Jeremy Twigg sends us the update on that inspiring fund-raiser:
I wanted to share some good news: Team IBDadventures safely reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro on September 13!
Says team member Clinton Shard from Squamish, BC:
“What an emotional roller coaster when we got to the summit. Incredible views, ice everywhere, and cold. Very cold. I hope when people hear about this trip they will recognize they can accomplish anything and they shouldn’t let Inflammatory Bowel Diseases stand in their way.”
I did take a free trial, years ago. Was not so much impressed at that time.
I’ve never liked “walled garden” members only websites.
Seems to have improved a great deal since then. Here’s the email they sent me when I inquired as to cost:
The US$49.95 charge covers a 1 year subscription to Trails.com. Your subscription includes:
* Unlimited access to more than 44,000 Trail Guides – complete with driving directions, trail directions, maps and more.
* 20% OFF one entire order in our Gear Store (some exclusions apply). This benefit alone could easily pay for your entire Trails.com subscription!
* Unlimited access to every USGS Topographic Map in the USA.
* Trail Finder for fast and easy searching.
* Tools to track your favorite trails, and the ones you’d like to visit.
* The ability to create, download and save, email and print maps and guides.
* Real-time weather and GPS integration (coming soon).
* Trail reviews, photos and many more community features.
* The Trails.com Newsletter – with exclusive offers for Trails.com members.
In tribute to the greatest mountaineer of all time (Dick Bass, my ass), Reinhold Messner, I visited one of his Messner Mountain Museums. (He has 4 museums already and is working on a 5th.)
Reinhold Messner has dedicated to the mountains and the mountain culture a unique project, a network of museums located in five extraordinary places in the Alps. The Messner Mountain Museum is a place of encounter with the mountains, with humanity and ultimately with oneself.
The Messner Mountain Museum Firmian is located at Castle Sigmundskron near Bolzano, Reinhold’s home town.
It is very well done. I highly recommend it even to those not particularly interested in mountaineering.
In fact, the Himalayan section made me homesick for Nepal.
By the way, after 35yrs, in 2005, the remains of Günther Messner, Reinhold’s brother, were found on Nanga Parbat.
Reinhold had lived those decades with accusations that he abandoned his 23yr-old brother to die on that tragic expedition.
I always believed Reinhold’s version of the story. That his brother must have been caught in an avalanche.
It’s nice to see him vindicated in his own lifetime.
Fjällräven, a Swedish company specialising in outdoor clothing, sponsors an annual hiking race.
Hiking race?
I’ve never heard of this concept before. And 2000+ partipants attended this year!
The competition element is downplayed, however. It’s not in the same category as most other trail races. In this event, you must carry a pack. And sleep in a tent. Most people do it for FUN.
photographer: Kikki Brink
Under the RULES, it seems littering is the biggest breach – immediate disqualification! (I do like that.)
Participants walk from Nikkaluokta 110km to Abisko. (This is the first section of the famed Kungsleden trail. Of the 2000 racers, some no doubt continue to the end of that 440km (270mi) through hike.)
Medals are awarded: Gold if you finish in less than 72hrs, Silver less than 96hrs, Bronze under 120hrs.
Wild Backpacker has a good summary of our favourite hiking destination in the American Southwest:
… Buckskin Gulch is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest, and while others are narrower, prettier or more challenging to explore, the length and variety of the terrain in the ever changing narrows make it an amazing experience. The narrows extend for nearly 15 miles, with some parts only 10 feet wide. The cliffs grow steadily higher downstream, reaching a height of 500 feet above the streambed at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon. The walls of both canyons are rather dark, as the sun rarely reaches the bottom of the deep canyons. The walls of the gulch still show interesting swirls and curves worn by floods.
Buckskin Gulch and the Paria Canyon, is located in the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area of Southern Utah. Buckskin Gulch is best done at least as a two-day canyoneering and backpacking adventure, although there are day hiking options …
But even more extreme is Coyote Gulch in Escalante, Utah.
… The most challenging part of this hike is the climb out of Coyote Gulch near Jacob Hamblin Arch. The climb involves scrambling up a 100-foot pitch of slick rock that ascends from the canyon floor at an angle close to 45 degrees. A 100-foot length of rope is useful here for raising backpacks. A compass is also useful for the last part of the hike, which involves a 2-mile cross-country walk from the canyon rim back to Jacob Hamblin Trailhead. Sneakers or other wettable shoes are the most practical footwear inside the canyon, as you will frequently be required to cross the stream bed. …
In (relatively) good weather, this is one of the great urban walks of the world.
I had a lovely, mellow morning up there.
Arthur’s Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823.5 feet), provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is quite easy to climb, and is a popular walk. …
The hill bears a strong resemblance to the Cavehill in Belfast in terms of its geology and proximity to a major urban site. …
This lesser known hike turned out to be my personal favourite in Scotland.
An energetic walk over a low pass into one of the wildest and most spectacular glens in Scotland …
the Lairig Ghru is widely regarded as the finest mountain pass in Scotland. …
Traditionally, people walked the full 28mi (45km) from Aviemore to Braemar … The walk described here is a day’s outing from just south of Glenmore, through dramatic Chalamain Gap and up to the top of Lairig Ghru then back to Coylumbridge through Rothiemurchus pine woods.
The midges of Glen Nevis convinced me to quit the western highlands. And forego the western islands. (sob)
Furious scrutiny of my guide book led me to decide, instead, on the Cairngorms. Perhaps a climb of the second highest mountain in Scotland, Ben Macdui (1309m).
That would make me a right Munro bagger … since I’d already stolled up Ben Nevis with my hands in my pockets.
Lonely Planet Hiking in Scotland recommends a route they call Cairn Gorm High Circuit … with a side trip climb to the top of Ben Macdui.
The basic circuit is 7.5mi (12km). The much more difficult scramble to the summit is 5mi (8km) return.
Here’s the easier Cairngorm summit. On a good day.
photographer - Cody Duncan
I was first up to the summit of Cairn Gorm. Dense cloud. Howling winds. … What a contrast from Ben Nevis!
I could only barely see the highest cairn.
Weather is everything in Scotland. I was forced to descend to the controversial new funicular complex. It wasn’t open yet for the day. I had to sweet talk one of the employees in order to be allowed entrance.
Ben Macdui will have to wait.
At the bottom I asked the Ranger (the first National Park Ranger I’d seen in Europe) the wind speed. He confidently estimated 50-60 MPH.
The only higher winds I’d experienced were at Paine in Patagonia, the day backpack covers blew off and flew away like Helium balloons. And the unforgettable day I attempted Mt St Helen in Washington State. I was crawling boulder to boulder on that one. Could not stand up.
The Ranger was not at all interested. At that spot was recorded the “greatest British wind speed 150 knots (170 mph or 274 kmh) on 20 March 1986”.
Here’s how it was blowing for me after I descended down into just a lively breeze.
Ben Nevis (1344m) is the highest mountain in Britain, the trailhead near sea level.
Over 100,000 attempt it every year making it perhaps the most climbed “famous” summit in the world.
Needless to say, many of those have hardly any walking experience.
I was there on one of the finest days of the year. Thousands of people made the top. Some in Crocs. Tiny children in thin coats. Extended families. Elderly couples. They were very, very lucky.
The top of the big Ben is cloud shrouded 6 days out of every 7. But not today.
ruined observatory
At the summit it was cold and windy. I felt I was the only one on top with warm enough clothing. (3 under layers, full hooded down jacket, Gortex shell)
The temperature is normally 9C (48F) colder at the top than the base. Not counting wind chill.
Via the standard tourist route, the Pony Track:
9mi (14.5km)
I went for speed making it up in just over 2hrs, walking. Nobody passed me on the climb, not even the trail runners who walked up, ran down.
besthike.com 