Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.
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hike Waterton National Park in Canada

Continuous with Glacier National Park in Montana, Waterton in Alberta is one of our favourite hiking destinations.

It’s home to our #6 best hike in the world, Glacier North Circle.

Rachel Tynan from Waterton Park Inns and Resorts recommends the ExperienceWaterton.com hiking page:

Waterton Lakes National Park boasts world class hiking trails with unparalled scenery and the opportunity for many wildlife encounters. There are 255 km (191 miles) of managed trails in Waterton Lakes National Park. Ranging in difficulty from short jaunts to steep advanced treks that can take days. …

read more

Our other favorite hikes in that park:

• Tamarack Trail
• Crypt Lake
• Carthew/Alderson

Besthike world headquarters is Calgary, Canada. We’ve been hiking Waterton for decades. Like Glacier, it’s one of the very best places in the world to see wildlife. (One day we saw 6 bears!)

more Waterton photos

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beautiful Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Two million people a year visit Multnomah Falls.

I’ve never been one of them. … Until now.

It’s one of the most scenic waterfalls anywhere. Perfection.

… two major steps, split into an upper falls of 542 feet (165 m) and a lower falls of 69 feet (21 m), with a gradual 9 foot (3 m) drop in elevation between the two, so the total height of the waterfall is conventionally given as 620 feet (189 m). Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in the State of Oregon. …

more interesting photos of the Falls

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avoid crowds on the Tongariro Crossing

When adventure writer Richard Tulloch refers to the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand as ” the world’s greatest one day hike”, we don’t argue.

It’s fantastic.

If there’s one valid criticism, it’s that the tramp is too popular. On a clear day you’ll be only one of thousands of walkers.

Richard had some advice new to me. He signed on …

… with a tour group guided by Stewart and Chris from Adrift Outdoors, who have devised cunning ways of seeing the best of the area while avoiding the crowds.

Stewart guides walks starting in the dark to catch the sunrise, winter expeditions with crampons and ice-axes, as well as today’s planned adventure, an ‘off track’ loop taking us to the summit of Mt Tongariro itself, and across a part of the park where few people go. …

details on his blog: Richard Tulloch’s LIFE ON THE ROAD – TONGARIRO CROSSING – the world’s greatest one day hike?

besthike information page – Tongariro Alpine Crossing

An even better way to avoid the mob is our favourite multi-day hike in New Zealand, the Tongariro Northern Circuit. It includes all of the famed “Crossing”.

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California Hiking author a doper?

Moon California Hiking is the guidebook sitting beside me on the passenger seat.

Author, Tom Stienstra, has just been arrested.

… Stienstra, 55, was arrested March 25 after sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at his home in Weed and found a “sophisticated cultivation operation” in his barn, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp said in an e-mail.

Deputies allegedly found 31 immature marijuana plants, 29 mature marijuana plants and 11 pounds of processed marijuana …

Redding.com

That’s one way to support your hiking habit.

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5 great hikes in the USA

Outdoor Camping Survival personal favorites:

1 – Breakneck Ridge Trail, Hudson Highlands State Park in NY

2 – Glacier Gorge, Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park

3 – Mount Whitney, California

4 – Appalachian Trail: The Pinnacle

5 – Conundrum Hot Springs, Colorado

Of these, only Mount Whitney is specifically on our list of the best hikes in North America, so far.

marklarson on the Pinnacle
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hiking out of Needles, California

trip report by site editor, Rick McCharles

I awoke early and drove out of town about 10min towards Lake Haversu City.

This geology looked, from the highway, very interesting.

hiking near Needles, California

It’s easy to hike anywhere you wish here. Simply follow the jeep tracks and dry arroyos.

hiking near Needles, California

hiking near Needles, California

This was not an official hiking trail, but made for a very pleasant morning, none the less.

Here’s the view looking back towards Needles.

hiking near Needles, California

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best books on California desert hiking and climbing

I checked into the Needles California office of the Bureau of Land Management. They gave me some excellent advice on “best hikes” in the region.

Two books are recommended and sold there:

Hiking California’s Desert Parks, 2nd edition: A Guide to the Greatest Hiking Adventures in Anza-Borrego, Joshua Tree, Mojave, and Death Valley by Bill and Polly Cunningham

I’ll be using this one over the next couple of months.

Deserts Summits: A Climbing & Hiking Guide to California & Southern Nevada by Andy Zdon

Both are recommended.

Click on either book cover for more information and links to other available books on Amazon

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weird, wild Saguaro cactus

I feel lucky to have just finished a driving tour of the exact range of the crazy beautiful Saguaro cactus, definitely one of my favourite flora.

… a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California …

Harming a saguaro in any manner, including cactus plugging, is illegal by state law in Arizona, and when houses or highways are built, special permits must be obtained to move or destroy any saguaro affected. …

Wikipedia

more interesting photos tagged Saguaro

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female trekking guide – East Africa

George and I had a female guide on the Choquequirao trek in Peru. We made no special request. She simply happened to be the next experienced guide available.

Cool.

Increasingly the world’s top trails are seeing more female guides. They’re in high demand by female hikers who, understandably, feel more comfortable.

I was happy to see this post on the Women Travel blog:

Mary “Mumbi” Kariuki has been guiding on the trails of Mt. Kenya, Kilimanjaro, and other East African mountains for 8 years – and she’s not over the hill yet. In 2001 Mary officially became the first, and only, rated female guide serving these mountains. Before she was a guide, Mary worked her way through the ranks as all African guides should have, as a porter. …

Mumbi – female trekking guide in East Africa

Leave a comment if you’ve more stories of female guides on the world’s great treks.