Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.
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hiking Jostedalsbreen, Norway

Jostedalsbreen National Park, in the Sognefjord region of central Norway, is home to continental Europe’s largest ice sheet – the Jostedal glacier – which spills over from a high plateau into a succession of dramatic lake-filled valleys and fjords.

Although Jostedalsbreen is a popular tourist destination (you’ll see plenty of tour buses at the best-known spots) the hiking trails in the region – which given the forbidding topography tend to be steep and strenuous – don’t seem to be well-known outside Norway. …

A few good day hikes:

• Climbing the Skala
• Briksdalsbreen
• Storevatnet trail from Briksdalen

… Norway is expensive, …

Prices range from the merely high (hotel rooms, rental cars) to the eyewateringly exorbitant (restaurant meals, alcohol of any kind).

Camping is very popular in Norway (in addition to official campgrounds, you see impromptu campsites in many rural areas) so for a visit on the cheap you might consider taking a tent and buying food in supermarkets.

… read more

That’s all from the excellent site by Phil Armitage, landscape photographer.

Start on his home page.

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Wild Backpacker – Featured Trails

Western North America:


Kalalau Trail
Buckskin Gulch
Havasupai
Coyote Gulch
Zion Narrows
Coyote Gulch

And more in California, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.

… details

Here’s a sample Guide page for Escalante, Utah:

Length: 12 miles
Difficulty: 5/10; 1B VI
Season: Spring and Fall
Type: Point-to-point

Coyote Gulch is one of the most beautiful and popular hikes in the area. Though located in the remote Glen Canyon National Recreation Area of Southern Utah, Coyote Gulch is worth the time and effort required to visit, and worthy of its famed status.

Although those who enjoy the feeling of seclusion might resent the evidence of past grazing, for most the beauty of the high Navajo Sandstone canyon walls, the sparkling streams, and the three main attractions – two arches and a natural bridge – will make this hike a favorite.

The best seasons for the hike are spring (March to mid-June) and fall (September to October).

… read more

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Ridgerunner: Elusive Loner of the Wilderness (1986)

Ridgerunner by Richard Ripley sounds a terrific read:

… “During the early 1940s in Idaho’s expansive Selway-Bitterroot wilderness, a few items disappeared from a tent camp, a lookout tower, and a ranger station.

Eventually, the continuing loss of food and supplies at such isolated sites confirmed the presence of a mysterious solitary.

For years no one saw him, even though he entered Forest Service quarters while employees slept. In the winter, when he did leave tracks, they were found on the most inhospitable ridges and earned him the regard of locals who appreciated the cost of survival under such circumstances.

Once apprehended, the Ridgerunner proved to be both witty and ornery – a man who said he simply wanted “to live like a coyote,” and who was so woodswise and contentious that he vexed the government and a major timber company for the next 20 years.”

as quote in Adventure Journal

A must read for anyone familiar with the North Central Idaho Mountain Country (Lewiston, Orofino, Pierce, Headquarters, Elk River). A well written biography about a incredible man who lived his life alone in the mountains of Idaho.

Amazon

I picture him looking something like this …

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West Highland Way trip report

If you’ve ever considered hiking the most famed trail in Scotland, click over to books bike beer …

… The trail is ridiculously easy to follow. Plenty of people along ‘the Way’ had guidebooks and maps, but we simply brought the photo-copied article I mentioned above. I should say that the article itself says it is no substitute for a true guidebook. Well, that might be true for some of the other hikes the authors write about, but for the WHW, I’d say save money and weight and leave the guidebook at home. …

along Loch Lomond

They loved this section, as did I.

But my own trip report is titled not recommended – West Highland Way, Scotland …

As Lonely Planet Walking in Scotland says:

… you can’t help but wonder what Muir would think of a path through two power stations, one of them nuclear …

I couldn’t understand why so many German hikers made the pilgrimage here when they could go to one of the truly best hikes in the world – Picos de Europa – instead.

Spain is just as easy to access as Scotland.

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history hiking?

We have a category on this site called Urban Hikes.

But this is the first time I’ve linked to a History Hike.

Tom Mangan on Guilford Courthouse National Military Park:

… This park is a history buff’s dream — right here in good ol’ Greensboro, the general famous for losing America to the Revolutionaries eked out a Redcoat victory at Guilford Courthouse, a win so hollow that a member of Britain’s House of Commons declared “another such victory would ruin the British Army!” …

A 3-mile loop trail passes most of the key sites in the battle. …

Two-Heel Drive – History Hike at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

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adventure race – Expedition Idaho 2011

I’m one of the volunteers helping to organize this brand new event hosted at Silver Mountain Ski Resort.

600+K, 7 days, an experience of a lifetime.

August 14 – 20, 2011
Coeur d’ Alene

Organizer Dave Adlard has launched a blog. And updated the official website.

Facebook event.

… As of February 13, we have 25 teams committed or who have expressed serious, positive interest …

We’re now wanting to get the word out. Share if you can. 🙂

related – T.C. WORLEY – Patagonian Race Final Report:

… Expedition racing breaks or makes a person. Seeds of doubt on the course can sprout quickly in the fertile soils of pain and fatigue. Allow them to set roots and your race is over. Push back at the agonizing pain, those demoralizing chills and defeating weather, and you are rewarded with a warrior mindset. You can do anything! …

GearJunkie finishing Patagonia
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best day hikes North America west

Phil Armitage posted hist 10 best day hikes, so far:

Berg Lake trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

The Narrows, Zion National Park

Highline trail to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook, Glacier National Park

Conrad Kain hut, Bugaboo Provincial Park

Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument

Harding Icefield trail, Kenai Fjords National Park

Panorama Ridge trail, Garibaldi Provincial Park

Paintbrush / Cascade Canyon loop, Grand Teton National Park

High Divide trail, Olympic National Park

details and photos

Best of the best?

I’ve done 4 from that list, enjoying Zion Narrows the most.

Leave a comment if you’ve an opinion.

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bear trashes plane

From 2009.

… When bush pilot Luke Miller, 28, made an overnight stop at a friend’s hunting lodge in Southwest Alaska … he had no way to know that a large and very dedicated menace would, under cover of night, chew and claw his plane to shreds. …

Alaska Dispatch – An appetite for revenge

Yikes.

more photos

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remind me never to hike with Skurka

Andrew Skurka is the world’s greatest hiker, famed already for his 6,875mi Great Western Loop.

That was nothing compared to his most recent achievement.

The Adventure Blog:

…his 4679 mile (7530km) Alaska-Yukon Expedition set a new standard for all others to follow.

The route passed through some of the most remote places in the U.S. and Canada, crossing eight national parks and several mountain ranges in the process. As is typical, Andrew went alone and spent 176 days on the trail hiking, skiing, and rafting his way through the unforgiving wilderness.

Now, his full story is finally being told in the pages of National Geographic Magazine, which will feature Skruka’s adventure in the March issue that will be hitting newsstands soon. …

It was harsh.

Nat Geo already has the article online – Alaska Yukon Trek

more photos

Check the cool interactive map.