Category: blogs

Posted on

start in Seattle and walk NORTH

Married couple Erin McKittrick (Molecular Biologist turned jewelry artist) and Bretwood (Hig) Higman are incredible adventurers.

Where to begin …

Currently they are on a 9 month trip from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska by human power:

Journey on the Wild Coast will be an unprecedented four-thousand-mile expedition along the northern edge of the Pacific Ocean, through some of the most rugged terrain in the world. No road or trail follows this steep and fragmented coastline.

We’ll be traveling through forests, between islands, around glaciers, and across the tundra – by foot, packraft, and skis. No one has done this before.

Journey on the Wild Coast

overviewmapforweb2small.jpg
more detailed itinerary

I’ve subscribed to their trip blog. It’s an expeditions to explore environmental issues.

erinandhig.jpg

I’ve you’ve any doubt Sig and Erin have the ability to finish it, check their previous Alaska Treks. Wow!

blockade.jpg
Blockade Glacier – 2005

Posted on

hiking Willmore Wilderness in Canada

If you are looking for wilderness, consider hiking the Willmore Wilderness north of Jasper, Alberta.

You can get “into the wild”.

One of our contributors, George Novak, will be there in about 10 days. He plans to cycle as far as possible, then bushwhack further towards the mountains.

There are very few developed hiking trails in Willmore. But it’s gorgeous:

w.jpg

w1.jpg

w2.jpg

To get a feel for the region, check an excellent trip report jammed with video clips and photos: Willmore Wilderness Park « the electronic experiment

Willmore Wilderness – Wikipedia

Posted on

wheelchair hiker – 4WheelBob

Tom Mangan hiked with the famous (Backpacker Magazine article) 4WheelBob Bob Coomber .

For those who don’t know Bob’s story: Diabetes has made his leg bones so brittle they break if he tries to stand up on them. He has some use of his lower extremities; he can operate the pedals on his car, for instance.

Don’t be complaining about your “sore feet” when on the trail with Bob!

On Sunday we traveled to Portola Redwoods State Park, back to the hills of Bob’s youth. We hiked for about three hours in the cool shade of that wonderful redwood forest. First we headed up the Old Tree Trail, where I started getting a lesson in Bob’s technique. On easy grades he pushes forward, but on steep grades he reverses and pulls himself up.

Two-Heel Drive: Travels with 4WheelBob

Thanks for the trip report Tom. I’m inspired by Bob’s good example.

757637088_d1759e0c20.jpg

Incidentally, Tom has refocused his top-ranked hiking blog more specifically on his home turf out of San Jose, California.

thd.jpg

(Now I need to watch the entire hike-o-sphere myself. Formerly I counted on Tom.)

Posted on

top 10 summer backpacking trips in California

We’ve begun separately sorting the best California hikes OUTSIDE the Sierra Nevada on our list of the best hikes in North America.

The GoBlog has California hiking recommendations including some outside the Sierras:

Climb_Ca’s Top 10 Summer Backpacking Trips

  • Young Lakes, Yosemite
  • Lost Coast Trail
  • Sykes Hot Springs, Ventana
  • Boy Scout Trail, Joshua Tree (late summer/fall obviously a better time to go to avoid the heat)
  • John Muir Trail (yeah, well, had to throw that in)
  • Saddlebag Lake to McCabe Lakes
  • Desolation Wilderness (pretty much anything, but stay away from the Rubicon 4×4 trail)
  • Mt. Shasta

    • Get Outdoors – Climb_Ca’s Top 10 Summer Backpacking Trips – Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog

    120453314_62dfda56c8.jpg
    Saddlebag Lake – source – flickr

    Posted on

    National Parks Traveler – Park Remark join forces

    We have a new super site keeping tabs on what’s happening with America National Parks.

    The National Parks Traveler and Park Remark blogs have hooked up.

    Welcome to National Parks Traveler 2.0. It’s not only a significant upgrade from the original version launched in August 2005, but a collaboration with ParkRemark that we believe will provide you with even more value from the site.

    Overall, the bottom line remains the same: National Parks Traveler aims to educate the public about the national park system, inform it of issues surrounding the parks and the National Park Service, and build a stronger advocacy for the parks.

    npt.jpg

    The redesigned site looks great.

    Our only request is that the new site point out as many highlights of the marvellous Parks as posts on problems with the Park system.

    Home Page | National Parks Traveler

    Posted on

    best view, best hike – Yosemite

    Chris is blogging his trip from Kansas City to the outdoor centre of the universe, California.

    He loved Yosemite.

    … all I can say is “wow”.

    But dear ol’ Jimmy put it much better when he said, “This place is amazing…It’s like your walking in a picture” which is true, cause Yosemite IS the place where all landscape pictures are taken. …

    My Favorite Hike and My Favorite View

    yosemite1.jpg

    My Favorite view is from where I stood in the above picture looking down 3000 feet into Yosemite Valley. …

    As for My Favorite Hike, and I do mean my favorite hike of ALL time, it was suppose to be a leisurely walk to the Cathedral Lakes cause this was the end of the week and by this time Jim and I were hurting more places than we care to think.

    So we thought we could handle the relatively flat walk to these picturesque lakes. We did managed to stick to the trail all the way to the gorgeous lakes but once we reached our destination and saw those tall, commanding, pointy little peaks we just could not resist a shot at the top.

    So we hiked along the ridge … and had some incredible views of Cathedrals lake on one side and Bud Lake on the other. Shortly we reached the base of the peak from which reaching the summit look quite doable so we hike on up as rain clouds gathered over head and scrambled within 50 feet of the pointy little summit …

    I would say that that 360degree view was second only to Yosemite Valley in its incredibleness.

    The Tulumne meadows in front Cathedral and Bud lakes to the sides and Yosemite Valley way off behind me all add up to the best hike I’ve ever enjoyed. Not even to mention that it was off trail which makes it better 🙂

    Hike Bike Climb: Yo Semite Nation Park

    yosemite2.jpg

    Posted on

    wicked outdoorsy: How green is YOUR backpack?

    Wicked Outdoorsy – right again:

    More and more, I’m beginning to realize that Treehugger is the green-zine equivalent of a politician on the stump.

    Regardless of the good intent, regardless of the question, the answer is about an hour too long and meanders down a winding yellow road through fields of poppies.

    Oh Toto. My eyes … sleepy …. so sleepy.

    wicked outdoorsy: How green is YOUR backpack?

    I’d love to cancel my RSS subscription to Treehugger.com — it’s too “shotgun”.

    Can anyone recommend an environmental blog with more “balance”? One less preachy?

    Posted on

    Walking the Wall impasse

    Jiankou Cliffs is the steepest, most vertiginous, most dangerous section of the entire Great Wall of China. But would we at Walking the Wall let a few sheer hundred-metre dropoffs stop us?

    Jiankou Cliffs at Walking the Wall

    wall.jpg

    I’m going to miss this blog when the trip is done. It’s one of my favourites.