th Century Saint Colombia after finding the locals burying someone who had been killed by the monster sent one of his assistants into the water to swim across.

Urquhart Castle

The monster appeared and St. Columbia commanded the monster to go away and the monster retreated as if pulled by ropes. Urquhart Castle is the shot always shown in any footage dealing with the monster. All in all a great day in Drumadrochit.

Day 6 on the Glen, the last and longest day, a 20+ mile day to the endpoint in Inverness and also the highest point on the trail, 1245 meters (4084 feet). The day started with a series of long climbs but after a couple of hours and hitting the highest point it was a pretty flat run overlooking Loch Ness. Seeing Inverness was a beautiful sight from the trail.

Finally I walked down and made my way to the official endpoint of the trail at Inverness Castle and then across the street for a lovely glass of Scottish Whiskey. My first multi-day hike was a success and gave me some confidence for the big hills but I knew I’d need altitude work, so off to Utah. In transitioning back to the states I passed through Edinburgh, a truly wonderful city but the weirdest thing of the whole trip happened, walking the streets of Edinburgh I hear my name look up and see a friend from graduate school I hadn’t seen in years and here’s a pic of us on the streets of Edinburgh.

A friend from grad school and Rev Kane unexpectedly meeting in Edinburgh

Himalayan Travelogue Part 1 – A Beginning

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 1 – A Beginning

If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved.
~ Maurice Chevalier
In 1924 George Leigh Mallory, a British climber, was asked why climb Mount Everest, he famously quipped, “because it’s there.” So is Mallory, he never returned from that climb and it is believed that his body was found by climbers in 1999. Mount Everest is the biggest mountain on earth, at least above the ocean, and also the most coveted to climb. It isn’t however the most difficult to climb, at least not from a technical climbing perspective, but Sagarmatha as the Nepalese call her is the biggest hill on earth. Something about that fact has always drawn people, me included, to her slopes. Now, I’m not a climber, I didn’t go to the Himalayas to climb Everest, only to step on the base of her slopes at a little over 17,700 feet, and even more exciting to me, the idea of walking on the Khumbu Ice Fall.
The idea had always been in the back of my mind but it wasn’t until I stumbled onto a website for a trekking company that I truly thought about actually doing it. Of course, like most of these things, when would I ever have the time and the money to take that trip? Well that time came last year, after over a year and a half of planning I finally was in a position to take 8 months off of work. I had put away the money to cover my expenses for that time and come up with a plan. That plan including a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest. Now the really nutty thing about this plan was not only am I not a climber, I also had never done a multi-day hike and I’d only been over 12,000 feet once outside of Lhasa, Tibet. Now here I was planning 22 days in the Himalayas with a goal of over 17,000 feet. Oh and just to make it exciting, I can’t take the medicine (Diamox) that most people take to help prevent them from getting altitude sickness. Needless to say the mention of the plan either frightened or was totally blown off by the people close to me; truly, I couldn’t be stupid enough to actually be doing this.

Those same thoughts had crossed my mind as well, but I was taking 8 months off and the best time to trek in the Himalayas is November, so it would be near the end of my time off. So being the logical creature that I am, I decided I’d use the first part of my time off to get fit and ready for Everest. My plan was simple, start hiking a lot before May when my time off would begin. Then start to progressively get ready for the big hills so of course I would start in Scotland, with no mountain over 4,000 feet. There was some logic to this trip; I planned to hike the Great Glen Way over a 6 day period, my first multi-day hike, 73 miles. Next I would spend time in Utah and really start to stretch myself out and get ready. I am fortunate enough to have an aunt who has a house near Bryce Canyon National Park and that would be my home base. For three months I would hike in the park, live at 6600 feet and spend as much time as possible above 8000 feet and some time above 10,000 feet on Bryan Head.

Piece of cake right, first of course I’d drive across country, visit my brother and friends in Texas, dig for diamonds in Arkansas (didn’t find any), visit family and friends in the East and head for Ireland and Scotland for the month of June. Ride a bike around Ireland, hike the Great Glen Way and then land back in Utah by July. Over the next few weeks I will take you across Scotland, up into Bryce Canyon and then into Nepal and up the big hills of the Himalayas, I hope you enjoy the trip.

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged adventure, appalachian trail, backpacking, happiness, hiking, himalayas, life, mount everest, nepal | 1 Comment

Happy News – October 14, 2014

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Michael Kane

Happy News – October 14, 2014

Our weekly tour around the web to bring you the kind of good news cable and your local news seem to ignore, enjoy and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

One act of kindness can last a lifetime

Teen saves woman from oncoming train

Dogs do Halloween

Utah Jazz sign 5 year-old fighting cancer and let him dunk in game

Hero cop drives car and does CPR and same time!

Posted in personal happiness | Tagged children, good news, happiness, happy news, pets, positive news, positivity | Leave a comment

Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness: Fear and Loathing on the AT

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Michael Kane

Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness: Fear and Loathing on the AT

As I’ve mentioned previously I have undertaken planning to do a thru-hike next year on the Appalachian Trail (AT). My hope is that I will walk all 2,200 miles of the AT from Springer Mountain, GA to Mt. Kathadin, Maine starting in late February or early March, 2015. This is my trail journal where I hope to take you from my decision to do this, through my preparation and then notes from the trail and hopefully all the way to Maine. All of this in my journey and process to live happy days my friends ~ Rev Kane

Fear and Loathing on the Appalachian Trail, a catchy title for a book, well more like a stolen title. Of course I’m referring to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S Thompson’s masterpiece and probably the funniest book I’ve ever read. No other book has made me laugh out loud more often on airplanes than this book. Often flight attendants ask me what I’m reading, I tell them, and when they explain they’ve never heard of the book I gift it to them. I’ve given away at least five copies of the book on flights and it will likely be one of my few luxury items on the AT.

I liked the title so I used it, but the title of this post should have really been fear and anxiety. I mentioned in the first post I did about this journey that there are lots of way to get injured or die on the trail. Bears are the way most people fear and the one thing people always bring up when I tell them what I’m planning on doing. I do have a healthy respect for Black Bears and will take the precautions I can in regard to them, my first piece about my thru-hike has the list of potential horrors. But there are some specific things I really am anxious about on the trail and they are probably not the ones you would expect. Lightning is my number one fear, having once been caught in a severe thunderstorm at 9000 feet in Bryce Canyon National Park with lightning hitting trees around me, I am very afraid of getting caught out in a lightning storm on the trail. Both that day, and on the AT, I will be carrying metal trekking poles and that makes me a big bag of water with lightning rods in my hands, pretty much the perfect conductor for a bolt of lightning. However to keep things in perspective, from my reading I’m only aware of two people having been killed by lightning on the trail in the last twenty years.

The second source of anxiety for me on the trail is exposed trails. Exposed trails are trails that are narrow and have a rock face on one side and nothing on the other. Often on the nothing side, the drop off falls a hundred feet or more to the forest floor. Given the amount of rain the AT sees each year walking muddy exposed trails is a real source of nervousness for me. As I explained in an earlier post, the hardest day of hiking I’ve ever experienced was eight hours of exposed trails in the Himalayas, some with nearly a thousand foot drop offs. The amount of focus needed to hike these trails safely is amazing and very tiring; thankfully, I don’t expect nearly the amount, or severity of exposed trails I experienced in Nepal.

The final source of my anxiety for the trail is actual rock climbing. There are some sections in the White Mountains and maybe others I’m unaware of where I will have to do some minor rock climbing, up say ten or fifteen feet. I’m not a good climber and I don’t particularly enjoy it, I like climbing down even less, in fact I’m a terrible descender. On top of that, I’ll likely be doing it in the rain with a thirty pound pack on my back. Not something I’m looking forward to doing at all.

The thing about these sources of anxiety, other than the lightning, is that they are things to overcome. I have to keep in mind, children, people as old as eighty, and even the blind have completed this trail, I’m capable as well. Part of the reason you do things like hru-hike the AT is to stretch yourself, to do things that you wouldn’t ordinarily do, things that make you anxious, because accomplishing these things builds something inside of you, call it confidence or character or whatever you want. Overcoming obstacles transforms you in ways you can never predict or imagine.

So there will be fear and loathing and anxiety, but more than anything else there will be happy days my friends, months and months of them. ~ Rev Kane

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Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged adventure, appalachian trail, AT, backcountry, backpacking, happiness, hiking, nature, thru hike | 4 Comments

Happy News – October 7, 2014

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Michael Kane

Happy News – October 7, 2014

Our weekly tour across the web to find you the type of good news your news channel isn’t giving you, enjoy and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Worlds first surviving Panda triplets

Giving 300,000 Birthday Smiles

Firefighters rescue elderly woman then do her yardwork

A man put a Buddha statue in a high crime neighborhood, what happens next is amazing

Inspiration Campaign, You’re Amazing

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Posted in happiness news | Tagged animals, firefighters, good news, happinss, happy, happy news, panda, positive news, positivity | 2 Comments

The Ministry of Happiness

Himalayan Travelogue Part 6 – Moonlight Lodge and the Yeti Skull

Himalayan Travelogue Part 6 – Moonlight Lodge and the Yeti Skull

Himalayan Travelogue Part 5 – Going To Lukla

Himalayan Travelogue Part 5 – Going To Lukla

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Himalayan Travelogue – Part 4, I’m goin to Kathmandu

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 4, I’m goin to Kathmandu

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Himalayan Travelogue – Part 3, Welcome to Utah

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 3, Welcome to Utah

Happy News – October 27, 2014

Happy News – October 27, 2014

Himalayan Travelogue Part 2 – The Great Glen Way

Himalayan Travelogue Part 2 – The Great Glen Way

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Himalayan Travelogue Part 1 – A Beginning

Himalayan Travelogue Part 1 – A Beginning

Happy News – October 14, 2014

Happy News – October 14, 2014

Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness: Fear and Loathing on the AT

Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness: Fear and Loathing on the AT

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