Thanks Kate.
the truth about blogs …
Thanks Kate.
Sleeping in Tents
The Sleeping in Tents page on Facebook has over 275,000 fans, including me.
If you’re on Facebook, click through and join.
the world’s best hikes
As chosen by Jason Heflin of Outdoorzy.com and The OutPost Blog:
Mt Whitney, California
Salkantay Trek, Peru
Timberline Trail, Oregon
Everest Base Camp, Nepal
Appalachian Trail, North Carolina
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Zion Narrows, Utah
Haute Route, France/Switzerland
John Muir Trail, California
Cinque Terre, Italy
Good choices! I’ve hiked six. The rest are on my personal to-do list.
Read Jason’s rationale on Gadling.
The 3 in bold are also on our top 10 list.
(via The Adventure Blog)
besthiker Rick McCharles has been there
Cool.
Your intrepid editor was interviewed by Clayton Kessler of Tracks and Trails:
He’s Been There! Rick McCharles has experienced Adventures the world over and brings The Best Hikes to you!
… read the interview on TracksAndTrails.ca
Update: That same interview was posted on Castanet.
interview – Aussie hiking author Frank Wall
by site editor Rick McCharles
Clayton Kessler of TracksAndTrails.ca posted an interview with Frank Wall, author of the Guide to Planning the Overland Track eBook.
Frank edits the often hilarious Our Hiking Blog, as well.
I’m a fan of both those sites and subscribe by RSS.
The Overland Track is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.
I was on Tasmania for only 2wks yet saw many poisonous snakes. I’m interested in how a Tassie vet like Frank assesses that risk:
Can you share any unique encounters with wild animals?
We don’t really have “wild” animals like bears in Australia. We do have lots of tiger snakes that can kill you. In Tasmania they are quite common and you learn to keep an eye out for them. They love to lie along the side of trail and bask in the sun. I always keep my eyes out for them and wear gaiters to at least protect my legs. The snakes, fortunately, are more scared of us then we are of them and usually disappear quickly. Bites are usually caused when someone (i.e. an idiot) tries to catch or kill one, which is illegal as they are protected species. …
read the entire interview on TracksAndTrails.ca
Frank has a new post discussing whether or not his favourite trail is getting too crowded …
… number of walkers had been trending up from 6360 in 2005-2006 to 7024 in 2008-2009 …
Click through to read his opinion – The Overland Track – hiking solo in season? Not likely
videos – embedded or on YouTube?
by site editor Rick McCharles
On this site I try to give you a choice between watching videos on the same page. Or by jumping to YouTube or another site.
It’s faster to watch the embedded video. AND embedded YouTube videos normally do not have those annoying overlay ads.
If you’re in a hurry, just watch the embedded video.
But when you jump over to YouTube you have the option of watching a higher resolution version. You can comment. Rate videos. And see more links to related videos.
It’s nice to have a choice.
The future looks bright. YouTube and Vimeo have begun replacing “memory hog” Adobe Flash format videos with the new HTML5 standard.
The sooner that happens, the better.
Trailspotting – hiking photo galleries
Stuart at TrailSpotting.com is doing something interesting and innovative.
He’s built a Gallery on Flickr, adding some of his favourite photos from different photographers.
For example, click through to Yosemite Trailspotters Gallery.
Here’s one of those beautiful pics, Valley Winter Fog From Inspiration Point, by gorman jones.
Next, he’s added some annotation to that photo:
Inspiration Point is a short hike up from Tunnel View where you can admire the splendors of Yosemite Valley. It’s difficult to find an original image from this oft-photographed spot, which makes Gorman Jones’ image all the more impressive.
And, finally, linked to his hiking trip report on that location:
TrailSpotting – Yosemite Inspiration Point
Very elegant, Stuart.
Kudos.
top 10 best hikes anywhere
For some time our top 10 links have been “broken”, the result of our web host having been “hacked” in the past.
Those should all be fixed now. Merry Christmas.
This is the best starting point for those planning a future trekking vacation.
top 10 hikes in the world
#1) West Coast Trail, BC, Canada
#2) John Muir Trail, California, USA
#3) Tongariro Northern Circuit, New Zealand
#4) Ausangate Circuit, Peru
#5) Sunshine to Assiniboine, Alberta, Canada
#6) Glacier North Circle, Montana, USA
#7) Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
#8) Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
#9) TMB (Tour de Mont Blanc), Europe
10) Overland Track, Tasmania
top 10 hiking regions in the world
#1 New Zealand – info page
#2 Southwest USA – info page
#3 The Rockies – info page
#4 USA Sierra Nevada – info page
#5 Central Andes – info page
#6 Patagonian Andes – info page
#7 Nepal – info page
#8T Italy, Dolomites – info page
#8T Australia – info page
#9 The Alps – info page
10 Indian Himalaya – info page
Leave a comment if you think we are missing something.
hiking Santa
the future of climbing – buildings
I’ve just subscribed to the CheapTents.com Outdoor Gear Blog.
A very interesting perspective with much original content.
I liked a commentary on the illegal climb of Blackpool Tower, in Lancashire, U.K. this past August.
… At 158m the Blackpool Tower is pretty high, and for some climbers the thought of climbing an iconic structure is irresistible. Obviously we are not suggesting that anyone should go out and illegally climb a tower. But, if you could climb any tower, legally, in complete safety and with appropriate climbing gear, which tower would you climb?
Another post goes on to speculate …
Three enjoyable things about going hiking are
• getting a great view from the top of a summit,
• being in the countryside and
• getting exercise.Vertical farms will offer all three of these things! …
What’s a Vertical farm?
… a proposal to conduct large-scale agriculture in urban high-rises or “farmscrapers”. Using recycled resources and greenhouse methods such as hydroponics, these buildings would produce fruit, vegetables, edible mushrooms and algae year-round. …
The editor of the CheapTents.com Outdoor Gear Blog proposes we build them so they can be used for fitness, as well. Great idea.
Check out that post – The Future of Hiking
besthike.com 