besthike.com - the blog

My favourite hiking footwear is made by Dunham. The last store selling Dunham in my city of a million people dropped the line.

Why are the excellent Dunham products so poorly distributed?
Their “store locator” web page has been “under construction” for as long as I can recall.
When I phoned the customer information line I was […]

A good use of besthike.com is to get planning advice.
Start on our world map home page. Then narrow down your search geographically. Do you want a great hike close to home? Or are you willing to travel far?
You might click through to the Chilkoot Trail in Yukon / Alaska, for example.
On that page you’ll […]

Agh.
This photo freaks me out.

John Dranchak, Long Beach, California
It was a Merit Prize winner in the most recent National Geographic contest chosen from 15,000 entries.
John Dranchak—until recently, an aerospace engineer in Long Beach, California—took this image in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, where he was traveling with friends. Dranchak says the guide […]

Escaping the smog of LA is not so tough.
You could drive up to Mt. Whitney.
Or what about Timber Mountain via Icehouse Canyon in Angeles National Forest?
Modern Hiker posted a terrific trip report with photos, video, Google map, a flickr photo set, … (Is this blog GREAT, or what!)
Theirs was a challenging 10mi day […]

I love wild flowers but could not name a one.
I need to hike with Kris Light, editor of the East Tennessee Wildflowers website.
Kris has a big site which includes favourite wildflower hiking destinations, index of names, photo galleries and more.
Don’t be fooled by the name of the website. Kris lists over 1000 […]

The new Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto (2006) brought public attention to the Mayan ruins of El Mirador in Guatemala close to the Mexican border.
The 5-6 day hike to the fabled ruins of El Mirador is one of the best hikes in the world — we think.

National Geographic illustration of the original Mayan city
Our one […]

Tom Mangan pointed me to a post extolling the pleasures of Night Hiking on an outdoors blog called As The Crow Flies.

Here’s another fascinating, original post on As The Crow Flies:
I love mornings. I’m usually awake by 5am, and love getting an early start but I also enjoy drinking hot beverages and appreciating the morning. […]

Ansel Adams made the list.
I am still shocked at the number of people who seem unaware of the beauty of the wild world, even with ever increasing access to great photos.

Some claim photography can be divided into two eras: Before Adams and After Adams. In Times B.A., for instance, photography wasn’t widely considered an […]

Baxter Gillespie is just back from 3 weeks walking to a trekking peak in the Himalayas.
Yes he encountered the Maoist rebels.
Yes he still recommends Nepal.
In fact, Baxter is planning to return next season to bag another peak.
…
Our plan was to carry all our own equipment but to hire a guide and stay […]

Brian Ernst, who goes by the wilderness name of Buck Forester, seems to be the most popular photographer on flickr.
If you haven’t seen his stuff, check it out right now:
Buck Forester’s photos

original - Mono Lake, California

original - Lake Tahoe, California

original - Lost Coast, California
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