alpine – Page 137 – besthike.com

May 13, 2007

HUGE panorama photos from Peru

My buddy George painstakingly “sewed” together many photos from our travels together in Peru 2005.

These are BIG images. For example, this low resolution pic from Ausangate is 500 pixels wide. But the original panorama is 3157 pixels wide!

Panoramas are ideal for print publications who can benefit from that kind of resolution.

See the rest of George’s panorama photos. (You need a high speed internet connection.) There are some great Machu Picchu dawn photos.

And check our Ausangate Circuit information page. It’s our favourite hike in Peru.

LARGE original

May 12, 2007

Paine, Chile video

(via Piton)

The Adventure Blogger is considering a trip there.

No doubt he will check our information page on Paine and photo journal trip report from 2004.

Of course we say … GO FOR IT.

May 11, 2007

BAREFOOT hiking in New Zealand?

Robert Jungst on a bet vowed to hike over the New Zealand Alps 4-days barefoot.

Robert’s with the Society for Barefoot Living.

Now, … I got in enough trouble with Rick the Nude Hiker for being flippant about “alternative” hikers. (In fact, I’ve promised to try nude hiking this year.) But it seems to me that my feet are the last part of my body I want nude when scrambling over a mountain!

The Rabbit Pass route is no Sunday stroll. It has a reputation as one of the most challenging alpine passes that can be done in New Zealand without climbing expertise. …

This part of the trip is the most demanding for Robert. Underfoot is painfully sharp scree that slides disconcertingly as we slip and skate down as if surfing angry waves. I see the odd bloodspot on a stone, a sign that Robert is having a tough time now.

Further down the terrain changes from scree to subalpine grasses, including the dreaded Spaniardâ€™s spikes. It takes us several hours to get down, and Robertâ€™s first comment on arrival to the East Matukituki campsite is: â€œBefore someone asks, yes, my feet ARE sore!!â€

But despite the anguish of the descent, Robert chooses not to put on the Tevas from his pack. He does the whole trip in bare feet. He concedes, though, that if he was to repeat the Rabbit Pass descent, he would probably choose to wear the Tevas for that bit. â€œThe trip in New Zealand has taught me there are SOME situations where shoes could be my preferred option.â€

… So why go barefoot? Robertâ€™s been mostly barefoot for 15 years now and he says he initially rid himself of shoes, not for any desire to be different or reject societyâ€™s norms, but simply because his feet smelt. He also lost toenails regularly. It just made more sense for him to ditch the shoes – his feet felt like theyâ€™d been freed from a cage, and the foot odour and toenail problems instantly disappeared.

… Robert insists that barefooting is a healthier option â€“ â€œwithout a doubtâ€. Without shoes, he says, thereâ€™s no chance for fungus or other infections to grow, and blisters are a distant memory. â€œItâ€™s good for the circulation, too.â€

New Zealand Wild Walks

Thanks to Whit Thurlow of New Zealand Wild Walks for alerting us to this amazing feat (pun intended).

Wilt will organize an 8-day Gillespie / Rabbit Pass trek, the longest guided tramp available in New Zealand at 90km (56mi). Sounds varied and fantastic!

Gillespie Pass – TrampNZ

April 25, 2007

explore Meteora near Mt Olympus, Greece

Ever since I first saw photos of Meteora, I knew I had to get there one day. (Perhaps a trip combining hiking in Greece with the Dolomites in Italy.)

larger image

Tom Dempsey’s tips for visiting the famous hanging monasteries of Meteora:

â€¢ For photography, I recommend a day or two exploring all the different different angles and possibilities, then be ready for the perfect shot on the next day or two as you experience the ever-changing light. Visit the outside at sunrise & sunset for best photography – sunset may give the best light since the the cliffs face to the southwest. … if you have time, walking the best way to absorb the impact of this incredible area.

â€¢ I suggest staying anywhere in Kastraki, which is a small town with fascinating architecture, cobbled streets, and closer walking distance to the rock towers & monasteries than the larger town of Kalambaka.

â€¢ A few hours drive from Meteora you can hike Mount Olympus, which is culturally very important to Greece. Ascending Mount Olympus is challenging and scenic, with a clean, comfortable overnight dormitory-style hut that serves meals.

Meteora, Greece – amazing photos

Monastery of Rousanou – flickr – Evgeni Dinev

April 21, 2007

7-yr-old climbs 214 Lake District peaks

Congratulations Kerry.

The feat has taken her four years, walking a total of 710 miles and climbing 230,000ft.

Kerry followed in the footsteps of her big sister Ellen, who became the youngest person to climb them all last year when she was nine. The title then went to two boys who were a few months younger.

Now Kerryâ€™s parents David and Clare are proud she has grabbed it back for the family by scaling the last fell â€” 3,210ft Scafell Pike.

Chuffed Kerry, of Caldbeck, Cumbria, said: â€œIâ€™m really pleased to have beaten my sister.

â€œMy favourite was Rannerdale because we had a game of hide and seek with the crags up there.

â€œI take jelly teddies and chocolate bars to help when I get tired.â€

A Welsh View: 7 Year Old Girl Climbs 214 Hills

April 17, 2007

lost on a glacier in Pakistan

Ben Tubby and partner Kerry had problems on a trek to Snow Lake guided by Vertical Explorers Expeditions.

Ben’s detailed photo trip report is recommended reading for anyone â€” like me â€” considering an adventure in Pakistan.

Bad roads, cold rooms, disgusting toilets, illness, crevasses, rain, sunburn, freezing river crossings, communication problems with guides, …

Sounds like fun!

Northern Pakistan is beautiful. Amazing mountain scenery, honest, friendly people and lots and lots of ice. We spent 18 days wandering up the biggest slab of ice outside of the polar regions and then got lost in a white-out on the top, surrounded by crevasses.

Tubby: Lost on a glacier in Pakistan

(trip report)

Snow Lake Hispar La Experience – Vertical Explorers (a longer tour than Ben’s)

(via Nothing adds up)

Biafo Glacier

Ogre’s Thumb

April 15, 2007May 15, 2013

bushwhacking Olympic Peninsula, Washington

On the Freezer Bag Cooking blog I learned of an amazing hiker named Mike.

Mike does trips I don’t even want to dream of. The thought of fording the Queets River in the Olympics multiple times in a day, to find an elusive waterfall is something I don’t think I will ever be capable of!

Mikes spent 31 days in 2004 crisscrossing rugged, remote wilderness, often solo, often off trail.

He’s put up an excellent new website called Mike’s Rain Forest Treks.

The first of a series of planned photo trip reports is already posted. Detailed and inspiring.

My big-picture plan for the next month will take me on a disjointed spiral around the west side of Olympic National Park’s million-acre wilderness. My route is varied enough to explore all the major ecosystems of the world’s most ecologically and geologically diverse slice of land.

Starting out in typical northwest spruce and fir forests, I will see the park’s high alpine playgrounds, its extensive coastline beaches, its uncannily immense glaciers, and it’s most prized treasure… the finest remnants of old-growth temperate rainforests left in the world.

The route has been split into three manageable “legs,” ending with a 16-day mega-trek through the most remote and untouched off-trail wilderness in the entire park. These first two legs (each a week-long trip) will be a fantastic “warm-up,” a way to strengthen my legs and awaken my soul before testing my limits.

2004 Olympic Solo Trip

April 14, 2007

daunting remote trails in Fiordland, New Zealand

Fiordland (like S.W. Tasmania and Patagonia) on the S.E. corner of the South Island is astonishingly unvisited. For good reason.

… Fiordland National Park, which has an area of 12,120 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in New Zealand and one of the larger parks in the world. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the Southern Alps and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys. Situated within Fiordland are Browne Falls and Sutherland Falls, which rank among the tallest waterfalls in the world.

The name “Fiordland” comes from the now-common variant of the Norwegian word “fjord”. Fiordland features a number of fiords often misnamed sounds, of which Milford Sound is the most famous, though Doubtful Sound is even larger and has more and longer branches.

Fiordland has few human inhabitants and is the least-populated area of New Zealand … and many areas almost inaccessible except by boat or air. Te Anau township, the only larger settlement close by, has under 2,000 permanent habitants, though it boasts around 3,000 tourist beds.

Fiordland – Wikipedia

This region is ideal for those who are looking for a real trekking challenge. (The sandflies alone were enough to drive me off.)

An article called Hidden Valleys of Fiordland, a bushwhack to George Sound, may be enough to scare you off, as well:

It all began on the shores of Lake Te Anau at a pessimistic looking information sign. The town of Te Anau is shown to sit in a rain shadow, with an average rainfall exceeding that of the legendary Milford Sound. We then knew the full extent of what to expect, as one trip member, John, put it “This is possibly the wettest trip we could attempt, except maybe a traverse of the lake bed!”

Hidden Valleys of Fiordland

Fiordland is drenched. Even the well established hikes (Hollyford, Kepler, Routeburn, Milford, etc.) are challenging in the rain.

Choose a more remote track â€” Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound would be our first choices â€” and you are up for a memorable trip.

Te Anau area hikes – Dept. of Conservation

Doubtful Sound – original – flickr

See our entire list of the best hikes in New Zealand.

April 8, 2007

best section of the Colorado Trail?

Running 479mi from Denver to Durango, the Colorado Trail is a classic. It shares about 200mi with the CDT.

planning – ColoradoTrail.org

For those of us who do not have a long month, what’s the best section?

Outdoor Magazine recommends:

… concentrate your efforts during a ten-day romp along a remote 95-mile ribbon that runs just east of San Luis Peak to Molas Pass, in the southwestern part of the state.

Start at Spring Creek Pass, 33 miles northwest of Creede amid the 13,000-foot-plus San Juan Mountains. Plan on grinding up to 15 miles a day along airy ridges, down steep gorges, and up winding switchbacks.

You’ll spend four days cruising above tree line, at nearly 12,000 feet, and the closest you’ll come to a town (Lake City) is about 17 miles, which means tackling thousands of vertical feet each day with a heavy pack.

Take a break and frolic in Snow Mesa, a flat, grassy expanse so huge it takes a few hours to cross.

Outdoor

Sounds great. We’ve added San Luis Pass to Molas Pass to our list of the best hikes of the world.

ColoradoTrail.org calls it Section 6 – San Luis Pass to Molas Pass (advanced difficulty).

Next, what’s the best guidebook?