besthike.com - the blog

Rogier at the classy Bluepeak blog parsed the results of an Explore magazine article ranking Canadian National Parks in 5 categories: adventure, scenery, wildlife, natural science, and history.
Rogier concluded these were the top 5 Parks, overall:
1. Gwaii Haanas, BC (Queen Charlotte Islands)
2. Quttinirpaaq (Ellismere Island)
3. […]

We have a new super site keeping tabs on what’s happening with America National Parks.
The National Parks Traveler and Park Remark blogs have hooked up.

Welcome to National Parks Traveler 2.0. It’s not only a significant upgrade from the original version launched in August 2005, but a collaboration with ParkRemark that we believe will […]

Some were underwhelmed with my “preferred coffee system”.
Perhaps I need to step up.
Since I’m already using the JetBoil stove / pot combo, I’ll pick up a JetBoil coffee press based on this good review:

Here’s the basics of how the Jetboil French Press works.
1. Get some water and fill up the cup
[…]

Follow-up from our trekking Svaneti in Georgia, Asia post.
These mountains really are fantastic. A few more examples:

Tetnuldi
Mt. Ushba (”Matterhorn of the Caucasus”)
GEORGIA & SOUTH CAUCASUS blog

Share This

A new company wants you to sign-up for a trek across the dunes.

Taklamakan Desert, the Desert of Death
A desert is a dangerous place. It is bleak, barren and inescapable. Sand storms are terrifying. Yet over the ages people have been drawn to the desert. Perhaps it is precisely this sense of fear that attracted […]

Ever since speaking with a woman from Kazakhstan, I’ve been reluctant to recommend treks in the former Soviet Union.
She told me, “Kazakhstan has wonderful trekking, but you will be robbed and possibly killed your first night in the mountains if you go alone.”
But I found an impressive website from Georgia. I would happily hike […]

Rogier of Bluepeak.net won an award and had a couple of other captures nominated in a BC Parks Photo Contest.
His winning pic.

“young explorer” - Golden Ears Provincial Park
If you are not subscribed by RSS yet to Bluepeak, I recommend it.
Share This

Great trip report and photos on the Shot from the Hip blog.
Mt. Saint Helens is the famous volcano close to Portland, Oregon.
• 11.6mi (18.7km) return
• 4565ft (1,392m) elevation gain
• summit at 8365ft (2,550m)
• 7-12 hours
Ignoring good advice from Rangers, two hikers raced up the mountain without ice axes or crampons. Then got lost and separated […]

FirstLight® is advertised here as the world’s lightest folding kayak.
Weight is a far more important factor to me than seaworthiness. I want to hike in, paddle out. That kind of trip.
Weighing a mere 17.6 and 19.8 lbs, these amazing touring kayaks are incredibly light, yet fully seaworthy. Fast and lively, they allow excellent paddling […]

Our list of the best hikes in China is weak for a number of good reasons.
Researching hiking in remote Xinjiang Province, I came across the website of a top notch photographer.
Jian Shuo Wang from Shanghai posted details on a popular hike to Kanas, China’s deepest freshwater lake.
Lake Kanas lies near the Altai mountains, […]