Category: blogs

Posted on

Gear Junkie at Everest Base Camp

STEPHEN REGENOLD is on drugs.

… Acetazolamide. That’s what’s written on the bottle. Diamox is its more common commercial name, and because of its aid in acclimatization, the medication is among the most popular with trekkers and climbers in the Khumbu Region of Nepal.

In two weeks, I have come from Minneapolis to Mount Everest, from about 1,000 feet above sea level at home to the thin air of Base Camp. I pushed one day higher still to 18,600 feet, ascending a small peak near Everest (Kala Patthar) for a view of Mount Pumori and the stark black pyramid of Everest itself, an angle of rock piercing to 29,035 feet in the sky. …

click through to read about his trek – Thin Air: Essay on Everest Base Camp

I’m still waiting on a summary report from Kraig Becker, the Adventure Blogger, who was there about the same time.

Posted on

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.

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italy

Read Jason’s rationale on Gadling.

The 3 in bold are also on our top 10 list.

(via The Adventure Blog)

Posted on

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!

hiking Bocca di Brenta to Molveno, Italy

… read the interview on TracksAndTrails.ca

Update: That same interview was posted on Castanet.

Posted on

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

Tasmanian Tiger Snake

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

Posted on

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.

note - ad text is sometimes inappropriate

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.