besthike.com - the blog

I’ve only done it twice — both times to Mt. Assiniboine — and can confirm riding the bird is … GREAT.
Sure I’m polluting the atmosphere. And distracting the teeny tiny hikers below, sweating the 8hr uphill slog with a full pack. (It takes me 8min.)
But on arrival it’s like you landed in Heaven. Fresh. Excited. […]

I went to Moab to hike.
When I told other tourists that Moab had been awarded a major environmental award as a “green town” they thought I was joking.
Located on the Colorado River near the state line between Utah and Colorado, is the 4-square mile City of Moab. A desert oasis, the 5,000 or […]

UPDATE - I am LOVING this jacket after using it for a couple of weeks of cold desert nights in southern Utah.
==== original post April 27, 2007:
After doing a fair bit of comparison shopping on-line, I finally jumped for a new coat, the third in my hiking career.
It’s the inexpensive MEC Hydrofoil Jacket: […]

Many entrance fees went up April 1st for Canadian National Parks.
How do the prices for Banff National Park, Alberta compare with the National Parks near you?

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The best value for hikers, we feel, is the annual Family / Group pass. An entire vehicle of hikers gets into 27 participating National Parks for C$123.80 (US$110.21).
We think […]

A village near Peru‘s Machu Picchu has built a bridge over a turbulent river to open another route for backpackers trekking to the lofty Inca ruins.
The bridge was inaugurated Saturday in the village of Santa Teresa despite the objections of government cultural experts, who fear increased tourism could threaten the UNESCO World Heritage site as […]

We’ve pooh-poohed the “doom and gloom” mongers in the past.
And we’ve even been part of the problem, criticizing drastic increases in National Park fees.
But perhaps this IS serious.
If the population does not want to visit National Parks, the Parks themselves will suffer most.

… attendance at Yosemite has dropped 17%, Death Valley at 28%, […]

Rogier Gruys is an expert on the West Coast Trail in Canada, the hike we rated #1 in the world. Rogier’s BluePeak Travel Photography pics of the WCT are still the best we’ve ever seen.
But Rogier likes the Snowman Trek even better.
Very few have ever done that long Himalayan trek (minimum 19 days) […]

Good idea.
This would work.
Park Remark quoting Scott Silver:

… I outlined legislation for what I thought would be a positive park fee system. In my mind, the fees would be VOLUNTARY with suggested fees being posted at entrance stations. People could give what was posted, or more — or less, as they chose.
No one would […]

If you are against increased fees for American National Parks, plan your next hiking trip to one of the free ones.
The national park with the system’s greatest annual visitation, of around 9 million folks, Great Smoky Mountains, is, and will remain, free to enter. …
Other national parks with no entrance fees include Glacier Bay, Channel […]

The Annapurna Circuit

The best trekking region in Nepal.
The first reaction of most hikers: “What about Maoist rebels extorting money from trekkers?”
YetiZone is the #1 website on the Circuit. Editor Ian Johnson says:
“No trekkers have been harmed during the conflict - both sides recognise the need for the revenues that tourism brings. Both sides are […]