besthike.com - the blog

One of the classiest and best travel photo sites is BluePeak edited by Rogier Gruys.
He is one of the few who have travelled to remote Torngat.
Even better, Rogier created a superb landing page for the Park where the rest of us now have a chance to see that weird, fantastical landscape.

… The […]

Lucas Girardet recommends Kangerlussuaq - Sisimiut, 180km (112mi), as one of the best hikes in the world.

This route is the classic hike in Greenland for the hardened wanderer and others who like challenges.
The route goes through landscapes which vary a lot. From the dry inland at Kangerlussuaq to the rolling ground with the […]

I first heard of Tombstone Mountain in 1999 from contributor Kelly Mock. It remained in my mind a vaguely mythical hiking destination until this summer.

There are a number of ways to hike Tombstone. The best is to chopper in, hike out. At $20 / minute of flight time, we each paid over $200 each […]

Any idiot can hike in California.
But hiking the far North takes smarts. Route finding skills. Bush whacking skills. Survival skills.
GPS is essential, we feel.
Don’t count on calling in rescue with a satellite phone. They are far from 100% reliable.
If you plan to trek Alaska in future, start your research with Eric […]

Site editor Rick McCharles gone hiking. Back on-line August 13th.
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First MAPS:

In a huge and wild park such as Wrangell-St. Elias, you can never have too many maps
National Geographic - Trails Illustrated has produced a 1:375,000 (1 inch = 6 miles) scale map of Wrangell-St. Elias that is a great tool for initial trip planning.
It is waterproof, tear resistant, and covers the entire park, […]

Flying in to Anchorage, Alaska from Juneau I was already worried.
How can anyone possibly hike Wrangell-St. Elias?
It looks the realm of mountaineers, not mere hikers like myself.

Because there are very few maintained trails within the park, travel through dense brush, along steep scree slopes, and across fast and cold glacial streams and rivers […]

Married couple Erin McKittrick (Molecular Biologist turned jewelry artist) and Bretwood (Hig) Higman are incredible adventurers.
Where to begin …
Currently they are on a 9 month trip from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska by human power:
Journey on the Wild Coast will be an unprecedented four-thousand-mile expedition along the northern edge of […]

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. […]

My mind’s turning increasingly “north” as weather improves here in Canada.
We have such a short hiking season, every day is precious.
Rogier of Bluepeak.net alerted me to Torngat in Labrador, Quebec.
Canadian Geographic of May/June 2007 …
The article includes an online in-depth backgrounder. This is definitely a must-visit park, if one can manage the polar […]