Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.
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West Coast Trail, Canada




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Originally uploaded by Guidodjones.

Guy Jones posted a terrific set of photos from their group trek of the West Coast Trail. “The Best Hike in the World” we often call it.

It was an early season adventure — May 2006 — but they lucked out and got some blue skies. The “ship wreck coast” of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada is infamous.

The photo is stunning Tsussiat Falls. Just one of dozens of highlights on the WCT.

It’s a coastal route of 75km (47mi), at C$140/person plus C$25 reservation fee, by far the most expensive hike in Canada. On the other hand, you won’t find many hikers complaining if they manage to snag one of the precious quota spots for July and August. Only 52 “Trail Use Permits” are available starting each day.

Details — West Coast Trail — besthike

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Griffin iTalk – iPod microphone

I’ve been looking for a light-weight voice recorder for use on the trail. Ideally it would be built into my camera tagging each photo with “voice notes”. (I have done this with video, of course.)

But since I carry an MP3 player anyway (for podcasts and books on tape) the Griffin iTalk might be worth a try. It works with an Apple 2 GB iPod Nano – Amazon.

iTalk Pro is perfect for capturing how the world around you really sounds.

Whether you’re taking lecture notes, conducting an interview, or just want to bring the sounds of the great outdoors indoors, your only limitations are your iPod’s capacity, and your own imagination.

iTalk’s twin built-in mics record directly to your iPod, and adjustable gain settings give you control over the volume. You can even use external microphones with iTalk Pro.

Griffin Technology: iTalk Pro – Stereo Mic for iPod – Griffin

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Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod – Amazon

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Pinnacles Track, New Zealand

Browsing the superb tramper.co.nz website, I was reminded me of my own trip to the Coromandel Peninsula.

The go-to hike there is The Pinnacles Track, one of our best hikes in the world.

If The Pinnacles were in any other country, it would be a huge destination. In New Zealand, though, it tends to be overshadowed by many far more famous treks.

I loved learning about the history of logging Kauri trees. Unbelievably, loggers toppled them over cliffs — and picked up the pieces below. Eventually they built an outrageous rail track to try to lower the massive logs from the Pinnacles. You see all this on the hike.

Most people are even more impressed by the Pinnacles alpine hut. It is astonishing! The best in New Zealand and one of the most impressive in the world. We spent a lot of time watching possums from the expansive balcony.

The Pinnacles is ideal as a weekend trip with one night at the top.

. . . stone steps, wide enough for packhorses, dominate most of the track, crossing the river three times as it rises steeply to logging / power camp at the ‘near’ top. I warn you now – the stone stairs are great to look at but hard on the legs …

Once at the hut, you can leave your pack and climb the Pinnacles proper.

Whilst not dangerous, it isn’t for the faint hearted. It’ll only take 45 minutes to get to the top, but you go up some steep rock faces, and several ladders before negotiating a large boulder, to get to the narrow ledge at the top. From the top, you can see both sides of the Coromandel – Tairua / Pauanui on one side, The firth of Thames and Hauraki Plains on the other. The view is breathtaking.

The Pinnacles Track – tramper.co.nz

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Pinnacles photos on flickr – BruceandRobyn – waiting for the clouds to clear

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Chena Dome Trail, Alaska

Just added the Chena Dome Trail to our list of best hikes in the world.

Chena Dome is a very challenging 3-4 day adventure, 29.5mi (47.5km) loop mostly on ridgetop above the treeline.

It’s famed for great views and tasty berries in August. Finding water can be a problem late in the season.

About 50mi from Fairbanks, Alaska, this hike can be combined with a visit to Denali (Mt. McKinley), the highest mountain in North America.

I’m considering a trip to Alaska for summer 2007.

I started my research with Lonely Planet Alaska

Lonely Planet Alaska.

Next I’ll need Lonely Planet Hiking in Alaska (Lonely Planet Walking Guides). I always start with Lonely Planet when planning a trip.

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video – “Introduction to Technical Canyoneering”

So you want to start getting into the sport of Canyoneering? Well this month I’d like to give you some info to point you in the right direction. I’ll include links to websites with lots of detailed information about starting in the sport, but this should give you a place to start. I’ve also included a 10 minute compilation of various canyons in Utah to give you an idea of what kinds of canyons you can explore there.

Backcountry Blog: Introduction to Technical Canyoneering.

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trekking Nahuel Huapi, Argentina

I went back to browse the travelogues of Jeffrey Poznanovic.

After seeing his pics of a 6-day trek through Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, I was tempted to start brushing up on Spanish and shop for airline tickets to South America.

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more photos – Jeffrey Poznanovic

We’ve listed the Nahuel Huapi Traverse one of the best hikes in the world.

It’s perhaps the best hike in the superb Argentinian Lake district, a wilderness of granite spires & gorgeous lookouts. The location is perfect, only 20km by bus from the outdoor adventure town of Bariloche.

The Villa Catedral to Puente Lopez route is 36.5km (23mi) plus sidetrips, 5 days, 4 nights recommended. Wind and cold are the biggest challenges.

On a related matter, MyOutdoors.net has added KLM data for some of their hikes.

What’s KLM? (That’s what I said.) It’s a pointer file which takes you a specific place on Google Earth. For example, they post a KLM for a hike of Nahuel Huapi.

This is pretty geeky stuff. To try it out you need a fast computer, high speed internet connection and to download a (free) copy of Google Earth software.

Oh, and lots of time. You might get hooked flying over the Earth checking out future adventures.

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Lost Coast Trail, California

Just a shout out to Bruce Lewis, editor of LightBackpacking.com, his personal hiking site.

Love the look of the blog (called PRESSROW). Very clean.

I’ve subscribed to the site RSS feed and will be a regular reader.

For a sample, check Bruce’s trip report on the Lost Coast Trail in Northern California. That’s on our list of best hikes in the world and it’s one that I personally want to get to … soon.

collapsing shack

photo – Maq McMackin’s

more Lost Coast Trail photos on flickr

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Buckskin and Paria Canyon, Utah

My legs ached with cold, like a swarm of angry hornets had stung me with freezing venom they throbbed. Jen sobbed as our weary group of five sloshed through the turbid Paria River on the start of day 3. I stretched a nervous hand behind to feel how much the holes abraded by the red sandstone in my pack had grown since the day before. I swallowed hard when I felt my gear poking through.

“Once the sun gets into the canyon it is going to be a beautiful day,” I said almost convincingly. In truth, it was the lowest point of our five-day hike in the S. Utah and N. Arizona Paria Wilderness.

Paria – VenturingOutdoors.com

Wow.

Now this is a trip report!

Certainly the best we’ve seen for Paria Canyon.

They detail problems with JetBoil stoves. and critique the rest of their gear. A new GoLite Infinity pack (made of lightweight silicone impregnated fabric) get holes in it the first day from rubbing against canyon walls and has a large tear by the end of the hike.

Hiking Trip-Reports Paria-Trip-Report 2

Paul Grube’s Buckskin and Paria trip report is a fascinating, honest look at the challenges and rewards of canyon hiking.

We’ve linked to the report in a number of places from Paria Canyon – on besthike.

Hiking Trip-Reports Paria-Trip-Report 17

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hike sharing – MyOutdoors.net

Serious adventurer Jeffrey Poznanovic likes a new site called MyOutdoors.net.

“Map your outdoor activities. Journal your progress. Attach Photos. Share it all with friends and family.”

The map-based interface is not all that intuitive. Using a mash-up of Google Maps is touchy. Most people make mistakes using that AJAX technology.

But if you take the time to figure out how it works, MyOutdoors has some very cool features including: mileage distances, elevation profile, GPS waypoints, linked photos, and more that I do not understand.

No doubt about it, sites like this are the future of hiking. We’ll be linked by satellite on the trail, uploading video and photo directly to MyOutdoors in real time. (The rescue helicopter will have exact coordinates and visuals by which to confirm location!)

They need to simplify the interface. Or, at minimum, put up a friendly video tutorial to show me how to best use the site.

Want to try it out yourself? Check the Wind River Backpacking entry in Wyoming.

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Wind River Backpacking – MyOutdoors.net

For more information – Cirque of the Towers – besthike.com